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Date

Long Haul Part 2
This is Part 2 of a two-part series which references PMI’s two major publications – PM Network magazine and The Project Management Journal. In particular we focus on the two most recent editions of these magazines – the February 2016 PM Network and the February/March 2016 Project Management Journal.
The Long Haul, Part 2: Constructing Success
The PM Journal is not an easy read for most people. Often, titles of the articles contain words like Orthogonal, Iterative, and Multiphase. And (shudder) there is lots of math. Lots and lots of it – including formulas, graphs and sweeping, intricate flowcharts, oh my.
In the most current edition is an article by Terry Williams, of Hull University Business School (UK) and this article not only is actually is quite readable, it’s quite valuable. The abstract says in part:
Defining “project success” has been of interest for many years, and recent developments combine measurable and psychosocial factors that add to this definition. There has also been research into success factors, but little research into the causal chains through which success emerges. Following the multidimensionality of “success”, this article shows how success factors contributing to project performance by a company working on two major construction programs and shows how to map and analyze paths from root causes to success criteria…
As I read through the article, I hoped to find a reference to sustainability. And sure enough – there it was. Referring to the United States Agency for International Development and then the UN and OECD, they list project success in five dimensions:
• Efficiency
• Effectiveness
• Relevance
• Impact
• Sustainability
If the first two bullets remind you of Part 1 of this series – it should. In fact you could combine the first two and the last one and arrive quite neatly at our 3E model (see Part 1). In fact, the article even goes as far as to use the Scottish Parliament Building (pictured in this post) and the Sydney Opera House (which you should remember from Part 1) as examples!
Below we provide an actual extract from the referenced OECD manual on evaluation of projects and programs in which you can see a little more detail.

Williams goes on to reference work by Shenhar and Dvir from 2007 , using these words to describe some of the aspects of project success:
“A longer-term view is thus required: How the success of a project is viewed will often depend on the phase it is in, or how long it has been since the project was completed. Some projects seen as successful or unsuccessful are seen quite differently in the longer term.”
So, what do you think? After looking at these two short posts on “project success”, does this affect how you look at your own projects? Does sustainability have a place in evaluating the project? What problems do you see in incorporating this type of thinking in your projects (and more importantly your programs and portfolios)?
We’d really like to hear from you – about the long term – in the short term.
References:
- Identifying Success Factors in Construction Projects, A Case Study , Terry Williams (PM Journal February/March 2016)
- Samset 2010 – Early Project Appraisal. Basingstoke, England: Palgrave Macmillan
- Shenhar and Dvir (2007) – Shenhar, A. J., & Dvir, D. (2007). Reinventing project management: The diamond approach to successful growth and innovation, Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press
Posted
by
Richard Maltzman
on: February 28, 2016 05:47 PM |
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