Research evidence and industry experience indicates that less than one third of all IT projects are delivered on time, on budget and with required features. More than half are late, over budget or delivered with less than the required features. Most worryingly, nearly twenty percent are cancelled prior to completion or delivered and never used.

Most software project failures are the result of business needs not being correctly understood or by overly optimistic software development estimates. These errors lead to long delays and large cost overruns. In addition, poor software quality imposes high levels of support and ongoing rework.

Too often, IT projects start with an assumption that something