A number of studies have been completed that look into the success / failure rates of projects. These studies indicate that serious problems exist across a broad cross-section of industries. Below is a summary of some recent reports.

Source : McKinsey & Company in conjunction with the University of Oxford

Type of survey : Study on large scale IT Projects

Date : 2012

A study of 5,400 large scale IT projects (projects with initial budgets greater than $15M) finds that the well known problems with IT Project Management are persisting. Among the key findings quoted from the report:

17 percent of large IT projects go so badly that they can threaten the very existence of the company On average, large IT projects run 45 percent over budget and 7 percent over time, while delivering 56 percent less value than predicted

Source material – Delivering large-scale IT projects on time, on budget, and on value

Source : Geneca

Type of survey : Interview based study of software projects

Date : 2010 – 2011

Interviews with 600 people closely involved in software development projects finds that even at the start of a project many people expect their projects to fail!

“Fuzzy business objectives, out-of-sync stakeholders, and excessive rework” mean that 75% of project participants lack confidence that their projects will succeed. A truly stunning 78% of respondents reported that the “Business is usually or always out of sync with project requirements”

Source material – Why a Majority of Business and IT Teams Anticipate Their Software Development Projects Will Fail

Source : KPMG (New Zealand)

Type of survey : Survey of 100 businesses across a broad cross section of industries

Date : Dec 2010

KPMG survey of Project Management practices in New Zealand finds some truly startling results;

Survey shows an incredible 70% of organizations have suffered at least one project failure in the prior 12 months! 50% of respondents also indicated that their project failed to consistently achieve what they set out to achieve!

Reference article – Most Business Experience Project Failure

Source material – KPMG Project Management Survey 2010

Source : IBM

Type of survey : Survey of 1,500 change management executives

Date : Oct 2008

IBM survey in the success / failure rates of “change” projects finds;

Only 40% of projects met schedule, budget and quality goals Best organizations are 10 times more successful than worst organizations Biggest barriers to success listed as people factors: Changing mindsets and attitudes – 58%. Corporate culture – 49%. Lack of senior management support – 32%. Underestimation of complexity listed as a factor in 35% of projects

For source data read – Making change work

Source : Logica Management Consulting

Type of survey : Survey of 380 senior executives in western Europe

Date : Oct 2008

Logica Management Consulting and the Economist Intelligence Unit studied success rates for business process change projects (most of which have significant technology components). A cross section of different industries were included in the survey.

Findings showed;

35% of organizations abandoned a major project in the last 3 years 37% of business process change projects fail to deliver benefits

For source data read – Failing business process change projects substantially impact financial performance of UK business

Source : United States Government Accountability Office

Type of survey : Review of federally funded technology projects

Date : 31 Jul 2008

Study finds 413 of 840 (49%) federally funded IT projects are either poorly planned, poorly performing or both.

Project Railhead provides a good example of the types of problems involved. In the Railhead case the complete $500M investment is in jeopardy.

For source data read – GAO-08-1051T

Source : Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA)

Scope : 400 respondents

Date : May 2008

Key findings

43% of organizations have suffered a recent project failure

At a typical enterprise 20% of technology investments are not fully realized

Source – IT Magazine

Source : Guardian Newspaper (UK)

Scope : Investigation into government waste in the UK since year 2000

Date : 5 Jan 2008

Study of government projects reveals $4billion in wasted efforts as a result of failed projects “Only 30% of our projects and programs are successful” -Joe Harley, programme and systems delivery officer at the Department for Work and Pensions

For source article read – Not fit for purpose

Source : Dr Dobbs Journal

Scope : 586 respondents to email survey (Dr Dobbs subscriber list)

Date : Aug 2007 and Oct 2011

70% of respondents had been involved in a project they knew would fail right from the start Success rates for Agile projects 72%, success rate for traditional approaches 63%

For source data read – IT Project Success Rates Survey (2007 version). Updated version 2011 – 2011 Project Success Rates

Source : KPMG – Global IT Project Management Survey

Scope : Survey of 600 organizations globally

Date : 2005

In just a 12 month period 49% of organizations had suffered a recent project failure In the same period only 2% of organizations reported that all of their projects achieved the desired benefits 86% of organizations reported a shortfall of at least 25% of targetted benefits across their portfolio of projects Many organizations fail to measure benefits so they are unaware of their true status in terms of benefits realization

For source data read – Global IT Project Management Survey