For Good Measure

Bill is President, Project Management Partners in Lexington, Mass., and is a consultant and trainer.

  Manufacturing   ProjectsAtWork  

To measure project success, you need to define it. Then develop metrics that matter.

Most people have an intuitive appreciation for what success is, but defining it and measuring it are a bit tougher. If you're an actor, Tom Hanks is a success while Tom Arnold is not-or is he? If we define acting success in terms of critical acclaim, Hanks wins over Arnoldevery time. If we define acting success as steady, above-average pay, then Arnoldis quite successful.

In order to measure success, we must first define it. But how do we define success for projects?

To the extent that the early project management literature dealt with project success at all, the definition was usually limited to meeting cost, schedule and scope objectives-was the project finished within budget, on time and according to the specifications? Later, both quality and stakeholder satisfaction were often called out separately rather than being subsumed within scope.

The common theme in all cases was that project success was defined in ways that could be measured the day the project was finished. But what about the Sydney Opera House? It cost 16 times as much to build and took four times as long to complete as original estimates. A project management disaster produced an enduring and inspiring civic symbol. Was this project really a failure?

Many …

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