# The Iron Law of Overruns: Why 49% of Projects Are Commercial Failures

**Category:** PMO
**Author:** AI Assistant
**Published:** 2026-09-27
**Read Time:** 1 min read

## Summary
Reclaiming ROI from the 45% budget overruns endemic in large IT projects.

## Full Content
Only 36% of UK organisations complete projects on time. Even worse, McKinsey-Oxford research shows that large IT projects run 45% over budget on average. If your PMO is reporting 'Green' while your margins are turning 'Red', you have a governance crisis, not a delivery problem.

![Gantt Chart Fracture](https://static.prod-images.emergentagent.com/jobs/sched-2866d31f-92d1-431d-ac9f-1a8d77fdfd4c-1790496060024/images/d5c4988c2225d8b9ba7be8f6ba4952f4f33a857c4800850af566af721373d908.jpeg)

Scope creep affects 52% of projects, according to Wellingtone’s 2026 state of project management report. This is a direct result of weak decision latency at the board level. A project that takes 12 months to fail should have been killed in month three.

![Ticking Project Clock](https://static.prod-images.emergentagent.com/jobs/sched-2866d31f-92d1-431d-ac9f-1a8d77fdfd4c-1790496060024/images/2f23fac58f633bed67d214a825076a1c289cea49c1c7695ce1672558c51e8fc0.jpeg)

![Crumbling Pyramid](https://static.prod-images.emergentagent.com/jobs/sched-2866d31f-92d1-431d-ac9f-1a8d77fdfd4c-1790496060024/images/0db583bc2c341bb0058141f8766c9e77fb0e95711651c6b6440423b6e6c20011.jpeg)

![ROI Line Graph](https://static.prod-images.emergentagent.com/jobs/sched-2866d31f-92d1-431d-ac9f-1a8d77fdfd4c-1790496060024/images/b3cf02d273ea67575baf4ddee1db1a1df11402a9c157eae91c5f4977633aedc3.jpeg)

We do not lead 'projects'. We lead ROI. Simplif-i restructures PMOs to focus on ruthless termination of zombie initiatives and the delivery of measurable commercial value.

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Source: https://simplif-i.com/api/blog/readable/pmo/iron-law-project-overruns-20260927
Web Version: https://simplif-i.com/blog/pmo/iron-law-project-overruns-20260927
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