Developing a model to understand reengineering project success

As more organizations are undertaking reengineering projects, project failure and associated riskiness is increased. This research shows that success was present although failure was reported in some companies. This paper identifies the factors that contribute to business process reengineering (BPR) success. It defines reengineering and develops a research model based upon over 1250 relevant journal articles. The research plan is to conduct surveys, generate case studies and build tool modules. The results of the Australian survey administered to 58 managers, government officials and military leaders indicate that 76% of the respondents were participating in a new reengineering project. It was found that a very small percentage of executives defined a BPR vision or spent time planning for the strategic ramifications of the reengineering project. After the projects had been investigated it was also found that the use of metrics was minimal. Future research directions include a cross-cultural analysis of survey data, validation of the research model using second-generation multivariate techniques, and an examination of case data for qualitative richness.