Page 268 - Global Project Management Handbook

PROJECT CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS 13-5

Project Schedule/Plans
In order for a project to proceed successfully, it requires a well-laid-out and detailed
specification of the individual action steps required. All necessary activities must be
scheduled. Further, there must be plans in place to determine when vital resources
(human, budgetary, and material) will be required. Finally, it is important that a measure-
ment tool be in place to assess the actual progress of the implementation against schedule
projections. It is essential to measure actual progress (such as earned-value analysis)
rather than simply resources spent.

Client Consultation
The client refers to anyone who is the ultimate intended user of the project. Clients can be
the firm’s customers but also may be internal to the organization. Because a project is
intended for the client’s benefit, it is vital that communication and consultation with the
clients occur not only at the beginning of the development process but also throughout
the project’s implementation. Projects are often subject to a variety of changes through-
out their development; as a result, clients must be kept apprised of the status of the proj-
ect and its capabilities rather than surprised at the end when the project is transferred to
them. The project team must remain aware of the client’s needs.

Personnel

The parent organization’s people represent a very important ingredient for successful proj-
ect implementation. Simply put, does the organization have the necessary personnel to staff
the project team? Is it necessary for the company to recruit or provide additional training to
personnel in order for them to function effectively on the project team? Too often organiza-
tions ignore the importance of this factor, sometimes assigning individuals to project teams
on the basis of convenience or their nonusefulness to other, current organizational activities.
As a result, the project team may be staffed with the castoffs of other departments, a formula
sure to result in potential future project difficulties and possible failure.

Technical Tasks

This factor refers to assessment of the availability of the required technology or techno-
logical resources to aid in the project’s development. Does the organization possess the
technological resources to develop the project? Further, it requires a determination of
whether or not those individuals who are developing the project understand it from the
technological standpoint. For successful project development, skilled people and ade-
quate technology are equally important. Often senior management underestimates the
importance and difficulty of the technical tasks performed by these skilled people.

Client Acceptance
The penultimate question that must be asked as the result of any project development is,
“Is the client satisfied with the project and making use of it?” One finding that has come
through time and again is that it is not enough to simply create a project, transfer it to a