Click here to see why reengineering so often fail and common causes. 

• Why Reengineering so often fail?

  It has been estimated that about two-thirds of re-engineering projects either fail completely or fall significantly short of their hoped-for outcomes. Here are the most common barriers to the success of re-engineering attempts, along with their estimated percentages developed by Hammer & Associates: 

  1.    Indicated resistance to change - 60%

  2.    Limitations of existing systems - 40%

  3.    Lack of executive consensus - 40%

  4.    Lack of a senior-executive "champion" - 40%

  5.    Unrealistic expectations - 30%

  6.    Lack of cross-functional project teams - 28%

  7.    Lack of team skills - 25%

  8.    Late staff involvement - 18%

  9.    Project charter too narrow - 15%.

   

• Here are the most common errors that contribute to the failure of re-engineering:

  §       Trying to fix a process instead of changing it.

  §       Not focusing on the business process.

  §       Ignoring everything except the process design.

  §       Neglecting people's values and beliefs.

  §       Being willing to settle for minor results.

  §       Quitting too early.

  §       Placing constraints on the definition of the problem and the scope of the re-engineering process.

  §       Trying to make re-engineering happen from the bottom up.

  §       Assigning someone who does not understand re-engineering to lead the effort.

  It is vital to remember that implementation is as important as design. It is in this phase that the socio- part of sociotechnical systems re-design comes into play. Neglecting the human element is a design for poor implementation.