Principal criteria for project success: description, features and recommendations

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

What is a project? Organization of the enterprise from scratch? Or, perhaps, only its separate division? Building a brand or a single product? Holding a celebration for commercial gain or just organizing a party with friends? And how many of us know how to measure the success of a project? Criteria for success, how many and how they are defined - for many, these concepts are also an unsolved mystery. Lots of questions, right? To get answers to them, read the article.

Classic of the genre

In managerial management, the concept of "project" has a completely logical and understandable definition. This is any time-limited undertaking that has the goal of creating a product, service, or other clear result. That is, the project will not be the entrepreneurial activity itself, but only its start or reorganization. Not creating an idea, but bringing it to life.

If everything is clear with this, then the question of how the criteria for project success are determined is not so unambiguous. Let's start with the fact that it is not always clear that in generalis meant by success. Management specialists believe that a business can be considered successful when its initiators meet the deadline and budget allotted for its implementation, while the quality of the created good corresponds to that stated in the plan. However, there are several parameters that also conditionally indicate the positive implementation of the project or its failure.

Unspoken criteria for project success

To begin with, everyone sees the very definition of success in their own way. According to statistics, far from all enterprises reach their logical conclusion from the first time, but only a third of them. In all other cases, it is necessary to make some adjustments to the work in the course of the order. But again, if you believe the numbers, then the profit of businessmen who sacrificed an increase in expenses for the sake of accelerating the pace of work increases by almost one and a half times (by 140%) compared to those who decided not to inflate the budget, but extended the period for achieving their goals.

Therefore, in addition to the above measures in the form of money, time and quality, two more parameters must be taken into account:

1. New positive experience gained as a result of the team's work.
2. Satisfaction with the results of the task of all participants in the enterprise.

It cannot be said that these are the fundamental criteria for the success of the project, but they are important and must be taken into account by those leaders who seek to develop their offspring, and not stagnate in one place all their lives.

That which cannot be touched

The difficulty in determining the two parameters presented above is that they cannot be calculated. Their results are quite subjective. The experience gained primarily concerns the executor of the order, and with the solution of each new task, the company becomes stronger and more successful. This is important for the future activities of the business, because rich experience helps in attracting customers and makes it possible to successfully implement new projects.

But to achieve full satisfaction with the results of the work is almost impossible. There will always be someone who will not like a business partner. This happens especially often in cases where the goals and criteria for the success of the project are not defined initially. Project management is a separate area in the science of enterprise management, and it should be given special attention. As practice shows, a business ends with success, which is favored by the following factors:

• project manager and his team are ready for change, have flexibility and the ability to quickly redirect the vector of their activities;
• each of the participants in the enterprise has its own share of responsibility;
• there is no hierarchy in the team or it is minimized;
• the company implementing the project promotes the principles of a culture of trust between employees, it is also important to respond to conflict situations in time and avoid tense situations in the team and between the contractor and the customer;
• the last factor is the development of information and communicationculture.

Now let's discuss in more detail the main criteria for success and failure of projects.

Timing and planning

Everyone who has ever been involved in the implementation of the project knows how important it is to draw up a preliminary plan for the future of the enterprise. However, not everyone knows how to do it right. When planning activities, it is necessary to describe each step in great detail, allocating a realistic amount of time for its implementation. It is time management that is of fundamental importance in the implementation of the project. The criteria for the success of any business include this parameter as mandatory for a reason.

If the performer cannot complete the work on time, and the deadline is constantly delayed, there is very little chance of a successful completion of the project. However, you should not work quickly, but at the expense of quality. Often, even those projects in which all deadlines were missed, in the end show good results and bring solid profits.

Price and reallocation of resources

Often in business there are situations when a project is in jeopardy due to insufficient funding. There may not be enough money for various reasons - a change in the regulatory framework, miscalculations in the preparation of a plan, a change in supplier or contractor, etc. The decision to overcome the crisis falls on the shoulders of investors, the head of the company or the project manager.

In the event that additional funding for the enterprise is not forecast, the project manager must acceptcost optimization decision. This is a completely logical and reasonable step, but, as practice shows, a case in which personnel fell under the distribution (reduction of people, refusal to train newcomers, decrease in the general level of competence of employees) is unlikely to achieve great success. Therefore, it is better to go over budget than to pay even more later to correct your own mistakes.

Quality and reduced requirements

Timing and budget are the criteria for the success of the project, which allow for corrections and deviations from the original plan. Most customers agree to pay extra and give more time for the implementation of the case, but no one, we repeat - no one, will agree to receive a low-quality product as a result of work. It is impossible to save neither on raw materials nor on human resources. Such "optimization" rarely leads to success. Exceptions can only be really worthwhile changes that allow you to simultaneously reduce the cost of implementing the project, but do not detract from its prospects.

The project manager is the criterion of his success?

No, rather it is a factor in the success of the enterprise. The proof of this is not one life example. The criteria for the success of a project do not refer to a specific person, but to his organizational performance and his leadership qualities. However, even an extremely experienced and in all respects good project manager will not be able to achieve his goals if he does not cope with a lot of red tape andincompetence of subordinates.

Any specialist can easily prove his worth in the field with which he is familiar, but as soon as he finds himself in an unknown environment, he is likely to fail. But as they say, the one who does nothing is not mistaken, so go for it and succeed!