Many projects fail, especially IT projects. The only way that companies can get better at performing projects is by learning from projects they have carried out. But traditional practice of holding a lessons-learned session during or following a project may not allow organizations to examine the deep and “messy” reasons why projects fail, particularly with complex projects. Complex projects can best be understood by using modeling, such as cognitive mapping. Cognitive mapping aids identification of causal chains and where these close in on themselves to form positive feedback loops, which helps to understand not only what went wrong, but also the reasons. Cognitive mapping is used to understand the impacts of management decisions on a project, both intended and unintentional. This approach is used here to examine a large software development project carried out by an insurance company which overran its original plan by several years. Some suggestions are made both for using such methods and lessons to be learned for future projects.
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