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Journals / Cankaya University Journal of Science and Engineering / 2026 / Volume: 23 Issue: 1

Management Errors Associated with Failure in IT Projects: Survey Evidence and Recommendations for Project Managers

IT Projelerindeki Başarısızlıklarla İlişkili Yönetim Hataları: Anket Bulguları ve Proje Yöneticileri İçin Öneriler

Ahmet Cemal Korkmaz(CANKAYA UNIVERSITY)0000-0001-7662-7377
Murat Saran(ÇANKAYA ÜNİVERSİTESİ, MÜHENDİSLİK FAKÜLTESİ)0000-0002-8652-3392
Pages
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Publication Date
2026-05-01
DOI
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

The findings indicate that the most influential perceived failure drivers are unclear goals and objectives (4.584/5), weak communication between the project team and the customer (4.410/5), inexperienced project managers (4.267/5), changing customer demands (4.236/5), and low team commitment (4.031/5).

📌 3 Key Takeaways

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Objective & Hypothesis:IT projects remain strategically important yet continue to experience schedule slippage, scope instability, and stakeholder misalignment.
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Key Findings & Data:An exploratory cross-sectional survey, preceded by a pilot with 23 IT professionals, was distributed online through the Turkish Informatics Association to 450 professionals in Türkiye; 161 valid responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics.
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Conclusion & Impact:The findings indicate that the most influential perceived failure drivers are unclear goals and objectives (4.584/5), weak communication between the project team and the customer (4.410/5), inexperienced project managers (4.267/5), changing customer demands (4.236/5), and low team commitment (4.031/5).
🔬Design:Survey & Empirical Study
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:IT Projects · Project Failure · Project Management

Abstract

IT projects remain strategically important yet continue to experience schedule slippage, scope instability, and stakeholder misalignment. This study examines managerial errors associated with IT project failure and offers practical recommendations for project managers. An exploratory cross-sectional survey, preceded by a pilot with 23 IT professionals, was distributed online through the Turkish Informatics Association to 450 professionals in Türkiye; 161 valid responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings indicate that the most influential perceived failure drivers are unclear goals and objectives (4.584/5), weak communication between the project team and the customer (4.410/5), inexperienced project managers (4.267/5), changing customer demands (4.236/5), and low team commitment (4.031/5). Respondents also report that IT projects often struggle to meet planned delivery dates (2.602/5), although they generally create value (4.242/5) and meet customer expectations to a moderate extent (3.398/5). The results suggest that project manager competence extends beyond administrative control to include communication capability, technical literacy, and stakeholder alignment. The study contributes practitioner evidence from Türkiye and offers actionable implications for scope definition, change control, communication management, and client expectation management.

Özet

Bilişim Teknolojileri (BT) projeleri stratejik önemini korumakla birlikte; takvim sapmaları, kapsam istikrarsızlığı ve paydaş uyuşmazlıkları gibi sorunlar yaşamaya devam etmektedir. Bu çalışma, BT projelerinin başarısızlığıyla ilişkilendirilen yönetsel hataları incelemekte ve proje yöneticilerine yönelik uygulamalı öneriler sunmaktadır. Yirmi üç BT uzmanının katılımıyla gerçekleştirilen bir pilot çalışmanın ardından hazırlanan keşfedici kesitsel anket, Türkiye Bilişim Derneği aracılığıyla Türkiye'deki 450 uzmana çevrimiçi olarak ulaştırılmış; elde edilen 161 geçerli yanıt betimsel istatistik yöntemleri kullanılarak analiz edilmiştir. Araştırma bulguları; başarısızlığın algılanan en etkili faktörlerinin belirsiz amaç ve hedefler (4.584/5), proje ekibi ile müşteri arasındaki zayıf iletişim (4.410/5), deneyimsiz proje yöneticileri (4.267/5), değişen müşteri talepleri (4.236/5) ve düşük ekip bağlılığı (4.031/5) olduğunu göstermektedir. Katılımcılar ayrıca, BT projelerinin genel olarak değer yaratmasına (4.242/5) ve müşteri beklentilerini orta düzeyde (3.398/5) karşılamasına rağmen, planlanan teslim tarihlerine uyma konusunda sıklıkla zorluk yaşandığını (2.602/5) bildirmektedir. Elde edilen sonuçlar, proje yöneticisi yetkinliğinin salt idari kontrolün ötesine geçerek iletişim becerisini, teknik okuryazarlığı ve paydaş uyumlandırmasını da kapsaması gerektiğine işaret etmektedir. Bu çalışma, Türkiye bağlamında uygulayıcılardan elde edilen kanıtlarla alanyazına katkı sağlamakta ve kapsam tanımlama, değişiklik kontrolü, iletişim yönetimi ve müşteri beklenti yönetimi konularında eyleme dönüştürülebilir çıkarımlar sunmaktadır.

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Cite This Article

Korkmaz, A. C., Saran, M. (2026). Management Errors Associated with Failure in IT Projects: Survey Evidence and Recommendations for Project Managers. Cankaya University Journal of Science and Engineering, Volume: 23 Issue: 1. https://ajindex.com/articles/1468611

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