Creative Project Management

1Why Do 70 Percent of Projects Fail?

We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it—and stop there; lest we be the cat that sits down on a hot stove-lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove-lid again—and that is well; but she will also never sit down on a cold one anymore.—Mark Twain, Following the Equator, 1897

Why Projects Fail

If project management is such a good idea, why do 70 percent of all projects fail, including those led by experienced and capable project managers? Why does it seem to be so difficult to get projects done within the Triple Constraints of time, cost, and performance—or, in layperson’s language, on time, on budget, and to spec?

Here are a few instructive examples of some of the more recent ...