Spotlight on the Positives: How Do Information Technology Projects Achieve Cost Underruns?

Abstract

The Information Technology (IT) project literature has extensively studied cost overrun. But there is surprisingly little work on cost underrun. In this paper, we explore twelve IT projects that achieved cost underrun, using interviews and documents analysis. Our findings show that projects achieve cost underruns when they actively implement practices to enhance process efficiency. These practices are: Implementing a collaborative environment, budgetary control, capitalizing on previous knowledge, continuous learning during the project, and accommodating uncertainty. Projects also encounter conditions that contribute directly to cost underrun, like scope reduction and savings in spending. Our key contribution lies in uncovering, based on a unique sample, how a set of specific practices can lead to cost underrun.