High rates of IT project failure persist because most organizations don't understand <A HREF="http://blogs.zdnet.com/projectfailures/?p=988&tag=nl.e550">the real reasons why their projects fail.</A>

Executives often blame the project manager for planning or budgeting errors without recognizing their own contributions to failure. Don't ignore the early warning signs of failure; they're a loud siren if you listen carefully.

A research paper by two academics and a business consultant, Early Warning Signs of IT Project Failure: The Dominant Dozen, sheds light on the underlying causes behind many failures. The paper provides a framework for examining early-stage IT projects to identify and prevent downstream problems.