Tempo study finds one in three enterprise projects fail

New research from Tempo Software finds that nearly one in three enterprise projects fail to deliver meaningful return on investment (ROI), fuelling executive concerns about waste and misaligned priorities in large programmes.

The findings are from Tempo's 2026 State of Strategic Portfolio Management report, based on a global survey of 667 planning and project management office leaders across 43 countries.

Respondents estimated the share of projects that deliver measurable financial return or strategic value. The report treats that combined measure as its definition of ROI.

The survey highlights a wide gap between organisations using frequent, data-driven portfolio practices and those relying on static planning cycles. High-performing organisations reported measurable ROI or strategic value on 81% of projects, compared with 45% for traditional planning organisations.

Tempo also modelled the financial impact of that gap using an illustrative enterprise scenario. For an organisation with USD $880 million in strategic spend, the report suggests misalignment, delays, and low-value work can drive as much as USD $260 million in lost value annually. It estimates USD $75-85 million of that as recoverable waste.

Alignment issues

The research suggests many organisations recognise the need for adaptability but struggle to make it routine across teams. While 90% of respondents said their organisations encourage adaptability and alignment, cross-functional alignment was the most frequently cited improvement area, named by 27% of planning leaders.

Capacity constraints also featured prominently. Understanding team capacity was the most commonly cited barrier to executing strategy, mentioned by 30% of respondents, followed by prioritisation and resource allocation.

Visibility into work in progress remains limited for many organisations. Only 37% of respondents reported good or complete visibility across projects. By contrast, 82% of organisations with fully integrated portfolio processes reported good or complete visibility, underscoring how silos can undermine oversight.

Scenario planning

The survey links scenario planning with higher confidence and stronger reported outcomes. Teams that use scenario planning reported a 17 percentage point higher rate of projects delivering measurable ROI or strategic value than teams that do not.

Scenario planning users also expressed greater confidence in their ability to adapt to change: 85% said they were confident, compared with 46% of non-users.

It also correlates with greater use of AI in planning workflows. Among scenario planning users, 36% reported extensive use of AI in planning, versus 12% among teams that do not use scenario planning.

Integrated processes

Tempo's findings suggest integration matters as much as planning technique. Organisations with integrated portfolio processes reported a 14 percentage point higher rate of projects delivering measurable ROI or strategic value than organisations operating in silos.

The report also identifies a small segment it labels "Dynamic Planners"-organisations that combine scenario planning, integrated portfolio processes, and continuous adjustment. These organisations reported higher confidence and stronger alignment between strategy and execution.

Cancellation paradox

The research argues that stopping work early can signal discipline rather than failure. Teams that review and adjust priorities frequently cancel 8 percentage points more projects than infrequent reviewers, yet deliver nearly 8 percentage points higher ROI.

Nearly one-third of projects were reported as cancelled or stopped early because of misalignment or lack of ROI. High-performing teams, the report suggests, treat cancellation as a strength.

The findings add detail to a familiar enterprise challenge: budget cycles and governance can lock funding into projects even as strategic priorities shift. The report describes this as "strategic drift", as the gap between stated strategy and funded work widens over time.

Tempo CEO Vic Chynoweth said performance comes down to where organisations place resources and how often they revisit those decisions.

"Adaptive Strategic Portfolio Management is fundamentally about resource allocation - are you dedicating your money, people, and time to the work that optimizes measurable value?"

Tempo positions its products around strategic portfolio management, which spans planning, prioritisation, governance, and portfolio visibility. It also integrates with tools including Atlassian Jira, monday.com, Asana, ServiceNow, and Azure DevOps.

Chynoweth said high-performing organisations do not rely on fixed plans and instead revisit decisions using execution data.

"The highest-performing teams aren't clinging to perfect plans or heroic roadmaps. They're reviewing frequently, leveraging the power and insights of AI, adapting based on real execution data, and making timely disciplined decisions. And they're seeing the returns to prove it," he said.

"The takeaway is clear," he added. "SPM isn't about certainty - it's about being ready for and adapting to change. The organizations delivering the strongest outcomes are the ones continuously choosing the right work, at the right time, with eyes wide open."