Driving down the worldwide IT project failure rate of 70%, and boosting success

June 17, 2024

Abstract Hologram Landscape background - 3d rendered image of topology structure map. Polygonal wireframe design element. abstract project failure — image: ©koto_feja | iStock

One of Open Access Government’s current commentators, David P Jacobs of MaxVal Consultancy, is leading a strong attack on the disconcertingly expensive project failure rate of the last 40 years

David has provided a number of articles since October 2023 to Open Access Government:

In the autumn of 2024, in his DigiGov Expo ’24 presentation on September 25^th at the ExCel Centre, David will utilise the power of his unique Business Value Maximisation Framework (BVMF®) to launch an onslaught on this 70% statistic that has persisted over the last 40 years. This has been despite the contribution of Agile and other recently conceived methods. David is beckoning the industry to work with him on this, as the potential benefits are almost incalculable. As part of this campaign, David will be following up on his two prior OAG ‘Seven Steps’ articles (of January 2024 and April 2024) in the October edition with more detail on some of the steps he has so far covered.

Understanding project failure: The backstory

David is known for obtaining excellent business results from IT (then Computing) in the 1980s and kicking off a 30-year research and development programme in the early 1990s. The result of that programme was BVMF®, which has unique characteristics in its power to maximise value, success, and return on investment (ROI) from IT, especially in a business or organisational environment.

When the President of Certus, the IT directors’ association, beckoned for a “whole new approach” to IT projects back in 2001, David reached out to him, agreeing wholeheartedly and adding that he had been working on such a new approach for more than a decade! However, in true Higgs boson style, it then took another 20 years for the power of BVMF® to rise to the surface and notice of those who could make use of it, thus providing boosted value to the organisation, its customers, its suppliers and the system user general public.

As of early 2021, the market started picking up on David’s 30-year R&D and the power of BVMF®. So, previously a self, privately funded operation, MaxVal Consultancy has garnered great interest in the last few years and is picking up speed fast, looking to attract some central funding and investment through 2024 into 2025.

A unique ‘new’ approach

BVMF® is unique because it links and underpins all other methods (e.g. agile, waterfall, Prince2, etc) that are potentially involved in successful business-related IT by supplying the missing jigsaw pieces, operating like solid foundations of a block of flats underpinning upper floors that have been wobbling and struggling to support each other (excuse the multiple metaphors, David also likes to use golf, football and car driving to illustrate how BVMF® works).

With the fundamental principles for optimally successful business IT to underpin the other methods (which David says do not include most of these concepts, certainly not in a clear way), the whole paradigm shifts into a much higher gear! One of the many ways that BVMF® scores on value maximisation is that it supports the measurement, forecasting and assessment of Information Systems Business Value (ISBV) i.e. the degree to which IT systems manifestly help business or organisational processes to achieve or exceed their objectives.

Client comments

One client experiencing BVMF® in its early days said “Your [business value] approach is a breath of fresh air…”

A senior consultant business analyst trained in BVMF® at Foundation level has recently said “BVMF® is extreme common sense, I wish I had known about it years ago!

DigiGov Expo ‘24

David will be heading MaxVal’s presence at DigiGov Expo ’24 on September 24^th and 25^th running a walk-in value maximisation clinic to help visitors immediately start raising their projects’ levels of value, success and ROI. On the second day, David will present in the Citizen Experience theatre to initiate his 7+ year plan to bring the 70% failure rate down. Through the autumn MaxVal will be working on this endeavour collaboratively with industry in the UK and across commonwealth countries.