PMAlliance released today the results of the “2015 Project Management Insight” conducted by Amplitude Research. The nationwide web-based survey, completed in September 2014, was developed to determine the correlation between project timelines, costs, and the use of project management best practices. A total of 150 project managers and project teams from more than 25 different industry sectors in the U.S. participated.
Participants in the survey were asked a series of questions focused on project management culture, practices, project scheduling, project execution, and project completion. Questions focused on whether the organization provided clearly established and communicated project priorities, followed a formal and structured project management methodology, utilized risk assessment tools during planning and control in order to increase the likelihood of project success, provided adequate project management training for team members, and promoted a culture where it is safe to tell the truth when reporting on a project status. Questions also focused on how project schedules were maintained and used, if metrics for measuring success were utilized, and whether organizational projects were completed on time, and within budget. Of the 150 individuals who participated, more than 1/3 indicated that their projects did not complete on time with the same 1/3 indicating that their project costs also exceeded their approved budgets.
The data provided from the survey shows a strong correlation between projects being completed on time and on budget. It also showed a correlation between projects finishing on time and organizations that follow best practices for project management, including a formalized project management process and structured methodology. The majority of participants who indicated that their projects did not complete on time also tended to run over budget.
Other findings from the survey illustrated the positive impact of project management training on the success of projects. For the most part, participants who indicated that their organization provided adequate project management training also indicated that their organization followed a number of favorable project management behaviors/practices. These favorable practices included: clearly established and communicated project priorities, a formal and structured project management methodology, regularly updated project schedules with reliable information for making business decisions, the alignment between project sponsors and team members on project goals and scope, clarity for team member accountability, the active measurement of project metrics to predict future problems, and the use of risk assessment tools. Each of these favorable project management behaviors/practices in turn could be associated with projects completing on time and within budget.
In summary, the results of the “2015 Project Management Insight” industry survey shows the importance of utilizing a project management process, with a structured methodology, to allow for tasks and priority timeline shifts as challenges and unplanned circumstances occur. While the statistics show some notable shortcomings within organizations and their project management practices, the good news for many organizations is that there is significant room for improvement when it comes to project success by implementing a formalized process.
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About PMAlliance: PMAlliance is a project management consulting and training company headquartered in Atlanta, GA with offices in Chicago, Peoria, Houston, Los Angeles, and the UK. Through its highly experienced, certified facilitators and professionals (PMP®) and proven Duration-Driven (trademark) Project Management methodology, it partners with organizations across the world providing strategic, long-term solutions for mission-critical projects.
