Are construction projects more successful than software projects?

Question

I'm a construction project manager, and I read a lot about project management in general, and I'm getting the feeling that the risk that a software project fails is much higher than that of a construction project. Actually, it is very rare for construction projects to completely fail or to be canceled.

Additionally, there are lots of "challenged" software projects that although were finished, they cost much more and they took much more time than originally planned. Again, this is rarely the case in construction projects.

Am I alone in the assumption that software projects tend to fail (much) more than construction projects?

Answer 1

Many reports on software projects shed a light on the high failure rate of this project type.

I have to say that I agree with you, construction projects are much more successful than software project, but there is a reason why.

Construction project management is a very old practice, the process of any construction project has been tested and refined over thousands over years (literally, pyramids, etc...) What happened is when project management became a process, the framework already adapted on construction projects was forced on software projects, which are of a complete different nature, and require a lot of feedback in the execution phase between the client and the project manager.

Another reason why construction projects are more successful is because construction projects are typically managed by an engineer who studied 4 years or more with the sole purpose of managing these projects, that same thing cannot be said about a software project manager, who was typically a programmer and then was promoted into this position.