Poor Project Management Planning Costs Companies Millions

UK companies are wasting millions of pounds every day on development projects because their planning process is flawed from the outset.

A new survey of 500 professional project managers shows a third of technology assignments in the digital, media and telecoms industries are doomed from the start because they have been so poorly conceived.

The survey from PM3 Consulting, a leading supplier of skilled consultants to these industries, says companies often fall at the first hurdle because they have failed to establish a coherent or realistic business case for a project.

ìMost worrying is the inability of these companies to identify the real benefits of a project or what it will really cost,î says Steve Pragnell, CEO of PM3 Consulting. ìAs a result projects run over time, over budget, deliver poor quality products and often fail to realise any tangible business benefits at all.î

Pragnell believes the answer is to get experienced project managers in place quickly and at a cost effective rate to avoid these problems.

ìOur research found that many companies canít articulate what they want from a project, yet 89% recognise that they need a project manager to take overall control.î

The survey also found over half of companies (51%) have unrealistic expectations of their projects and 56% do not define their project success criteria.

ìDigital, media and telecoms companies need to be much more savvy and rigorous about their project management,î says Pragnell.

ìIt is shocking that millions of pounds are wasted due to lack of foresight and inefficiency. Industry needs to wake up to the value of hiring project management professionals. Ultimately it could be the difference between making or wasting millions.î