An Investigation to Reveal Why IT Projects Succeed or Fail in Saudi Arabia

摘要

In order to identify the main reasons for the success and failure of IT projects in Saudi Arabia; we have analyzed the responses of three hundred and eight project managers to an online structured questionnaire. In addition to that, semi structured interviews were conducted with eight project managers. The nationalities of those project managers were various and they have worked either in public or private sectors in Saudi Arabia. This study has found common reasons for failure of IT projects in Saudi Arabia. Organizational culture, conflict of interest, and the instability and lack of clarity of the set of requirements were characterized as the most important causes for failure. Additionally, Critical Success Factors (CSFs) that should increase the project success were also enumerated based on the questionnaire responses and the interviews. Those included: clear statement of requirements, the project manager leadership, and soft skills.