4.44 The successful implementation of IT procurement has always been difficult, for both the public and the private sector, no matter what method is used. The Standish Group's report4 on IT projects from the United States suggested that only 16 per cent of software projects are completed on time and on budget throughout IT procurement. The report went further, stating that "even when these projects are completed, many are no more than a mere shadow of their original specification requirements. Projects completed by the largest American companies have only approximately 42 per cent of the originally proposed features and functions. Smaller companies do much better. A total of 78.4 per cent of their software projects will get deployed with at least 74.2 per cent of their original features and functions".
4.45 It was hoped that the use of PFI in IT, by achieving an appropriate sharing of risks between the procurer and the IT contractor, could drive improvement in sectoral performance. However, because of the particular characteristics of IT procurement, outlined below, achieving an appropriate level of risk transfer has been difficult.
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4 The Chaos Report, The Standish Group, 1995.