FMI Corporation, a leading provider of consulting and investment banking services for the built environment, today announced the launch of Part I of the 2025 Project Manager Study. Part I, Why Project Management Still Fails, examines the root causes of poor performance and provides actionable insights for executives and project managers.
Only a small fraction of construction projects are completed on time and within budget. A new FMI study reveals that premature disruption, inconsistent planning and poor field engagement remain widespread across the industry.
Based on responses from 243 CEOs and 84 project managers across the country, the FMI study examines why companies with sophisticated tools and processes continue to underperform. Only 2.5% of contractors reported consistent completion on time and on budget. The findings highlight the gaps between estimation, project management, and field implementation, and provide practical steps to close these gaps.
Early involvement pays off
The study found that early involvement by project managers in estimating and planning significantly improves results. Companies that involve project managers in estimating profit targets are up to 78% of the time, compared to 55% when they don’t. When field leaders share ownership of the plan before mobilization, 76% of projects finish on or before schedule.
However, two-thirds of executives report less than 25% project manager involvement during the estimating process, leaving key assumptions untested. FMI recommends involving project managers early enough to validate productivity, procurement, and scheduling assumptions—but not so deeply that they lose focus on execution.
Planning and field alignment determine success
Only 20% of executives describe their pre-execution plans as comprehensive, while 35% of project managers think so. This gap in perception reflects the lack of a common standard for what good planning looks like. FMI data shows that companies with disciplined and structured planning processes meet or exceed profit goals 81% of the time.
Field alignment is equally critical. Companies that require the field commander to sign off on plans before mobilization deliver on or before the scheduled date 76% of the time, compared to 58% of companies that do not. FMI says best-in-class companies make this collaboration a mandatory step, ensuring that every project begins with clear ownership and accountability.
Inconsistent operations can still erode performance
Nearly 90% of contractors say they have formal project management operating rules, but only 24% apply them consistently. The biggest gaps appear in change order management, where companies with strong, consistent processes achieve revenue reliability of 87% versus 64% among their less disciplined peers.
FMI also notes that there are wide differences between how executives and project managers view financial management skills. Forty percent of executives report significant gaps in forecasting cost to completion, compared to only 8 percent of project managers—a disconnect that indicates unclear expectations and broken communications.
Bottom line
The study calls for early project manager involvement, organized pre-implementation sprints, and pre-mobilization field recording.
The next parts of the series will explore what high performers do differently during implementation (Part 2) and how the role of the project manager evolves from task manager to business leader (Part 3).
Download the first part of the report here.
