The 2020 report shifted the definition of success from "delivering code" to "delivering value ." A project that runs late but saves the company $10 million is still a success; a project that finishes early but automates a useless process is a failure.
If you are an enterprise leader, spending the $1,000 on the official PDF is worth it—not for the stats, but for the "Risk Assessment Matrices" in the appendix. For everyone else, use the summaries above. The ghosts of the 1994 chaos have been tamed, but in 2020, Standish warned of a new chaos: the chaos of doing the wrong thing very, very quickly. standish group chaos report 2020 pdf
Historically, success rates climbed from 16% (1994) to a peak near 35% in the mid-2010s. By 2020, the numbers had plateaued: The 2020 report shifted the definition of success
Conversely, in successful projects listed in the 2020 appendix, "Emotional Maturity" (the ability to say no to stakeholders) was ranked higher than technical skill. The ghosts of the 1994 chaos have been
This article compiles the known public data, historical trends, and expert analyses of the 2020 report to give you a comprehensive overview without requiring you to pay the $1,000+ licensing fee.