The majority of large technology projects don’t meet user expectations, and they cost more and take longer than expected. In fact, one-third of large projects go significantly over budget or are cancelled outright. In general, the larger the project, the greater the risk. And the risks are significant: The potential loss from a major project delay can range from 100-170% of investment cost.
By investing in quality assurance, large projects have a much greater chance of success. Investing just 3% of the program budget on de-risking can bring a return of 30-60 times the cost.
De-risking a large program requires addressing the typical causes of failure, including:
BCG’s phased approach de-risks delivery by offering early intervention. The initial phase is a comprehensive program review using a five-lens framework. This framework is used over two phases: program review and setup, and ongoing independent quality assurance monitoring.