Problem:
An IT acquisition guidance document states "there is a growing realization that the real work of acquisition is in contract management." At the same time, there is a decrease in the success rate of IT projects, as noted in this copied excerpt (typos included) from the April 23, 2009 Standish Group's news release:
The Standish Group's just-released report, "CHAOS Summary 2009," "This year's results show a marked decrease in project success rates, with 32% of all projects succeeding which are delivered on time, on budget, with required features and functions" says Jim Johnson, chairman of The Standish Group, "44% were challenged which are late, over budget, and/or with less than the required features and functions and 24% failed which are cancelled prior to completion or delivered and never used."
"These numbers represent a downtick in the success rates from the previous study, as well as a significant increase in the number of failures", says Jim Crear, Standish Group CIO, "They are low point in the last five study periods. This year's results represent the highest failure rate in over a decade"
Source: https://www.standishgroup.com/newsroom/chaos_2009.php
Your Question: Your question has two parts.
Q1. To what extent do the statements from the two sources complement each other or conflict with each other? Briefly explain your answer.
Q2. What is the likely reason or reasons for the downtick in project success rates of IT projects and what recommendations would you make to improve the success rates? Be specific.