Project success vs Project management success

Abstract

(500 words)

//A brief summary of the key points of your article

Big idea

The way in which a project's success is measured has evolved over time. Traditionally, projects were measured using a classic approach. Nowadays, we are moving towards using a state-of-the-art approach.

• The classic view focuses on the requirements of the project, short-term output and time, cost and scope
• The state-of-the-art view evaluates the overall business case, the vision, long-term benefits, and success criteria.

A state-of-the-art view makes it harder to assess a project's success as it is vaguer and harder to quantify.

A common description of a project manager’s goal is to manage projects in such a way that brings completion on time, within budget and that ensures the intended quality book. Hence, one would assume that quality and scope have been defined from the very beginning of the project. Even though the right planning of the project does not guarantee success, the lack of planning will most likely cause it to fail. Therefore, one would assume that defining the right planning, budgeting, and scope clear in advance would at least, increase the chances of a project’s success. However, there have been many projects that followed the initial plan, leading to completion within time and budget while meeting previously defined success criteria but ended up failing. These projects failed to provide long-term value for the company or produce any benefits for stakeholders. Therefore, to assess a project’s success, two perspectives have been defined:

• Project success is based on the long-term benefits and value of the project. It is associated with effectiveness, which is the capability of delivering the desired result
• Project management success is based on delivering the requirements on time within budget. It is associated with efficiency, which is doing things right. Successful project management means planning in the right way and following the plan.

Application

(1000 words)

• How to measure them
• Examples?

https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.453.5945&rep=rep1&type=pdf (table1)

//Provide guidance on how to use the tool, concept or theory and when it is applicable

Limitations

(500 words)

• When does it make sense to talk about project management/project success? Fex if a company is not project management driven
• When is only one success enough? Do we always need to have both kinds of success?

• The value of a project and its long term benefits might be very difficult to estimate

//Critically reflect on the tool/concept/theory and its application context. What can it do, what can it not do? Under what circumstances should it be used, and when not? How does it compare to the “status quo” of the standards – is it part of it, or does it extent them? Discuss your article in the context of key readings / resources provided in class. Substantiate your claims with literature

Annotated bibliography

Provide key references (3-10), where a reader can find additional information on the subject. The article MUST make appropriate references to the and reference material provided in class – either incorporating it as a source, or critically discussing aspects that are missing from it but covered by this article. Summarize and outline the relevance of each reference to the topic (around 100 words per reference). The bibliography is not counted in the suggested 3000 word target length of the article