This document summarizes the results of a 2013 survey on IT project success conducted by Scott W. Ambler. 173 respondents participated in the online survey. The results show that agile, lean, and iterative strategies had higher success rates than traditional and ad-hoc strategies. Specifically, agile and iterative approaches had similar success rates that were higher than traditional or ad-hoc approaches. Additionally, respondents felt that meeting stakeholder needs, delivering high quality work, and providing the best return on investment were more important than being on time or on budget based on the project specifications.

1. Copyright 2014 Scott W. Ambler www.ambysoft.com/surveys/
2013 IT Project Success
Survey Results
Scott W. Ambler
www.scottambler.com
@scottwambler

2. Copyright 2014 Scott W. Ambler www.ambysoft.com/surveys/
How To Use These Slides
• We have provided these slides, and the raw data behind
them, so that others can use them in their own work.
• You may reuse all, or a part of, this slide deck as long as
you provide a clear reference to the source.
• The suggested reference is: Dr. Dobb’s Journal 2013 IT
Project Success Survey posted at
www.ambysoft.com/surveys/
Some slides have notes

3. Copyright 2014 Scott W. Ambler www.ambysoft.com/surveys/
About the Survey
• Ran during November 2013 under the
title “2013 IT Project Success Survey”
• Survey link included in:
– www.ambysoft.com/surveys/ page
– Drdobbs.com article
– Posting to Agile and Lean Software
Development, Agile CMMI, and the
DAD discussion groups on LinkedIn
– Twitter postings via @scottwambler
• Data, summary, and slides
downloadable from
www.ambysoft.com/surveys/
• 173respondents
– 25% worked in orgs of 500+ IT people

4. Important points
• The success rates found in this series of surveys is significantly more
optimistic than the results promoted by the CHAOS report. This is because
this survey asks people to define success in the terms in which the teams
were actually judged, as opposed to imposing a definition of success on
them (such as on time, on budget, to spec which less than 10% of people
actually subscribe to)
• Agile, lean and iterative strategies were superior on average to traditional
and ad-hoc strategies
• There was no statistical difference between the effectiveness of agile and
iterative
• There was no statistical difference between traditional and ad hoc.
Copyright 2014 Scott W. Ambler www.ambysoft.com/surveys/

5. Comparing Software Development Paradigms: 2013
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Traditional
Ad-Hoc
Agile
Iterative
Lean
Successful Challenged Failed
Copyright 2014 Scott W. Ambler www.ambysoft.com/surveys/

6. Comparing Delivery Paradigms
-3.0 -1.0 1.0 3.0 5.0 7.0
Time/Schedule
ROI
Stakeholder Value
Product Quality
Lean
Agile
Iterative
Ad-hoc
Traditional
Copyright 2014 Scott W. Ambler www.ambysoft.com/surveys/

7. Time/Schedule: Which is more important?
Neither are important
Delivering when solution is ready to be
shipped
Both are equally important
Deliver on time according to schedule
2%
39%
42%
16%
Copyright 2014 Scott W. Ambler www.ambysoft.com/surveys/

8. Budget/ROI: Which is more important?
Neither are important
Provide the best return on investment
(ROI)
Both are equally important
Deliver on or under budget
4%
60%
23%
13%
Copyright 2014 Scott W. Ambler www.ambysoft.com/surveys/

9. Stakeholder Value: Which is more important?
Neither are important
Meet the actual needs of stakeholders
Both are equally important
Build the system to specification
0%
86%
10%
4%
Copyright 2014 Scott W. Ambler www.ambysoft.com/surveys/

10. Product Quality: Which is more important?
Neither are important
Deliver high-quality, easy to maintain
systems
Both are equally important
Deliver on time and budget
0%
56%
34%
10%
Copyright 2014 Scott W. Ambler www.ambysoft.com/surveys/

11. Do people really want systems that are on budget AND
on time AND built to specification?
All three
Built to specification
On or under budget
On time to schedule
8%
14%
36%
58%
Copyright 2014 Scott W. Ambler www.ambysoft.com/surveys/
Answer: Very few apparently do!

12. Got Discipline?
Copyright 2014 Scott W. Ambler www.ambysoft.com/surveys/
DisciplinedAgileConsortium.org
DisciplinedAgileDelivery.com
ScottAmbler.com

13. About SA+A
Scott Ambler + Associates (SAA) is a boutique consulting
firm that specializes in helping organizations adopt
disciplined agile strategies, particularly at scale. We offer
training, coaching, and transformation services.
Our website is ScottAmbler.com. We can help.
Copyright 2014 Scott W. Ambler www.ambysoft.com/surveys/