It seems to be straightforward to describe the attributes of a successful project but in reality, it isn’t.
The few possible reasons are:
• There is a lack of universal harmony of what comprises project success metrics. It seems that every project management educational source and organisational process maturity standard has a slightly different definition of project success.
• For many projects, the acceptance and success criteria are never established or agreed to by all key stakeholders
• In many cases, an organisation might define a project as successful even when some of the textbook criteria for project success (such as schedule,cost, and client expectations) are not completely met. This is often the case if the project achieved strategic business or organisational objectives.
• In other cases, a “cancelled” project might be a “successful” project if there was a plan for one or more “go/no-go” decision points.
Now the million-dollar question How can we define a successful project?
From a utopian, academic standpoint, the “ultimate” successful project would be defined as a project that:
• Delivers as promised—Project produces all the stated deliverable.
• Completes on-time—Project completes within the approved schedule.
• Completes within budget—Project completes under the approved budget.
• Delivers quality—Project deliverable meet all functional, performance, and quality specifications.
• Achieves original purpose—The project achieves its original goals, objectives, and purpose.
• Meets all stakeholder expectations—The complete expectations of each key stakeholder is met, including all client acceptance criteria, and each key stakeholder accepts the project results without reservation.
• Maintains “win-win” relationships—The needs of the project are met with a “people focus” and do not require sacrificing the needs of individual team members or vendors. Participants on successful projects should be enthusiastic when the project is complete and eager to repeat a similar experience.
There are also “less-than-successful” projects often termed as troubled projects. The reasons for project troubles can be generally classified in two groups: project-level issues and organizational-level issues. One of the key differences in the two groups is the level of control that the project manager has over these factors. For project-level issues, the project manager has tremendous influence on these matters. In most cases, the project manager can either avoid the issue or act to resolve it if it does occur.
For organisational-level issues, the project manager cannot generally fix the problem, but the project manager can certainly have influence on them by asking the right questions, anticipating the associated risks and issues, focusing extra efforts to compensate for the issue, and developing contingency plans to minimise the impact on the project.
These issues are not exclusive, and, in most cases, there is overlap, and if you have one of these factors present in a project, you will generally have others. Thus, a good project manager can still end up managing a “troubled” project. Sometimes, your best project management work might be in minimizing the damage from a troubled project.
Although no two projects are ever the same, and every project has its own unique set of challenges, there is a common core of principles that successful projects share. By understanding these, a new project manager can better prioritize and better focus his project management efforts. These qualities are generally true about successful projects:
• Project is aligned with organizational goals.
• Project has effective management support.
• Project has effective leadership.
• All key stakeholders agree on the purpose, goals, and objectives of the project.
• All key stakeholders share a common vision on the project results.
• All key stakeholders share realistic expectations for the project results.
• The project results meet the expectations of the key stakeholders.
• Stakeholder expectations are constantly managed and validated throughout the project.
• There is an investment made in proper planning.
• The project scope, approach, and deliverables are clearly defined and agreed upon during planning.
• Each stakeholder and team member’s role(s) and responsibilities are clearly communicated and understood.
• A high priority is placed on accurate and complete work effort estimates.
• A realistic schedule is developed and agreed upon.
• The project team is results focused and customer-oriented.
• Requirements are effectively defined and properly managed.
• Project communications are consistent, effective, and focused on
understanding.
• Project progress is measured consistently from the current baseline.
• Project issues and subsequent action items are aggressively pursued.
• There is a strong sense of collaboration and teamwork.
• Expectations and changes surrounding scope, quality, schedule, and cost are closely managed.
• Project resources are skilled and available when needed.
• Project team proactively identifies risk and determines mitigation
strategies to reduce project exposure.
• Project team anticipates and overcomes obstacles to ensure project meets objectives.
Here I am ending this post and in the next post we’ll focus on essential set of tangible tools that any project manager needs to have to best manage any project. Till we meet next keep reviewing and exploring this world of Project Management.
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