Major projects rarely fail without warning.
The warning signs may appear weeks or months earlier — across project meetings, delayed decisions, dependencies, supplier discussions, changing assumptions and formal project information.
The challenge is whether these signals are recognized, connected and brought to management's attention while there is still time to intervene.
This section explores the problem of early delivery-risk detection, the evidence available to organizations, and how AI may change what is possible.
Can AI analyze evidence accumulated across project information and everyday meetings to identify when an important delivery is becoming less likely to succeed?
The Warning Signs Were There: Why Delivery Problems Reach Leadership Too Late
Research from PMI and McKinsey points to a recurring problem: project difficulties often develop gradually, while the information reaching senior management can remain fragmented or arrive after the opportunity for early intervention has narrowed.