The Standish Group report 83.9% of IT projects partially or completely fail

Published on: August 01, 2024
Last updated: August 29, 2024 Read in fullscreen view

Recommended for you

02 Nov 2021 What is Terms of Reference (ToR)? 1093
18 Oct 2021 Key Elements to Ramping Up a Large Team 892
03 Apr 2022 Microsoft Solutions Framework (MSF) 884
01 Oct 2020 Fail fast, learn faster with Agile methodology 755
14 Oct 2021 Advantages and Disadvantages of Time and Material Contract (T&M) 636
13 Apr 2024 Lessons on Teamwork and Leadership from Chinese story book "Journey to the West" 602
19 Oct 2021 Software development life cycles 598
18 Oct 2020 How to use the "Knowns" and "Unknowns" technique to manage assumptions 598
20 Jul 2022 Software Myths and Realities 589
19 Oct 2021 Is gold plating good or bad in project management? 578
02 May 2022 What Is RAID in Project Management? (With Pros and Cons) 535
13 Jan 2020 Quiz: Test your understanding project cost management 498
08 Oct 2022 KPI - The New Leadership 486
28 Jul 2022 POC, Prototypes, Pilots and MVP: What's the differences? 477
14 Jun 2022 Example and Excel template of a RACI chart in Software Development 473
18 Dec 2023 The Cone of Uncertainty in Scrum & Requirement Definition 437
18 Jul 2021 How To Ramp Up An Offshore Software Development Team Quickly 417
12 Oct 2022 14 Common Reasons Software Projects Fail (And How To Avoid Them) 397
27 Jan 2020 Should a project manager push developers to work more hours due to mistakes of manager schedule setting? 389
23 Sep 2021 INFOGRAPHIC: Top 9 Software Outsourcing Mistakes 324
13 Oct 2021 Outsourcing Software Development: MVP, Proof of Concept (POC) and Prototyping. Which is better? 317
28 Oct 2022 Build Operate Transfer (B.O.T) Model in Software Outsourcing 311
12 Aug 2022 What is End-to-end project management? 303
04 Mar 2023 [Medium] Box-Ticking: The Management Strategy That’s Killing your Productivity 299
11 Jan 2024 What are the Benefits and Limitations of Augmented Intelligence? 295
07 Jul 2022 Managing Project Execution Terms 293
12 Dec 2021 Zero Sum Games Agile vs. Waterfall Project Management Methods 291
05 Mar 2021 How do you minimize risks when you outsource software development? 290
10 Dec 2023 Pain points of User Acceptance Testing (UAT) 290
03 Jan 2023 Organizing your agile teams? Think about M.A.T (Mastery, Autonomy, Purpose) 289
28 Dec 2021 8 types of pricing models in software development outsourcing 286
17 Oct 2021 Does Fast Tracking increase project cost? 279
26 Sep 2024 Successful Project Management Techniques You Need to Look Out For 271
19 Apr 2021 7 Most Common Time-Wasters For Software Development 265
31 Oct 2021 Tips to Fail Fast With Outsourcing 259
13 Dec 2020 Move fast, fail fast, fail-safe 253
09 May 2022 Build one to throw away vs Second-system effect: What are differences? 250
06 Feb 2021 Why fail fast and learn fast? 232
06 Jun 2022 Change Management at the Project Level 230
22 May 2022 What are common mistakes that new or inexperienced managers make? 226
10 Apr 2024 The Parking Lot Method: Unlocking a Simple Secret to Supercharge Your Productivity 222
04 Oct 2021 Product Validation: The Key to Developing the Best Product Possible 218
15 May 2022 20 Common Mistakes Made by New or Inexperienced Project Managers 202
04 Oct 2022 Which ERP implementation strategy is right for your business? 202
18 Aug 2022 What are the consequences of poor requirements with software development projects? 201
06 Nov 2019 How to Access Software Project Size? 200
01 Aug 2022 Is planning "set it and forget it" or "set it and check it"? 189
31 Aug 2022 What are the best practices for software contract negotiations? 186
10 Nov 2022 Poor Code Indicators and How to Improve Your Code? 178
02 Dec 2021 3 Ways to Avoid Scope Creep in IT Consulting 163
26 Dec 2023 Improving Meeting Effectiveness Through the Six Thinking Hats 158
17 Feb 2022 Prioritizing Software Requirements with Kano Analysis 153
01 Mar 2023 Bug Prioritization - What are the 5 levels of priority? 148
02 Jun 2024 Reviving Ancient Wisdom: The Spiritual Side of Project Management 142
05 Sep 2023 The Cold Start Problem: How to Start and Scale Network Effects 128
10 May 2022 Levels of Teamwork 126
01 Dec 2023 Laws of Project Management 125
01 May 2024 Warren Buffett’s Golden Rule for Digital Transformation: Avoiding Tech Overload 123
07 Dec 2023 12 project management myths to avoid 120
30 Nov 2023 Project Managers, Focus on Outcomes — Not Deliverables 119
24 Nov 2023 The project management paradox: Achieving MORE by doing LESS 109
05 Jan 2024 Easy ASANA tips & tricks for you and your team 105
06 Mar 2024 [SemRush] What Are LSI Keywords & Why They Don‘t Matter 102
02 Nov 2022 Difference between Change Management and Project Management 100
21 Jun 2024 Dead Horses and the Escalation of Commitment 96
23 Jun 2024 Best Practices for Managing Project Escalations 88
05 Jun 2023 Fractional, Part-Time (virtual) or Interim CTO: Who Will Cover Your Business Needs? 81
12 Mar 2024 How do you create FOMO in software prospects? 79
01 Mar 2024 10 Project Management Myths 66
14 Mar 2024 Why should you opt for software localization from a professional agency? 64
12 Aug 2024 Understanding Google Analytics in Mumbai: A Beginner's Guide 53

