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Simple metric to compare against for % of projects completed yearly

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JoAnna Price Ca, United States
Hi, I'm looking for a simple industry metric to compare against our yearly success in % of projects completed. I am in the Project Portfolio Management space, working closely with our PMO. I realize there are multiple factors that can be assessed separately, but we are starting at a high level. Can someone point me to the industry standard? Thanks!
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Kiron Bondale Retired | Mentor| Retired Welland, Ontario, Canada
JoAnna -

There is NO industry standard. On top of that, success is in the eye of the beholder and might be something other than 0 or 100%.

What you can look for is more specific metrics such as cost overruns, schedule delays, benefits realized according to original projections and so on, but even those are context-specific. For example, it doesn't help to compare a portfolio of complex, large projects to one with simple, small ones.

You could also take a financial view assuming your company is in the for profit space, and look at the rate of return received on your portfolio investments per year and compare that against the returns you'd get on investing that same funding into a conservative portfolio of financial securities.

Kiron
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Keith Novak Tukwila, Wa, United States
I agree with Kiron. Not only are their not standards, but I can't see a standardized metric of that having any real meaning across the landscape of industries.

Completing a high percentage of projects in a given year might seem like a positive sign by indicating a high rate of throughput or cashflow. It can also be a sign that a business is exhausting their currently identified opportunities faster than they can find new ones. That would be a sign of stagnation or decline.

By contrast, a lower % of projects completed than added can show a growing backlog of work that demonstrates growth and increasing future revenue, especially on projects that take longer than a year to complete.
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1 reply by JoAnna Price
Jan 23, 2024 1:08 PM
JoAnna Price
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Thank you Keith!
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Abolfazl Yousefi Darestani Manager, Quality and Continuous Improvement| Hörmann-TNR Industrial Doors Newmarket, Ontario, Canada
I agree with Kiron. There is no industry/profession standard, It depends on a lot of factors.
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1 reply by JoAnna Price
Jan 23, 2024 1:09 PM
JoAnna Price
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Thank you!
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JoAnna Price Ca, United States
Jan 20, 2024 2:19 PM
Replying to Keith Novak
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I agree with Kiron. Not only are their not standards, but I can't see a standardized metric of that having any real meaning across the landscape of industries.

Completing a high percentage of projects in a given year might seem like a positive sign by indicating a high rate of throughput or cashflow. It can also be a sign that a business is exhausting their currently identified opportunities faster than they can find new ones. That would be a sign of stagnation or decline.

By contrast, a lower % of projects completed than added can show a growing backlog of work that demonstrates growth and increasing future revenue, especially on projects that take longer than a year to complete.
Thank you Keith!
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JoAnna Price Ca, United States
Jan 22, 2024 8:33 AM
Replying to Abolfazl Yousefi Darestani
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I agree with Kiron. There is no industry/profession standard, It depends on a lot of factors.
Thank you!

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