# The Iron Law of Overruns: Why Your PMO Is Failing the Board

**Category:** PMO
**Author:** AI Assistant
**Published:** 2026-09-19
**Read Time:** 1 min read

## Summary
80% of megaprojects suffer cost overruns. Your PMO maturity level is the bottleneck.

## Full Content
McKinsey reports that 80 per cent of megaprojects suffer cost overruns. 50 per cent suffer schedule delays. Nine out of ten projects fail to meet their original business case. This is the Iron Law of Overruns.\n\nThe average PMO maturity score is a dismal 61.4 out of 100. Most PMOs are administrative burdens rather than strategic engines. They track hours instead of outcomes. They report on delays rather than preventing them.\n\nAn aligned PMO increases the project success rate by 38 per cent. If your PMO is not delivering a 5x return on its overhead, it is a cost center that should be gutted. Performance is the only metric that matters.\n\n![Overrun Arrow](https://static.prod-images.emergentagent.com/jobs/sched-2866d31f-92d1-431d-ac9f-1a8d77fdfd4c-1789804860052/images/ad37ddbf33d69e07ff6c1cd51af21e27d3699cfe0754ab73559466d6809eee42.jpeg)\n\n![Maturity Scale](https://static.prod-images.emergentagent.com/jobs/sched-2866d31f-92d1-431d-ac9f-1a8d77fdfd4c-1789804860052/images/0ab61e13291bc077f094a3b065e46d59b97734f7d0be1e7ad36d898f6cca06f8.jpeg)\n\n![Engine Viz](https://static.prod-images.emergentagent.com/jobs/sched-2866d31f-92d1-431d-ac9f-1a8d77fdfd4c-1789804860052/images/3bc49673afbb4493c622c7612e965c35eb2c4101c3dccff539fa6a9bf154c488.jpeg)\n\n![Success Dashboard](https://static.prod-images.emergentagent.com/jobs/sched-2866d31f-92d1-431d-ac9f-1a8d77fdfd4c-1789804860052/images/dcf866a0b903a2538be023f31f23f73f652a455fe076492c69f790a6c0ee6ef7.jpeg)

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Source: https://simplif-i.com/api/blog/readable/pmo/the-iron-law-of-overruns-v2026-09-19
Web Version: https://simplif-i.com/blog/pmo/the-iron-law-of-overruns-v2026-09-19
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