TPA6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

TPA6 - Essay Example The recent past has seen the failure of major IT projects like the Queensland Department of Health Payroll System and the US Combat Support System. Among the reasons that cause such failures, is the exclusion of a project Champion in such projects. IT projects are associated with a substantial level of complexities in terms of complex system interfaces, scarcity of IT resources like machines that need to be shared, data conversion to compatible formats, and the ever changing technology that calls for the need to upgrade systems. Most Project Managers do not have a clear understanding of such needs or if they do, only try to solve them in a tight timeframe, and when everything has gone out of control. Thus, a Project Champion is essential at this point to develop the project’s scope, define the objectives and metrics of the project and provide an accurate specification of resources like hardware and software. In addition, a Project Champion actively supports the system’s architecture to stakeholders in an effort to provide a clear understanding of the various states the project is supposed to undergo. For instance, in case there is a change in the project’s implementation, or the hardware and software that were initially stated, most stakeholders and project managers end up being confused and filled with fear. In fact, they tend to understand change in what can be called a fragmented format, in that the change is not uniformly understood. The end results are inconsistent compliance, agitation and failure of the project. Thus, a Project Champion is needed, primarily to play a critical role in ensuring a swift transformation of changes through clarifying each and every step taken to avoid any misconceptions that might arise from the project managers, project team or the customer (Chakrabart, 1974). Most IT projects fail due to technological complexities and over-optimistic habit of project managers without having a clear