MIT Sloan Management Review Article on A Better Way to Avoid Project Delays

Many organizations estimate project timelines inaccurately. Working from past project examples, however, can improve on-time completion.

Why do so many managers underestimate the time it will take to complete a significant project?

Almost half of business projects fall behind schedule, and up to a third are not completed at all, according to a 2021 report by the Project Management Institute. The Berlin Brandenburg Airport took 14 years to construct instead of the estimated five, and its cost ballooned from a 2009 budget of 2.83 billion euros to over 6 billion euros by the time it was completed. And after the V.C. Summer nuclear plant expansion project in South Carolina was abandoned in 2017, two executives involved in what became known as the “Nukegate” scandal pleaded guilty to fraud charges stemming from their efforts to conceal delays.

Late projects trigger cost overruns, reduce quality, and upset clients. While some projects fail due to poor execution or changes in scope, a frequent culprit is an unrealistic time frame that dooms the project before it even starts. Nonetheless, planners often set project schedules that are too short — partly because of uncertainty and ambiguity around the full scope of work required but also due to the expectations and enthusiasm of project sponsors.

About the Author

Matej Lorko is a researcher at the University of Economics in Bratislava and at the Prague University of Economics and Business. Maroš Servátka is a professor of economics and an MBA deputy director at Macquarie Business School in Sydney and the founding director of the MQBS Vernon L. Smith Experimental Economics Laboratory. Le Zhang is an associate professor of economics at MQBS and associate director of the MQBS Vernon L. Smith Experimental Economics Laboratory.

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