When overambition sinks IT projects: How to avoid boiling the ocean

In IT, 'boiling the ocean' means trying to do everything at once, a guaranteed recipe for wasted time, budget overruns, and failed projects. It describes taking on an impossibly broad or undefined scope, with tasks that are unmanageable given the available time, resources, or complexity involved. 

At Economit, we've seen this pattern many times: ambitious projects that fail not because of bad ideas, but because they tried to do too much at once. We can see signals that a project is set to fail from the outset, because its goals are unrealistic or the scope keeps expanding beyond feasible limits. It might involve trying to implement every possible feature or fix every conceivable issue at once, rather than narrowing efforts to priority tasks. A mindset that can lead to missed deadlines, overwhelmed teams, wasted resources, and ultimately project failure due to loss of clarity and focus. 

A real-world example is the NHS NPfIT (UK National Programme for IT), an ambitious £10 billion IT program intended to transform healthcare delivery nationwide. The project suffered from constant scope changes, delays, and technical challenges, ultimately delivering far less than planned and being widely recognised as an example of overambition leading to failure. * 

How to spot when you're trying to boil the ocean  

Look for clear warning signs such as unbounded scope, resource overextension, conflicting stakeholder expectations, and lack of defined milestones.  

• Undefined scope: Projects that lack clear deliverables, objectives, or measurable outcomes can easily balloon into unmanageable efforts. 

• Overextended resources: If teams, budgets, or timelines are stretched thin without a sharp focus, it's a strong indicator that the plan is too broad. 

• Stakeholder misalignment: When multiple stakeholders have differing opinions about goals or priorities, the project can lose direction and attempt to satisfy everyone, leading to an impossible scope. 

• Missing or vague milestones: Projects without clear phases, checkpoints, or interim goals often drift toward trying to solve everything at once.  

Ask yourself if the plan tries to tackle too many complex issues simultaneously. Check if there is a lack of clear, testable stages, which usually signals overambition. And, if the project often changes direction or adds new tasks but still hasn't produced any tangible results or finished any stages, then you're already in trouble!  

How do you prevent trying to boil the ocean? 

Boiling the ocean is like a warning in IT project management, a reminder to focus resources, clarify goals, and make progress in manageable increments, rather than attempting the impossible all at once. Spotting the early indicators and intervening quickly can help prevent projects from sliding into "boil the ocean" territory, saving time, resources, and team morale.  

• Clearly define realistic and achievable objectives including measurable goals at the outset, and ensure all stakeholders understand and agree on them from the start. 

• Resist the urge to add extra objectives unless necessary. 

• Break complex projects into smaller, manageable phases. Prioritise the most impactful actions. Make these quantifiable checkpoints, each showing tangible progress. 

• Allocate estimated time for each task and add buffers to accommodate delays or unexpected challenges. 

• Ensure proper resource allocation to maintain realistic expectations. 

• Avoid unnecessary scope expansion (scope creep) by regularly reviewing the scope and progress.   

This structured approach ensures a large IT project is manageable, progress is visible, and the risk of 'boiling the ocean' through overambition is minimised.  

As an independent IT consultancy, Economit delivers IT leadership, strategy, and direction based on extensive hands-on experience. Our team can manage your IT projects, carry out audits and assessments of existing infrastructure, and develop IT strategies that are easy to understand and implement.  

Economit helps clients avoid overambitious or unfocused projects by using structured project management, data-driven decisions, and open communication. With practical experience across many industries, Economit can steer clients towards realistic, manageable goals, focusing resources and budgets on what's truly achievable, rather than risking failure by taking on too much at once. Big visions only succeed when tackled one manageable step at a time.  

*https://www.henricodolfing.com/2019/01/case-study-10-billion-it-disaster.html