Project Management: Achieving Competitive Advantage, Fifth Edition

Determinants of Project Success

1. LO 1.5 Understand the concept of project “success,” including various definitions of success, as well as the alternative models of success.

Definitions of successful projects can be surprisingly elusive.26 How do we know when a project is successful? When it is profitable? If it comes in on budget? On time? When the developed product works or sells? When we achieve our long-term payback goals? Generally speaking, any definition of project success must take into consideration the elements that define the very nature of a project: that is, time (schedule adherence), budget, functionality/quality, and customer satisfaction. At one time, managers normally applied three criteria of project success:

• Time. Projects ...