4 Reasons why your PMO wants an external project assurance service

1. They want to deliver better projects for the business

Because unless you’re an exception, you’re probably missing many opportunities to improve delivery and the overall return on investment. It is a troubling statistic, but the majority of projects delivered in 2016 are more likely to fail or simply not be completed.

Only 2.5% of companies successfully complete 100% of their projects.

This statistic is so awful it’s almost hard to believe, but you can’t argue with the data:

PricewaterhouseCoopers reviewed 10,640 projects from 200 companies in 30 countries and across various industries, found that only 2.5% of the companies successfully completed 100% of their projects.

Whether the completion rate (not provided in the study) was 99% or 1% isn’t the issue. The issue here is that companies simply don’t finish many projects.  CheckProject will provide visibility in advance and help your business to focus and complete high performing projects every time.

2. They want a portfolio that is filled with real business benefit, not black swans.

Any company that is contemplating a technology project should take a stress test designed to assess its readiness, says the Harvard Business Review.  Leaders should ask themselves two key questions as part of IT black swan management:

First,  are you strong enough to absorb the hit if the project goes over budget by 400% or more and if only 25% to 50% of the projected benefits are realised?

Second, can you take the hit if 15% of the medium-sized tech projects (not the ones that get all the executive attention but the secondary ones that are often overlooked) exceed cost estimates by 200%?

These numbers may seem comfortably improbable, but, as the HBR research shows, they apply with uncomfortable frequency. CheckProject will focus you on the projects you truly want and need to complete properly. The initial review will reveal whether you are simply just biting off more than you can chew and you’re walking into likely failure.

We’ll provide suggestions as to how to address this situation in a commercial and pragmatic manner. No surprises, just focussed delivery.

3. They want people to understand that good quality project communication matters to the outcome.

A pivotal survey was conducted in the late nineties by the research company Spikes Cavell. They were tasked with identifying the causes of project failure in the U.K. finance industry. From interviews and analysis, they determined that the leading cause of project failure was communication breakdown.

 57% of projects fail due to “breakdown in communications.

The onus for communication failure falls upon every involved party, but project managers are particularly responsible for accurate communication. CheckProject looks at whether your communication approach will translate into successful projects. This review point captures the capacity to capture key information and then manage for success.

4. They’re tired of not getting adequate funding or resources upfront to BUILD your vision

Nobody likes to sign off a big budget. The project manager doesn’t like it. The PMO doesn’t like it. And the company’s executives and shareholders don’t like it. But from the looks of it, we’re all spending an average of a quarter more than we intend to on our projects.

In a world of unlimited resources this wouldn’t matter, but in a competitive environment it does.

The average cost overrun of all projects is 27% with 39% of projects failing due to a lack of planning, incorrect resources and activities.

A study published in the Harvard Business Review, which analyzed 1,471 IT projects, found that all but one in six projects had a cost overrun of 200% on average and a schedule overrun of almost 70%. And we all have heard about large construction projects — the Channel Tunnel, Euro Disney, and Boston’s “Big Dig” — that ended up costing almost double their original estimate.

Show your love for the PMO

CheckProject is a proven project governance system used by large banks and utility companies to help assess the likelihood of project success and, if need be, take pragmatic steps to avoid failure and improve delivery run rates.