TABLE OF CONTENTS Read just about any statistical study on the performance of projects and you will see virtually the same reasons causing their failures and successes.
Several years ago, the Standish Group International, Inc. conducted a survey of thousands of projects. It discovered that 16 percent of projects finished on time and within budget. Ironically, it found that the larger the project, the lower the success rate. It is ironic because large projects, as opposed to small ones, often implement more formal project management. [1]
The Standish Group cited five reasons for project success: user involvement, executive management support, clear statement of requirements, proper planning, and realistic expectations. [2]
Since that time, the Standish Group has conducted several studies and found similar results with only a slight improvement in project success, rising from a success rate of 16 percent in 1994 to 26 percent in 1998. Once again, it noted that the larger the project, the smaller the opportunity for success. [3]
However, this time the study revealed an additional insight: A major contributing factor for success was having a competent and experienced project manager. I think it is fairly safe to assume that only a project manager can assure that user involvement, executive management support, clear statement of requirements, proper planning, and realistic expectations will likely occur.
The results of this study and others imply that the more project management disciplines you have the better, in terms of achieving project success. Applying more project management does not mean...