The original Standish report was published in 1994 and has been updated a number of times. Standish and other groups have published additional reports shedding more light on other factors with IT projects.

According to Standish only 16.2% of projects were deemed successful by being completed on time and budget, with all the promised functionality. A majority of projects, or 52.7%, were over cost, over time, and/or lacking promised functionality. That leaves 31.1% to be classified as failed, which means they were abandoned or cancelled.

It is useful to review the top factors found in each of the three project classifications.

The top five factors found in successful projects are:

User involvement
Executive management support
Clear Statement of Requirements
Proper planning
Realistic expectations

These factors should be put on a checklist for anyone considering an IT project, whether large or small. While risk rises with size and complexity, even simple projects can fail if the participants do not have clarity on these five principles.

The top five indicators found in challenged projects are:

Lack of user input
Incomplete Requirements & Specifications
Changing Requirements & Specifications
Lack of executive support
Technical incompetence

This list adds a few variables that didn’t show up in the first list, namely changing requirements and specifications, and technical incompetence – two more things to watch out for. If you see change orders coming out of a project, you can be assured the risk has risen substantially. Technical competence means you need to confirm the necessary skills and not just give elements of the projects to internal people because they are enthusiastic and seem bright.

All of the top factors found in failed projects include:

Incomplete Requirements
Lack of user involvement
Lack of resources
Unrealistic expectations
Lack of executive support
Changing Requirements & Specifications
Lack of planning
Didn’t need it any longer
Lack of IT management
Technical illiteracy

You could write a book with lots of interesting stories coming out of this list. For example, we worked with an organization where requirements were carefully reviewed in group sessions and documented. When the ERP implementation project began, ownership decided to include a second company with a totally different sales and manufacturing process. It went live but it was challenged by both time and cost. In another project one staff member boldly stated the new system was “going in over his dead body.” Executive sponsorship meant we just went up the ladder and the project proceeded without any more hostility.

Other projects start without complete requirements because the customer is too impatient to hit a certain date or won’t sit down long enough to confirm the details. Surprises don’t help anyone. If too many new requirements come up during the interviews or implementation phase, park them in the parking lot and come back to them in one or more future phases. You are better off getting the core system running well and then implementing incremental change.

About the Author

Armin Shahamati

Senior Software Engineer

A A A A

[{"displaySettingInfo":"[{\"isFullLayout\":false,\"layoutWidthRatio\":\"\",\"showBlogMetadata\":true,\"showAds\":true,\"showQuickNoticeBar\":true,\"includeSuggestedAndRelatedBlogs\":true,\"enableLazyLoad\":true,\"quoteStyle\":\"1\",\"bigHeadingFontStyle\":\"1\",\"postPictureFrameStyle\":\"1\",\"isFaqLayout\":false,\"isIncludedCaption\":false,\"faqLayoutTheme\":\"1\",\"isSliderLayout\":false}]"},{"articleSourceInfo":"[{\"sourceName\":\"\",\"sourceValue\":\"\"}]"},{"privacyInfo":"[{\"isOutsideVietnam\":false}]"},{"tocInfo":"[{\"isEnabledTOC\":true,\"isAutoNumbering\":false,\"isShowKeyHeadingWithIcon\":false}]"},{"termSettingInfo":"[{\"showTermsOnPage\":true,\"displaySequentialTermNumber\":true}]"}]

Via

{content}