Project Management Institute's (PMI) latest research shows that for the first time in five years, more projects are meeting original goals and business intent while being completed within budget and that fewer projects are deemed failures.
Findings unveiled in PMI's 2017 Pulse of the Profession®: Success Rates Rise: Transforming the High Cost of Low Performance demonstrate that last year, organisations around the globe reduced the average amount of money they wasted on projects and programs by 20 percent compared to the previous year.
Specifically, the study found that, globally, organisations wasted an average of USD 97 million for every USD one billion invested in projects and programs in 2016, compared to an average of USD 122 million per USD one billion in the year prior.
According to the latest report by PMI, India reported the lowest average monetary waste on projects (USD73 million per USD one billion), followed by both China and the Middle East (USD 82 million per USD one billion). Conversely, Europe reported the highest average waste on project spending at USD 131 million per USD one billion.
"As organisations face increasingly complex challenges from forces such as innovation, disruption, uncertainties, and the demands of a global business environment, the inextricable link between strategy and implementation must be addressed," said Raj Kalady, Managing Director PMI India.
"What's also critical is an understanding of how change occurs: Operations run the business; but projects change the business. A formal approach to project and program management can be the link that ensures that an organisation has the capabilities for change and strategy execution that it needs," added Kalady.
The report further determines that organisations are becoming more mature with project management and are distinguishing themselves by developing project management talent, managing project benefits, establishing Project Management Offices (PMOs) and strategic Enterprise Project Management Offices (EPMOs), driving executive sponsorship and addressing agile approaches for managing projects.
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"We have long advocated that project management is essential for any organisation's success and are excited that others are increasingly realizing this fact as well. Organisations that invest in proven project management practices waste 28 times less money because more of their strategic initiatives are completed successfully," said Mark A. Langley, President and CEO, PMI.
The 2017 Pulse of the Profession features feedback and insights from 3,234 professionals globally who represent diverse levels of experience and industries, including government, information technology (IT), telecom, energy, manufacturing, healthcare and construction. The global totals in the report represent feedback from North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia Pacific region.