Step Up: A New Vision for Project Success
Only 7% of project professionals practice the behaviors linked to stronger project outcomes. Our latest research shows what we can learn from them.
Project work is reshaping our world. Organizations everywhere are facing accelerating change including advances in AI, economic uncertainty, shifting customer expectations, and overlapping global pressures. To keep pace, they rely on projects to introduce new products and services, build new capabilities, and navigate transformation.
That makes project success more important and urgent than ever. Yet as PMI President & CEO Pierre Le Manh highlighted in his opening keynote at PMI Global Summit 2025, just over half of projects are viewed as successful by their stakeholders—far from where organizations need to be. And only 7% of project professionals are using all four elements of the M.O.R.E mindset — and when they do, Net Project Success Score (NPSS) jumps to 94%.
He followed with a simple truth: “We have the opportunity together to do much better.”
This year, that opportunity has a name: Step Up. Our new research report, “Step Up: Redefining the Path to Project Success With M.O.R.E.,” redefines what success means today and what it takes to achieve it.
Why we need a new understanding of project success
For decades, success has been defined through the narrow lens of time, cost, and scope. But organizations now expect something more fundamental: value relative to investment, measured by stakeholders — organizational leaders, decision makers, project teams, and beneficiaries.
This shift reflects a broader reality:
Projects aren’t just vehicles for delivery.
They’re engines of capability, transformation, and resilience.
Projects that focus on vision, measurement, and value — not just time, cost, and scope — are far more likely to succeed.
That’s why PMI launched a global research program in 2024 to understand what truly drives success. The 2025 findings show a consistent pattern: fundamentals matter, but the biggest impact comes from mindset.
The fundamentals that drive project success
The “Step Up” report identifies several practices that consistently lead to stronger outcomes across industries and regions. Here are the three most powerful signals:
- Clarity of vision: Projects with a clear, well-communicated vision for value delivery see significantly higher success rates.
- Effective measurement: The “measurement trifecta” — defining success criteria, establishing a measurement system, and tracking outcomes through the lifecycle — correlates with stronger performance.
- Value-focused delivery: Teams that make decisions based on value relative to investment — not just tasks — deliver better results.
When we prioritize value relative to investment and outcomes as perceived by all stakeholders, project success multiplies.
The mindset that multiplies success
M.O.R.E. is the mindset at the heart of project success — a set of four expectations that define how project professionals lead, make decisions, and deliver value. It reflects what the data shows clearly: how professionals lead shapes outcomes as much as what they deliver.
Stakeholders want project professionals who act with agency and confidence. They expect us to lead, not just execute.
The four elements of M.O.R.E are:
- Manage perceptions
- Own success
- Relentlessly reassess
- Expand perspective
Yet only 7% of project professionals consistently practice all four elements.
Net Project Success Score (NPSS) is PMI’s measure of perceived project success — the balance of successful versus unsuccessful projects as judged by stakeholders. As added elements of M.O.R.E. are practiced, NPSS go up, reaching as high as 94—more than triple the baseline.
This is the shift shaping the profession.
Build the Skills Behind the Mindset
Strengthen the behaviors linked to higher project success. Our PMI Essentials M.O.R.E. Maximizing Project Success course offers practical guidance to applying the mindset in your daily work. Free for PMI members.
Step up: A call to the profession
Across industries, stakeholders increasingly want project professionals who can
- take ownership and act with confidence,
- lead outcomes, not just delivery,
- navigate complexity and adjust course,
- deliver value that extends to sustainability and long-term impact.
These expectations define the road ahead.
“Step Up” is an invitation for every project professional to claim their role as a leader in value delivery.
Believe in your own power to make a difference. When we step up, we elevate our teams, our organizations, and ultimately our world.
PMI will be with you at every step — supporting your learning, elevating your impact, and helping you lead the projects that elevate our world.
Tags: Leadership | Strategy | Transformation | Project Performance
Step Up: The Path to Project Success
Discover how PMI’s newest research empowers project professionals with the insights they need to deliver success and unlock value for teams, enterprises and communities.
About the Author
Deborah Walker, CPMAI
Content Marketing Lead
Deborah Walker leads strategy and hands-on execution for PMI’s owned content platforms, including the PMI Blog, Projectified® podcast, LinkedIn newsletter, and more. She collaborates with subject matter experts and senior leaders to translate complex topics into clear, actionable guidance for project professionals.
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