Now, that my daughters are real ladies, I often go for shopping shoes with them. Being on the hunt for the perfect pieces often takes more time as expected and blows the family budget. On the top, it often happens, that we need to bring back the loot because it pinches somewhere and does not fit well at the end.
According to a 2017 report from the Project Management Institute (PMI), 14 percent of IT projects fail. However, that number only represents the total failures. Of the projects that didn’t fail outright, 31% didn’t meet their goals, 43 percent exceeded their initial budgets, and 49 percent were late.
A McKinsey’s research study showed, in 2012, that half of all large IT projects massively blow their budgets. On average, large IT projects run 45 percent over budget and 7 percent over time, while delivering 56 percent less value than predicted. 17% of large IT projects go so badly, they threaten the very existence of the company.
In the last decade, not much seems to be changed. The Standish Group's 2020 CHAOS report estimates that around 66% of software projects fail, and BCG estimates that 70% of digital transformation efforts fall short of meeting targets.
Based on my personal experiences I have heard the critics the most often, that corporate IT miss project deadlines and project costs, because they want to deliver always 100%. Indeed, IT tends to aim of fulfilling the needs by 100%, and ignore the priorities of their customers, meaning that they would be happy with the 80% solution if delivered on time and on budget.
I only can suggest the same I tell my daughters: stop aiming for the perfect shoes. Rather look for the ones which fit perfectly on your feet instead. This will shorten the time and budget and increase the customer satisfaction.