Can enterprise architectures reduce failure in development projects?

Abstract

Purpose: Scant attention has been given to the role of enterprise architecture in relationship to risk management in information system development projects. Even less attention has been given to the inter-organizational setting. The aim of this paper is to better understand this relationship. Methodology:The relationship between EA and project failure/success is investigated by -through a workshopcreating a retrospective view on the use of architectures in large and complex ICT-projects. Findings:Failure factors can be grouped in organization network, people, process, product and technology categories. The findings show that a disappointingly limited number of public sector development projects make sufficient use of architecture as a risk management instrument. Architectures should both be considered as a riskmitigating instrument and as an organizational shaping routine to reduce project failure and manage risk in organization networks. Research limitations:A single workshop with a limited number of participants was conducted. The findings need further refinement and generalization based on more empirical research investigating the relationship between architecture and project failure. Implications:Architecture should give explicit consideration to risk management and help to draw attention to this. Governance mechanisms need be defined to ensure that the organizations and its members become aware of both architecture and risk management. Risk management and EA have similarities, as they are both an instrument and an organizational shaping routine. Originality/value: Governments collaborate more and more in organizational networks and for that reason often multiple organizations are involved in information system project developments. Enterprise architecture as a risk mitigation instrument has not been given attention yet.

Why e-government projects fail? An analysis of the Healthcare.gov website

“…Organizational power and politics are considered to be the most important factors for government ICT and e-government project failure (Janssen & Klievink, 2012;Janssen et al, 2013Janssen et al, , 2015Luk, 2009;Warne, 1997;Warne & Hart, 1996). Furthermore, design-reality gaps and ineffective project planning and management appear to damage egovernment projects (Esteves & Joseph, 2008;Gauld, 2007;Goldfinch, 2007;Heeks, 2001;Heeks, 2003;Scholl, 2003).…”

“…Organization structure and relations Warne and Hart (1996), Warne (1997), Ebrahim and Irani, 2005;Gauld (2007), Nielsen and Pedersen (2014), Scholl (2003), Boehm (2000), Janssen and Klievink (2012) and Janssen et al, 2013, 2015 Government and top-level leaders' commitment, and appropriate political support. Warne and Hart (1996), Warne (1997) Appropriate skills for project operation and acceptance, as well as execution of training activities.…”

Building Productivity in Virtual Project Teams

“…Consistency in program management is attributable to the concept of governance (Macnaghten & Owen, 2011). Well-defined enterprise designs enable modular type systems to operate as an individual entity while governed by the larger corporate organization (Janssen & Klievink, 2012). The internal governance of a project or program include the organization's operational capabilities, value systems, objectives, and decision support systems required to sustain the organizational goals and vision (Demirag & Khadaroo, 2011).…”

The Impact of Formal Decision Processes on e-Government Projects

“…However, the literature that does exist often mentions challenges, barriers and other factors that prevent successful outcomes. In this paper, four areas that can create uncertainties in e-Government projects were extracted from studies [8,[32][33][34], namely:…”

“…A study by Nielsen and Pedersen (2014) reveals that politics, intuition and coincidence play a larger role than rationality in local government decision-making concerning information technology (IT) projects [7]. Moreover, Janssen and Klievink (2011) suggest using enterprise architectures that explicitly consider risk management to improve the outcomes of e-Government development, especially in collaborative initiatives (which might be more prone to failure than single-entity initiatives) [8]. However, research on risk and risk management in relation to e-Government is sparse [9].…”