Organizations aren’t good at doing projects. The popular Chaos Report shows mediocre results at best. In short — only every third project is a success. The rest? Failures or challenged — breaching time, buget and/or scope constraints.
Source: The Rise and Fall of the Chaos Report Figures
Some argue the methodology used in the report isn’t correct. It’s good to consider this criticism (see bottom links if you’re interested in details), but as practitioners we can see for ourselves. After several years of project work, when it comes to projects and success, I am moderately optimistic. The good thing is… there’s plenty of space for improvement!
[1] The Rise and Fall of the Chaos Report Figures
[2] Quantifying requirements volatility effects
[3] Let’s say “No” to groupthink and stop quoting the Chaos Report
Updated — Nov 26, 2010:
[4] Standish Report
