The Impact of IT Projects Complexity on Cost Overruns and Schedule Delays

TL;DR

This study investigates how the complexity of IT projects influences cost overruns and schedule delays, emphasizing the importance of better planning and estimation for complex projects.

Contribution

It provides empirical evidence of a strong linear relationship between project complexity and overruns, highlighting the need for improved planning strategies.

Findings

Complex projects tend to have higher cost and schedule overruns.

A strong positive linear relationship exists between project complexity and overruns.

Enhanced planning during the early phases can mitigate overruns.

Abstract

This study aims to assist Company leaders and management team in providing more accurate time and cost estimations for future software projects. This paper focuses on analyzing the relationship between project complexity and cost and time overrun. The sample data of around 50 projects are collected from the Changepoint database. The two research hypotheses were defined and tested using statistical techniques. The quantitative analysis includes descriptive analysis and regression modelling. Experimental results show a strong positive linear relationship between project complexity and cost and time overrun. Based on the study outcome, there is a need to focus on the planning phase of complex projects and allocate more time and budget to estimate the completion date and the initial budget of this type of project more accurately.