Keep it simple

I was talking to a client from the OECD and he told me that the vast majority (more than 80%) of large IT infrastructure projects fail.

"Fail?"
"Yes, fail. What would you say are the measures of success for a big IT project Rowan?"
"Let's see - any project needs to be delivered within budget and on schedule in order to be deemed a success."
"Yes. What else?"
"Well, I suppose an IT project can't be deemed to be successful unless the damn thing works."
"Exactly! And against those simple measures, four out of five IT projects across the developed world cannot be regarded as a success."

I repeated this conversation to a client who is a partner in a consulting firm. He smiled indulgently and said, "Well now, I'm not so sure that one can measure the success or failure of a major technology project in terms quite that simple."
"But you would say that wouldn't you?"

I was reminded of a chat I had some years back with a medical consultant. During his rotation in Anaesthetics, he was told in lectures that there are 400 recognised planes of anaesthesia. "But the first time I went into theatre, my mentor told me that there are really only three - Awake, Asleep and Dead."

Occam's Razor all the way. Lord, I love simplicity!