Failed Projects Cost Irish Companies €580,000, Finds Survey

The results of a new survey have revealed that failed projects cost Irish companies on average €580,000. Completed for the PM Summit – an Irish conference for project, programme and portfolio management professionals – the research involved 407 project management professionals in Ireland from a broad range of sectors and was carried out with the assistance of Pan Research.

The study found that almost a fifth (19 per cent) of the recent projects that Irish organisations have undertaken have failed. Too many scope changes, communication and organisational problems, and poorly defined objectives were cited as the most common causes of failure, while the most costly reasons were lack of involvement of all team members in project decisions and poor resource planning.

It therefore comes as no surprise that two out of every three companies (68 per cent) are planning to spend more on project management training and education. In fact, organisations are spending on average 16 per cent more in this area this year compared to last.

There are two trades in which project management is particularly important and which make up almost half (45 per cent) of project managers in Ireland: architecture, construction and engineering (27 per cent); and IT and information management (18 per cent).

Commenting on the findings, Raymond Poole, CEO, PM Summit, said: “Inadequate or ill-prepared project management is costing Irish organisations millions and causing a great deal of stress to those involved. This research highlights that more investment, in terms of both time and money, is required to increase the success rate and reduce the huge expense of failed projects.”

Pictured above: Vicky Poole, Director, PM Summit and Raymond Poole, CEO, PM Summit

Photo by: Simon Walsh