PM Summit survey: Failed projects cost Irish companies €580,000

Ireland’s most diverse conference for project, programme and portfolio management professionals, today announces the results of a new survey which reveals that failed projects cost Irish companies on average €580,000.

The research, which involved 407 project management professionals in Ireland from a broad range of sectors and was carried out with the assistance of Pan Research, also found that almost a fifth (19%) 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%) are planning to spend more on project management training and education. In fact, organisations are spending on average 16% 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%) of project managers in Ireland: architecture, construction and engineering (27%); and IT and information management (18%).

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.

“While it is positive to see that businesses are planning to put more money towards project management training and education this year, events such as the PM Summit are of great value in terms of sharing experiences, ideas and strategies.

“Effective project management is pivotal within all industries and with approximately 52,000 project managers in Ireland alone, there is a wealth of expertise on our doorstep that can be utilised to help ensure the fulfilment of objectives and completion of projects.”

This year’s PM Summit is taking place at Dublin Convention Centre. Tickets are now available for the PM Summit at €395 for a single ticket or €275 per person for groups of two or more (prices exclude VAT). Tickets guarantee access to three keynote presentations as well as 15 breakout sessions. Refreshments and lunch will be also provided, and delegates will have the opportunity to interact and network with peers. For more information and to register for the event, visit http://www.pmsummit.global/register/.

If you would like to have your company featured in the Irish Tech News Business Showcase, get in contact with us at Simon@IrishTechNews.ie or on Twitter: @SimonCocking