Do You Know How To Define Project Success?

 

The definition of project success is obviously critical. After all, that’s how you’ll be judged as a project manager. Unfortunately, there are almost as many definitions of project success as there are project management professionals. To add to the confusion, every organization has its own view of what matters in project outcomes.
So, instead of trying to focus on one definition, an article is going to offer a framework of thought on success. It has been found valuable in the many discussions taken place all over the years. If you consider the various ways that projects could be deemed successful, you come to realize that project success exists on four levels, each with a unique perspective and set of metrics. And despite the specific values used to quantify success or failure, the principle remains constant. Following are the four levels of success that are mostly used:

Meeting Project Targets
Did the project meet the original targets of cost, schedule, quality, and functionality? Although it’s certainly admirable to beat these targets, the concept of success is tied to whether the project manager did what was expected. In other words, maximum success is zero variance between project targets and results.
There are at least two reasons why this interpretation is embraced .First, it supports the organization’s need for certainty. Second, It is believed that project managers who chronically beat targets are
suspect, at best.

Project Efficiency
How well was the project managed? This is a metric for the process. If the project meets its targets, but the customer groups, project team, or others were adversely affected by the project experience, the project will probably not be perceived as successful. Project efficiency can be evaluated through the use
of criteria such as the following:
• The degree of disruption to the client’s operation
• How effectively resources were applied
• The amount of growth and development of project team members
• How effectively conflict was managed
• The cost of the project management function

Customer or User Utility
To what extent did the project fulfill its mission of solving a problem, exploiting an opportunity, or otherwise satisfying a need? If you do not satisfy the true need, the project may be perceived as a failure.
Here are some questions to help assess customer or user utility success:
• Was the original problem actually solved?
• Was there a verifiable increase in sales, income, or profit?
• Did we save as much money as expected?
• Is the customer actually using the product as intended?

Organizational Improvement
Did the organization learn from the project? Is that knowledge going to improve the chances that future projects will succeed at each of the three levels described above? High-performing organizations will learn from their failures—and their successes—and use that knowledge to improve their success rate in over time. This level assumes a long-term perspective and measures organizational learning and a resultant increase in project successes. The primary tools for organizational improvement are the maintenance of accurate historical records and the widespread use of lessons learned