Why 70% of Software Projects Blow Their Budget
McKinsey/Oxford: average 45% over budget. 17% of IT projects are 'black swans' with 200-400% overruns. Why fixed-bid makes it worse.
Dennis Vorobyov 7 min read Blog · 42 posts
Research
Dennis Vorobyov 7 min read Only 24% of Developers Are Happy at Work
Stack Overflow 2025: 24% happy, 75% complacent or unhappy. 92% plan to look for a new job within a year. Replacement cost: $150K-$250K.
Dennis Vorobyov 7 min read 80% of Federal IT Spend Goes to Maintaining Old Systems
GAO 2025: 80% of $83B federal IT budget goes to operations and maintenance. Industry spends 60-80% on legacy. 68% say legacy blocks AI adoption.
Dennis Vorobyov 7 min read $44.5 Billion in Cloud Spend Is Wasted Every Year
Harness FinOps 2025: 21% of enterprise cloud spend ($44.5B) is waste. 55% of developers say commitments are based on guesswork.
Dennis Vorobyov 6 min read Scope Creep Adds 20-40% to Outsourced Projects
PMI: 52-55% of projects experience scope creep. Deloitte: scope churn adds 20-40% to outsourced engagement costs. Why retainer models fix it.
Dennis Vorobyov 6 min read Time-to-Hire for Engineers Hits 95 Days
Time-to-hire for senior engineers: 60-120 days. Offer-acceptance rates: falling from 73% to 51%. The math favors retained teams.
Dennis Vorobyov 6 min read 22% of Engineers Report Critical Burnout
LeadDev 2025: 22% critical burnout, 24% moderate. 65% expanded responsibilities. Why AI tools aren't solving it.
Dennis Vorobyov 7 min read 62% of CTOs Can't Align IT with Business Goals
62% of CTOs struggle to align IT with business goals. The gap between business demands and engineering timelines is widening.
Dennis Vorobyov 7 min read 59% of Outsourcing Contracts Fail from Skill Mismatch
59% of IT outsourcing contracts fail from skill mismatch, not technology. Why the engagement model matters more than the code.
Dennis Vorobyov 6 min read Shadow AI Adds $670K to Your Next Data Breach
IBM 2025: shadow AI adds $670K to breach cost. 97% lack AI access controls. 38% of employees share data with unapproved AI tools.
Dennis Vorobyov 7 min read The Compliance Burden Is Compounding Faster Than Teams Can Absorb
GDPR, HIPAA, SOC2, EU AI Act: the compliance burden is compounding. Legacy systems face 4.7x higher compliance overhead than modern alternatives.
Dennis Vorobyov 7 min read When Your Outsourced Team Leaves, the Knowledge Leaves Too
When outsourced teams leave, institutional knowledge leaves with them. 78% of organizations now use in-house centers to combat this.
Dennis Vorobyov 6 min read 40% of Engineering Leaders Now Manage More People Than Last Year
LeadDev 2025: 40% of engineering leaders manage more people than last year. 38% work longer hours. The delayering trap.
Dennis Vorobyov 6 min read 73% of CTOs Report Decision Anxiety. The AI Era Made It Worse.
73% of CTOs report decision anxiety. The decision surface expanded faster than any leader can track. Why it's structural, not personal.
Dennis Vorobyov 7 min read Time Zones Kill Distributed Teams. Nearshore Fixes It.
Harvard research: timezone gaps quantifiably degrade communication. Why nearshore outperforms offshore for synchronous product work.
Dennis Vorobyov 6 min read The True Cost of Outsourcing Is 20% More Than the Quote
The real cost of outsourcing is 20-60% above the quoted rate. Communication, scope churn, and knowledge-transfer drag add up fast.
Dennis Vorobyov 6 min read 48% of Augmented Teams Have High Attrition. Here's Why.
48% of augmented teams experience high attrition. 59% hit skill mismatches. Why dedicated retained teams solve what body-shopping can't.
Dennis Vorobyov 6 min read Replacing One Senior Engineer Costs $150K-$250K Over Three Years
Replacing one senior engineer costs $150K-$250K over three years (SHRM). 3-6 months to full productivity. The hidden cost of churn.
Dennis Vorobyov 6 min read