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Frequently Asked Questions
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What are the benefits of risk management
to project management?
Project management generally focuses on achievement of project goals
and objectives within the timeline & budget established. Risk
management is in place to identify the critical reasons why the
project’s goals may not be achieved, to prevent these risks
from occurring, and reporting on the ongoing risks throughout the
projects lifecycle.
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What are the main causes of IT project
failure?
The top-level cause of IT failure is introducing unnecessary risk
from the outset. Ask yourself: has this business problem been solved
before? Is there an off-the-shelf solution available? Has the project
team implemented this solution in this industry before? Most customization
does not add sufficient business value to warrant putting your company's
IT investment at risk.
Once the level of risk is aligned with the business case, we have
found that factors of people, process and technology predominate.
Does the project have an executive-level sponsor? Are all the key
stakeholders involved? Is there a clear project charter? Are success
metrics defined and tied to business goals? Are end users involved
early and often? Is the technology proven? Our proven approach,
the Missouri Method®, uncovers, measures and controls these
risks head on.
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What percentage of projects fail?
The recent Standish Group “chaos report” concludes that
more than 70% of all IT projects are late, are over-budget, or fail
completely. 28% are successful, on-time, on-budget, and delivered
with functionality as originally specified; 49% are challenged with
the project completed, but over-budget, over-time, and less functionality
than planned; and 23% have failed or have been cancelled before
completion.
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How do companies currently plan for IT implementation
failures?
Projects without proactive risk management are 1.67 times more likely
to be late or over budget. Yet according to market studies with
more 400 senior financial and technology executives, contingency
budgeting—adding more than 50% to the original budget—is
the most common method used to address IT project risk. This indicates
that risk is not being mitigated but merely forecasted as an incremental
cost for an IT project.
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What are the greatest impacts to failed
IT projects?
In years past, IT solutions only impacted the back office operations
of a company, and never reached customers. In today’s wired
economy, failed IT projects instantly comprise your financial performance
and customer relationships. “Without systematic IT risk management,
the entire enterprise's valuation can be placed at risk…”
(Meta Group, 2001)
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Who are Fortera’s customers?
Fortera offers unique benefits to several distinct audiences: corporate
IT buyers such as financial and technology executives, systems integrators,
and enterprise software vendors.
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What is the IT Project Guaranty?
Fortera’s IT Project Guaranty complements its proven risk management
services. This first-to-market guaranty transfers the financial
risk from the IT buyer to Fortera in the event that the systems
integrator (SI) does not perform their contractual duties.
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At what point during the implementation
process is Fortera engaged?
Fortera may be engaged at various times throughout the project lifecycle,
but offers the greatest return on investment when engaged before
an RFP is developed for the systems integration work. This allows
the RFP & subsequent contract to incorporate best practices
from prior projects and to take control of key risk areas from the
outset.
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Are Fortera services available independent
of the project guaranty?
Yes. Many companies are at different stages of their project lifecycle.
Some companies chose to engage Fortera for their IT Risk Management
Services if they do not qualify for the IT Project Guaranty.
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How are Fortera’s IT risk management
offerings priced?
Fortera’s IT risk management services are generally fixed fee
engagements depending on project scope, vendor selection scope (i.e.
software & SI or SI only), and the state of inputs. Fortera’s
IT Project Guaranty requires the buyer to pay the first portion
of the overrun up to a nominal threshold (typically 5%-10%). Above
the threshold, a minimal portion is paid by the buyer (typically
10%- 20%). Typically, this limit is equal to the fees paid to Fortera
for its services.
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Are there restrictions on the size and scope
of projects Fortera undertakes?
Fortera focuses on packaged software implementations that are budgeted
at a minimum of $200k. Fortera projects have ranged from $200k to
$30M.
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Are Fortera’s services designed for
specific types of projects and applications?
Projects include ERP, CRM, and e-business implementations. Specific
packaged applications include SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards,
Clarify, Pivotal, Siebel, and Intentia.
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