Reconciling user and project manager perceptions of IT project risk: a Delphi study¹

Abstract

In an increasingly dynamic business environment characterized by fast cycle times, shifting markets and unstable technology, a business organization's survival hinges on its ability to align IT capabilities with business goals. To facilitate the successful introduction of new IT applications, issues of project risk must be addressed, and the expectations of multiple stakeholders must be managed appropriately. To the extent that users and developers may harbour different perceptions regarding project risk, areas of conflict may arise. By understanding the differences in how users and project managers perceive the risks, insights can be gained that may help to ensure the successful delivery of systems. Prior research has focused on the project manager's perspective of IT project risk. This paper explores the issue of IT project risk from the user perspective and compares it with risk perceptions of project managers. A Delphi study reveals that these two stakeholder groups have different perceptions of risk factors. Through comparison with a previous study on project manager risk perceptions, zones of concordance and discordance that must be reconciled are identified.

The Delphi Method for Graduate Research

“…In the first study, the focus was on developing a list of common risk factors in three settings: Hong Kong, Finland and the United States (R. Schmidt et al, 2001). In the second study, the researchers investigated the differences of opinion regarding software development project risks between users and the project manager using risks identified in the Schmidt study (Keil et al, 2002). In the Schmidt study, participants from all three countries participated in a brainstorming session to identify software project risks.…”

An Email-Based Delphi Approach to Tourism Program Evaluation: Involving Stakeholders in Research Design

“…In contrast, other web-based approaches have involved participants inputting their responses to an anonymous website (Keil et al, 2002;Pollard & Pollard, 2004;Rockwell et al, 2000;Sherwood et al, 2006) or bulletin board (Gabriel et al, 2003). The more personable approach that was possible using email perhaps partially accounts for the success in sustaining the involvement of all starting participants throughout the process.…”

“…The more personable approach that was possible using email perhaps partially accounts for the success in sustaining the involvement of all starting participants throughout the process. In contrast, Delphi approaches that rely on websites have suffered participant attrition to varying degrees (Keil et al, 2002;Rockwell et al, 2000). However, the small sample involved in this email-based approach does not warrant strong conclusions on this matter, and it may be the case that participants' level of familiarity with and interest in the Tapestry project was pivotal to sustaining their participation.…”

Machine Code and Metaphysics: A Perspective on Software Engineering

“…Similar examples are plentiful in SE [3,4] and give some indication of the likelihood of SE projects, producing unusable technology. As Maughan states, "few projects can succeed over the outright opposition of the proposed users" [2].…”