11 April 2008

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Educational Snapshot from SeminarsWorld^®
A New Paradigm for Project Success

By Jeff Berman, MBA

What is project success?

Most project managers have been taught that success is defined as being on time and on budget. Executives have a different viewpoint.

They define project success as delivering business value. This means that a project must deliver one or more of the four main drivers of project value:

• Cost reduction
• Business growth
• Speed and efficiency
• Maintaining operations in regard to regulatory compliance

It is of course a good thing when a project is on time and on budget, but meeting those criteria does not necessarily make a project successful. Indeed, is it possible that a project can be on time and on budget and not successful if it does not improve a organization ’s overall wellbeing.  

One way to determine the true definition of project success is to first look at the causes of project failure.

Many executives have told me their project(s) failed because the solution implemented—whether a new technology, process or organization change—was not adopted by the people impacted by the project.

They’ve told me they had spent money—in some cases millions of dollars—with little or no result, because the people wouldn’t adapt to changes within the organization. 

This means system users were not using the new technologies or that department personnel and process owners were not adhering to new policies and procedures.

The project was on time and on budget, but the people reverted to the old way of doing things after the project was implemented. Project objectives were not achieved and no business value was obtained.

Simply put, business value is a multiplier that increases the overall success of a project. The more business value achieved, the more successful your project. This means that even though a project is not on time and/or on budget, it can still be successful if project business value is achieved.

A project may be delivered on time and on budget and still be considered successful if no business value is achieved. However, it is safe to say that companies that deliver projects without providing business value will ultimately lose profits, lack business growth and lose to the competition.

On the other hand, the organization that uses time, money and resources most efficiently will win in the end. The truly efficient project manager will keep in mind the strategic objectives of a project and not just the tactical execution. She/he will go beyond being just on time and budget and begin working within the new paradigm for project success—delivering business value.

Jeff Berman, MBA, is president of the Jeff Berman Group, and is a sought-after speaker and thought leader. He is the author of the book Maximizing Project Value as well as several white papers, published articles and training books. He will conduct the seminar, Maximizing Project Value on 25-26 June at Mega SeminarsWorld!^® Orlando, Florida, USA. Learn how to place the emphasis on value when managing a project from inception to completion. Mr. Berman invites your questions or comments.