On average, private sector IT projects underestimated budget and delivery time of systems by:

When considering the historical performance of private sector IT projects, numerous studies and reports indicate that these projects frequently struggle with accurate budget and timeline estimations. The statistic that suggests a 50 percent underestimation of both budget and delivery time reflects a common trend in the industry where the complexity and scope of technology projects are often not fully understood initially.

Factors contributing to this underestimation include the rapid pace of technological change, evolving project requirements, insufficient initial requirements gathering, and unforeseen challenges during development and implementation. As a result, projects may face delays and exceed initial budget projections by significant margins, with estimates often proving overly optimistic. This figure highlights the need for better planning, risk management, and continuous assessment throughout the project lifecycle to improve the accuracy of budgeting and timeline estimations in IT projects.