Strategic change is difficult – no secret there. Managing long-term projects is difficult: for example, recent reports indicate that the cost of the 2012 Olympic project is already £1bn over the original bid budget. Looking at the statistics, there are varying estimates of the percentage of IT projects that fail, but the general feeling is that as many as 60 to 80 per cent founder.

A typical analysis of IT project failure appeared in the Guardian in November last year: ‘This year, the world’s IT expenditure is projected at $1,700bn (£975bn). About one-third of projects fail completely and another third have complicated problems. Those that finish are likely to be completed several months or years late, on average 180 per cent over budget. These figures do not include hush-hush corporate projects or projects started at home.’ – Ed Hasted, the Guardian.

The public sector seems to demonstrate a key reason for this ineptitude in meeting deadlines in terms of time and money: Edward Leigh MP, chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, said in his November 2005 report Achieving Value for Money in the Delivery of Public Services, \'basic errors are repeated time and again\'.

Is it this simple? Well, in some ways I believe it is. From past experiences, most project participants (managers, project managers, IT personnnel and staff) know that the ride will be rough at times. They have been on this journey before, often on a number of occasions, and as the figures indicate, they have failed two-thirds of the time. Whatever process is used, if any, at the end of a project it seems to make little difference the next time round. ...

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