Page 267 - Global Project Management Handbook

13-4 COMPETENCY FACTORS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT

assess the current state of those factors that have been shown to be critical for project
implementation success. Further, a tool that would allow project managers to gain an
overall strategic sense of the project-implementation process would be of great benefit
in efforts to exert successful comprehensive project control. It was in order to address
these points that the PIP was created. The PIP provides two important resources: a
10-factor model of project implementation and a measurement instrument for assess-
ing those factors.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE 10-FACTOR MODEL

In developing the PIP, projective information was obtained from 54 managers who had
experience with a variety of projects. Participants of this study were asked to consider a
successful project with which they had been involved recently. Assuming the role of project
manager, they were asked to indicate activities in which they could engage or important
issues they could address that would increase the likelihood of project success significantly.
This process was repeated until a set of critical activities or criteria was uncovered (Pinto
and Slevin, 1987). These identified activities resulted in the creation of a set of 10 critical
success factors for project implementation and resulted in a 50-item instrument that can
be used to measure project-implementation performance in relation to the critical factors.
These 10 critical success factors were validated subsequently and found to be general-
izable to a wide variety of project types in a study of over 400 projects (Slevin and Pinto,
1986, 1988). Further, the PIP allows project managers to systematically monitor these
10 critical success factors in relation to their specific projects. On both an individual and
collective basis, the following factors are strongly correlated with project success.

Project Mission
Mission refers to the initial clarity of goals and general directions for the project. In a
sense, the first step in the project development process is to know what it is one wishes to
develop, what the project’s capabilities are, why the project is needed, and how it will
benefit those who use it. The decision to develop and implement a new project often sig-
nals the commitment by the organization of a large amount of time, money, and human

and material resources. Before such a commitment occurs, it is vital to have a clear, well-
acknowledged vision of the goals or mission underlying the project. Projects often fail
because of the need to redefine the mission after substantial resources have been spent on
“mission creep” as the project proceeds.

Top-Management Support
An important question to be asked once the mission of the project is determined is
whether there exists a willingness on the part of top management to truly support the
project. It may be easy for top management to pay lip service to the “importance” of the
new project, but often this support can be reduced or not provided over time. Is top man-
agement committed to providing the necessary resources throughout the development and
implementation process? Will top managers use their authority to help the project? Will
top management support the project team in the event of a crisis? Answers to these and
similar questions frequently indicate the true degree of support the project manager can
expect to receive from top management. Top-management support is more than budget
authority. It also implies access to decisions and decision makers.