Billions of dollars are wasted every year on failed project investments in different sectors across the Middle East, denting profits and harming reputations in the process, according to CMCS (Collaboration, Management and Control Solutions), a leading project portfolio management provider.

On a global scale, 24 per cent of all projects either fail, are cancelled, or delivered but never used.

In this context, CMCS has earned the ISO 10006:2003 certificate for achieving international quality standards in project management, which stipulate a set of corrective measures that help businesses maximise project success levels.

This certificate marks a new milestone in CMCS’ commitment to implement benchmark standards in project management, after the company was awarded the ISO 9001:2008 certificate for quality management system in June 2007, according to a statement.

A recent report by the Standish Group highlighted a marked decrease in 2009 project success rates, with 32 per cent of all projects succeeding and delivered on time, on budget, and with the required features and functions.

However, 44 per cent of worldwide projects were challenged with completion schedules, over budget issues, and with less than the required features and functions. The remaining 24 per cent represented failed projects that were cancelled prior to its completion or were delivered and never used.

The report, which covers major industries such as engineering and construction, oil and gas, power and utilities, information technology, telecommunication, aviation, also shows that the 2009 results represent the highest failure rate in the past five years.

Aiming to reduce the number of failed projects, CMCS has stressed on the importance of implementing benchmark project management practices to help bolster the success rates of development projects currently being undertaken in the Middle East. Meanwhile, the company is set to showcase its project management solutions for the IT sector during its upcoming participation in Gitex 2009 in Dubai.

“With several companies increasingly looking to invest in new projects and meet their strategic goals, the trend of wasted funds coming from failed projects should be stopped. These failed projects have translated into huge financial losses, which can no longer be recovered and has robbed us of the opportunity to put the funds into other investment initiatives that could have benefited organisations,” stated Bassam Samman, chief executive and founder, CMCS.

“Corrective actions should immediately be taken to effectively tackle this situation, and major, well-established companies have an important role to play in this regard.”

Failed projects can be attributed to many reasons including unclear project objectives, poor planning and execution, organisational and political issues, unqualified project delivery teams, stakeholder conflicts, incomplete risk analysis and treatment, ineffective quality assurance and lack of quality control.

CMCS currently has operating offices in the UAE, Qatar, Oman, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt.-TradeArabia News Service