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84% of European Organisations Use Ad Hoc Methods To Manage Project Portfolios
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Research Reveals Companies Lack the Ability to Monitor and Manage IT Projects
London, 20th June 2005 - A survey of 400 European CIOs, CTOs and IT directors, commissioned by Compuware Corporation (NASDAQ: CPWR), the software and services company, has today revealed that 84 per cent of IT departments are relying on ad hoc methods to keep up-to-date with the status of IT projects. This includes more than half (57%) of the respondents who stated that they are still relying on manual methods (e.g. paperwork, meetings) to serve this function.
57 per cent of respondents also stated that their ability to provide information about the progress of IT projects to other business departments could be improved, which is not surprising as three out of four of the questioned C-level executives (76%) admitted they cannot provide other departments with automated business intelligence about the status of IT projects. Only 16% of organisations are able to aggregate information about IT projects into a single view in order to gain real-time visibility on the status of projects and to make decisions based on accurate data.
"Over the years high profile IT projects have dominated the agenda of many organisations as they strive to become more competitive, meet regulatory requirements and enhance their IT infrastructure. Millions of pounds have been invested in IT projects and it is unacceptable that rather than reading about successes, we consistently hear news of failures. This isn't exactly startling when you consider that so few companies actually have a consistent and integrated approach to project portfolio management. It concerns me that so many organisations are taking unnecessary risks with their IT investment by relying on manual methods to keep abreast of progress," said Ayman Gabarin, VP Compuware IT Governance, EMEA. "Projects attract internal and external attention because their outcome has a profound effect on business operations, reputation and in most cases the organisations bottom line. Therefore it is astonishing that so many people are unable to provide valuable enterprise-wide business intelligence and are at best performing guess work on whether projects will be delivered on time, to specification and within budget guidelines and to ensure that projects remain relevant as the business needs change."
A shocking 78 per cent of organisations also admitted their mechanism to identify, track and report the risk of deadline and budget over-runs is ad hoc. The net result of this inadequate approach is that 35 per cent of companies acknowledged that 21-40 per cent of their IT projects fail to meet completion deadlines, with a further 18 per cent admitted 41-60 per cent of projects exceeded deadlines. In addition to this, 29 per cent of companies stated that 21-40 per cent of their IT projects go over budget. A further one in four companies said that 41-60 per cent of IT projects exceed their budget.
"With such a high percentage of IT projects going over time and budget, it is clear that companies need to recognise that traditional approaches to project management are not enough and won't allow them to evaluate how their performance can be improved. While IT projects only account for a minor part of the IT budget, they have high visibility making it more critical that they are managed well and that the business is kept up-to-date with their progress." continued Gabarin. "Additionally IT departments shouldn't be complacent about non-project related activities as these underpin the whole organisation. IT needs to know the impact of their operational activities, define and manage service level agreements and ensure that the value IT brings is visible. Making sure that IT is aligned and that it provides (and is seen to be providing) a valuable service has to be at the top of any CIO's agenda. It would appear that, at the moment, the majority of European organisations are a long way off being able to do just that."
This research commissioned by Compuware Corporation was undertaken by
an independent research company, called Illuma Research, with 400 CIO's,
CTO's and IT Directors from France, Holland, Germany and the UK.
About Compuware
Compuware Corporation (NASDAQ: CPWR) maximises the value IT brings to the business by helping CIOs more effectively manage the business of IT. Compuware solutions accelerate the development, improve the quality and enhance the performance of critical business systems while enabling CIOs to align and govern the entire IT portfolio, increasing efficiency, cost control and employee productivity throughout the IT organisation. Founded in 1973, Compuware serves the world's leading IT organisations, including more than 90 per cent of the Fortune 100 companies.
For more information visit: www.compuware.co.uk
Compuware is a registered trademark of Compuware Corporation. All other product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
Compuware is a member of The Prince's Trust Technology Leadership Group (TLG), a premier industry-networking forum for leaders within the IT industry, established in May 2002.
For Compuware Press Inquiries Contact:
Sophie Jarvis/ Barbara Bajkowski
Spark Communications
020 7357 8612
barbara@sparkcomms.co.uk
sophie@sparkcomms.co.uk
