Despite unprecedented investment in strategy, digital tools, and AI, transformation outcomes remain underwhelming. PMI’s largest-ever global study reveals why.
PMI’s 2025 Project Success report analysed 5,842 projects across 19 countries and reached a clear conclusion:
Execution — not technology — is the primary determinant of whether strategy delivers value
Only 48% of projects are considered successful, meaning they deliver value worth the effort and expense. The rest either fail or underperform.
What separates successful projects is not better planning, but how execution is approached.
PMI identified three execution fundamentals that consistently lift outcomes:
- Clarity of vision — projects with a clear vision outperform others by 59 Net Project Success Score (NPSS) points
- Measurement of value, not just milestones — going beyond execution success to thinking about and constantly measuring the project value lifts success by 23 NPSS points
- Prioritising value over rigid constraints — teams willing to flex time, cost, or scope outperform rigid teams by 18 NPSS points
Beyond fundamentals, PMI’s M.O.R.E. framework shows that mindset and behaviour matter:
- Manage perceptions
- Own success
- Relentlessly reassess
- Expand perspective
Projects where all four are consistently applied achieved a higher success rate compared to when execution is purely task-focused.
The implication is significant: organisations don’t need more ideas. They need support systems, capability, and leadership discipline for execution.
If execution is the missing link between your strategy and results, execution support can close that gap.
Take action: Get our free Execution Readiness Diagnostic or book a discovery call to assess where execution is breaking down and how to fix it.