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/ Canadian Government Executive
// March 2016
Special Report
A
round the world, organiza-
tions, including governmental
agencies, struggle to maxi-
mize the return on taxpayers’
investments. It is a constant challenge to
develop, manage and implement com-
plex, large-scale initiatives designed to
benefit a broad range of stakeholders.
A case in point was recently noted
following the biannual audit of Shared
Services Canada conducted by the Au-
ditor General of Canada, Michael Fer-
guson. Ferguson noted that the federal
government computer services agency,
established in 2011 and responsible
for developing a single email system,
consolidating 500 data centres down
to seven and streamlining the govern-
ment’s telecommunications services, is
failing to meet the standards expected
by the 43 departments it serves and has
fallen behind schedule on multiple ma-
jor projects. The cause isn’t apathy or a
lack of technical skills; rather, the chal-
lenge faced by Shared Services Canada
is one common among many organiza-
tions: achieve ambitious objectives us-
ing finite resources.
The Auditor General’s findings come
on the heels of a recently released re-
port from the Project Management
Institute (PMI). PMI’s 2016
Pulse of the
Profession®: The High Cost of Low Per-
formance
revealed that organizations
around the world waste an average of
US$122 million for every US$1 billion
spent on projects as a result of poor
project management practices. This rep-
resents an increase of 12 percent over
last year.
PMI’s annual report featured feedback
and insights from 2,428 project manage-
ment practitioners, 192 senior executives
and 282 Project Management Office
(PMO) directors from a range of indus-
tries including government, financial
services, information technology, tele-
com, energy, manufacturing, healthcare
and construction.
The findings show that organizations
that effectively use formal project, pro-
gram and portfolio management prac-
tices waste 13 times less than organiza-
tions that don’t; however, the report also
demonstrates that few organizations are
successfully embracing these proven ca-
pabilities. The report concludes that or-
ganizations should place a greater em-
phasis on project management training
and development, strategic alignment
and benefits realization. Further, more
organizations should utilize executive
sponsors who can lend project support
from the C-suite.
New Report Reveals
Organizations Waste
an Average of $122 Million per
$1 Billion Spent on Projects
Lack of Project Management Framework Leads
to Wasted Taxpayer Money
Craig Killough,
Vice President,
Organization
Markets for PMI
By Craig Killough