PROJECT SUCCESS: ARE WE ADDRESSING THE CUSTOMER’S
“REAL” OBJECTIVES?
Looking at project success In traditional project management, project success is synonymous with the achievement of scope, cost and schedule targets. While this narrow approach is not promulgated by PMI’s Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (Project Management Institute, 2004), it is enshrined in the literature (Pinto & Slevin, 1998, p.67), and taught in popular textbooks (Schwalbe, 2004, pp. 5-7; Meredith & Mantel, 2003, pp. 78-85). The oft-quoted Chaos Report (Standish Group, 2001) group’s projects into three categories: "succeeded", "challenged", and "failed". To be considered successful, the project must be “completed on time and on budget, with all features and functions originally specified.” Conversely, "failed" is defined as "canceled before completed or never implemented". This definition is not consistent with everyday examples around us. Is a vacation trip unsuccessful if it costs more than expected? Is a house renovation project unsuccessful because it takes longer than expected? NASA’s return to flight was deemed successful because Columbia, with its crew of seven, docked with the International Space Station and returned safely to Edwards Air Force Base in California. Nobody argues it was a failure because it took two years longer than initially predicted. The definition is also not consistent with examples published in the literature of project management. Consider the following examples culled from the literature and the authors’ experience.