Setting the success criteria to evaluate project success

Tiina Lell14.05.2014

Five main processes of project management

• Initiating •Planning•Executing•Monitoring•Closing Evaluation

IT projects statistics

How success is evaluated?

http://thecriticalpath.info/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/triple.png

IT projects statistics

Success is difficult to define

Sponsor

Project Manager / Team

User

• Value for organization• Get what was asked• On time

• Product• On budget • On time

• Features of the product

• Easy to use• Makes work easier

SUCCESS

Process - related criteria: 1) Time: Did the project come in on schedule?2) Cost: Did the project come in according to budget?3) Product: Did the project result in a product of acceptable quality and

meet other product-related specifications?

Outcome - related criteria which were 4) Use: Were the project's resulting products/services used by its intended

constituents? 5) Learning: Did the project increase stakeholder knowledge and better

prepare the organization for future challenges? 6) Value: Did the project lead directly to the organization's improved

efficiency or effectiveness?

Evaluation should include both process and outcome criteria

http://www2.commerce.virginia.edu/cmit/Research/MISQE%209-05.pdf

Stakeholder Rankings & Ratings of Success Criteria for 15 projects

http://www2.commerce.virginia.edu/cmit/Research/MISQE%209-05.pdf

Setting the success criteria

•Identify and agree what success means to all stakeholders at the beginning of project

•When defined, write them down, so everybody involved understands them similarly

•Keep in mind is that success criteria should be simple and attainable

•Regularly measure progress and performance against the success criteria

Why bother?

•To ensure that you meet your aims and objectives

•To know if what you are doing works and is appropriate

•To give information and input to run projects more effectively

•To increase knowledge and improve skills of people involved in project

Evidence from research• Data was gathered from 36 companies from Australia if and how they measure

IT project success and their confidence in IT projects

• The practices used to define and measure success were compared across groupings of self assessment rating

• Companies that defined success beforehand and then measured results after, had greater confidence in IT project outcomes.

• There was no one „best method“ for defining and measuring success. However:▫ Companies that did so, effectively used a balance of both project management success

and business success criteria. ▫ They agreed on the definition of success before a project and focused on the delivery of

benefits to the company.

Study found that the very act of defining and measuring IT project success contributed to success itself.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0263786308000835

Conclusion

•Projects can be successful on many levels, and a failure on one level does not instantly mean the failure of the entire project.

•And regardless of the level of success or failure - analyzing every project creates benefit in the form of learning.

Thank you!