Deepesh RammoorthyICT Project Manager ( PMP®AgilePM®Certified ScrumMaster® (CSM®))| Australian Red Cross Blood ServiceTarneit, Vic, Australia
Ashutosh,
If you did not have clearly defined success criteria at the beginning of the project, you can create some and then you could actually get an electronic survey organized and sent to stakeholders on the projects, with questions specifically targeted on the project objectives like On-time delivery, on-budget delivery, aspects of scope or quality which would make the project a success like improving market share, successful introduction of a new product/service or result, introduction of a superior version of an existing product, service or result.
You may not get an accurate answer in terms of numbers/percentages or dollars , but you may get a feel of how stakeholders define success. Was on-time delivery important to them? was on-cost delivery important to them or was product quality more important to them? Are they still considering the project to be a success if effective communication and change management was undertaken even though cost and time blowouts may have occurred?
Survey Monkey is an online tool that enables you to conduct such surveys and report from them. Saving Changes...
Anton OosthuizenSenior Business Analyst / Project Manager| Self EmployedPretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
Typically from a PM perspective the success of a project is superfluous at best because between the business case and the project plan it gets lost. The business case that must justify the need for the project might state that a system is needed to increase revenue by 10% over a 5 year period by reducing waste at the production plan. This is where the value lies. Most cases the project plan states that system xyz must be implemented for $10 within 1 week and if that is done they consider it a success. So we need to be careful about project execution success vs project success. Project execution is successful is system xyz is implemented of $10 or less in 1 week or less.
Project success on the other hand goes back to the business case and might only be measurable over time, depending on the objectives. If the objective is to achieve something over a financial quarter then you cannot realistically measure the success once project execution is completed. Saving Changes...
John FarlikProgram & Project Management| SPX FLOWWaxhaw, Nc, United States
Jan 04, 2019 10:22 AM
Replying to Sergio Luis Conte
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At the very begining, before the project is started, project objectives have to be defined because them will be the measurement of project success. Project objectives have to be defined from solution objectives mainly from product/service/result to be created. With that on hand you have all you need to determine project success.
Sergio,
As always, your thoughts are excellent. I would add that project success criteria can be either quantitative in nature (i.e. we will save $X of money, deliver X widgets) or qualitative in nature (i.e. we will serve our organization by enhancing customer experience...). I've found that the best measures of success include both elements. The benefits realization and organizational adoption goals are (often but not always) qualitative, while the cost/schedule goals are most likely quantitative. This "mixed methods" approach to success brings "richness of purpose" to the project.
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1 reply by Sergio Luis Conte
Jan 07, 2019 3:11 PM
Sergio Luis Conte
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Is we are talking about meassures my position is: 1-if you are meassure the success of a project then all meassures must be defined on things the project can achieve which are: scope, time, cost and quality. 2-things like "enhacing customer experience" are wrong because it will be achieved because the product/service/result created by the project not by the project itself. The only thing that project itself can assure is that defined product/service/result will be created as defined by assuring quality.
Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
Jan 07, 2019 10:54 AM
Replying to John Farlik
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Sergio,
As always, your thoughts are excellent. I would add that project success criteria can be either quantitative in nature (i.e. we will save $X of money, deliver X widgets) or qualitative in nature (i.e. we will serve our organization by enhancing customer experience...). I've found that the best measures of success include both elements. The benefits realization and organizational adoption goals are (often but not always) qualitative, while the cost/schedule goals are most likely quantitative. This "mixed methods" approach to success brings "richness of purpose" to the project.
Is we are talking about meassures my position is: 1-if you are meassure the success of a project then all meassures must be defined on things the project can achieve which are: scope, time, cost and quality. 2-things like "enhacing customer experience" are wrong because it will be achieved because the product/service/result created by the project not by the project itself. The only thing that project itself can assure is that defined product/service/result will be created as defined by assuring quality. Saving Changes...
