Perceptions of Success and Failure Factors in Information Technology Projects: A Study from Brazilian Companies

The project area is not properly valued in many organizations because generally the company's projects are spread across several other areas. However, it is necessary to know how the projects and the project management provide the means for organizations to achieve their goals. The goal of this study is to understand the influence of success and failure factors on starting, developing and closing projects. Although many studies have explored success factors in projects, a few of them have included the perception of formulation and classification of what really are a successful project and/or a failure project. This paper considers the perception of success and failure by project managers through interviews and questionnaires made in Brazilian companies. Firstly, a theoretical survey on this topic was performed. Secondly, qualitative analysis was applied to group some important aspects of the interviews and questionnaires. Thirdly, the results of the answers were investigated through statistical analysis to confirm the positioning of all the respondents. The analysis of the interviews might be used to better understand the management perception about the determinant factors of success and failure of the companies surveyed and a reflection of what happens in Brazilian IT industry.