Researchers such as Robert Glass have chronicled various projects that failed [20]. The Standish Group reported
for 2010 that 24% of I.T. projects were canceled before they were completed, 44% were completed and operational
but were over budget, late, and/or completed with fewer features and functions than originally specified; 32% were
delivered on time, on budget and met requirements [51]. (It must be noted, however, that some researchers have
raised issues with the Standish reports, e.g., [17], [24]). Research in the UK found that 9% of projects had been
abandoned and that, on average, projects overshot budget by 13% and schedule by 20% and underdelivered on scope
by 7%. Of course, project termination does not necessarily equal project failure. Certain projects may curtail further
losses by terminating, and “If you don’t try some risky projects, you’ll lose your competitive edge” [9]. The
probability of failure of I.T. projects appears to increase with project size as measured, e.g., in personmonths
[48] or
in function points [23].