Introduction
Project management practices
As the project management discipline and use of its best practices spread rapidly around the world, project management practices become a widely documented layer of an infinite number of elements which can be all as important as the others. Project management practices contribute to project success. Even though projects succeed differently, all project successes have common denominators.
In light of all the factors influencing a particular project and all the practices available to manage projects, how can a project manager ensure she or he is doing the right thing right?
Common success evaluation denominators
It is proposed to simplify the approach to view, plan, and assess the events, practices, tools, behaviors, constraints or other project context elements that influence or impact project success. Project managers could use common success denominators providing a quick reference for identifying what is essential to plan and achieve project success. Once those PM practices are selected for a particular project, the project manager shall be in a position to also assess the impact of the culture elements influencing a project and make adjustments to the project management practices planned to be used.
Project success stories share some similar views but in many other aspects they are explained quite differently. The discussion presented in this paper provides a basis for determining simple commonalities between all projects successes and results. The elements of culture influencing projects are also explored.
Project priorities and decision making
The project manager needs to constantly assess and review project priorities and make decisions accordingly. By using decision making references, established at the beginning of a project, the project manager can more easily monitor the impact of changes on these references throughout the project, quickly assess situations and address them. Sharing these decision making references with the project team also facilitate the management of the project.
The proposed simplified references for the assessment of projects priorities and assessment of probability of success include results driven key stakeholders, a project team with a mission, and a structured execution. These are the proposed groupings for project management essentials. The project manager's responsibility to make a project successful is like keeping three air filled balloons aloft at all time, each one representing a PM essential group. The assessment of the airborne balloons situation throughout the project forces the project manager to make decisions on which PM essentials grouping needs most attention as specific point in time. It allows the project manager do the right thing right.
Organizing project management essentials for success
Success Management
Attempting to predetermine and address what can affect project performance and results can be defined as risk management. When the upside of potential project situations is examined, the practice can be referred to as risk and opportunity management. When also addressing closely what can make the project successful, the exercise that can be referred to as success management.
Success management involves a series of elements of success that need to be addressed sequentially and then concurrently during the execution of a project as to influence project results. The success elements include project management essentials, success criteria and success factors. Exhibit 1 lists basic differentiators between the proposed elements of success. All should be addressed for any project meant to succeed.
Exhibit 1 – Project success elements differentiators
Each element of project success contributes to decision making and project priorities. Addressing project management essentials ensures the project team embraces practices conducive to facilitating the management of the project. Success criteria are documented for each individual project to provide a focal point for the team to achieve project results, output and outcome. Success criteria are measurable. Success factors, on the other hand, are determined upon selection of the project success criteria to identify specific activities, product features or conditions that should be performed or achieved to facilitate meeting the project criteria for success.
Ultimately, the achievement of the criteria established for a specific project's success are influenced by the means used to manage and execute the project, and the project specific activities selected to produce the results required. In the absence of documented success criteria, individuals will make judgments on a project's success based on what they know of the project, their perceptions and their culture. To harmonize the different views from the different project stakeholders, while respecting diversity, a project team ought to establish a common basis for evaluating project success.
The involvement of a multitude of individuals, teams and organizations in a project brings about a multitude of cultures. These elements of culture must be recognized by the project manager and their impact assessed on the selection of project management best practices.
Project management essentials breakdown structure
Exhibit 2 proposes a structure representation of the essential project management elements that make a project successful. The main groupings of elements are provided with proposed nomenclature. One may change the title of these groupings to adapt to their global project management environment, industry, and culture. Results driven stakeholders are those key individuals or groups representing controlling or influencing project funding and making executive decisions. The existence of a project champion reinforces these ‘Drivers’ for example. Projects managers supported by qualified team members providing knowledge and effort, take ownership of the project objectives. All together, they are the ‘Doers’, the team with a mission. The third element, structured execution, reflects the need for being organized. Tools and methods applied with a balance of structure and flexibility are the ‘Devices’ that make up the underlying tangible elements of managing project with success.
Exhibit 2 – Project management essentials breakdown structure
The assessment of projects' priorities and probabilities of success can be quickly performed, based on a qualitative review of the contributions of the results driven key stakeholders, the status and performance of the project team, and the existence and quality of a structure for executing the project.
These three project management essential elements are subjected to controllable and sometimes uncontrollable influences including sensitivity to established cultures from individuals, organizations and business environment. It can be shown that these culture elements truly are the basis for the challenge to make a project successful. A simple approach can be used to group these culture elements under a culture elements breakdown structure, as to assess their influence on the selection and application of project management practices.
Organizing culture elements
Elements of culture
Cultures are created. Cultures influence. Cultures are embraced. Cultures change and adapt. Providing a single definition for culture may limit its understanding and interpretation. Herein, culture ultimately includes everything. It is all that can explain the context of an entity, including the perceptions and behaviors surrounding it.
Failing to address the impact of culture elements may not affect a project in progress because individuals and organizations adapt to situations. However, your project may feel the adverse effects of culture elements experienced in previous projects. Or, the next project may suffer, or benefit, from your actions, as a project manager, regarding cultural elements on a current project. These situations reflect the baggage accumulated by project contributors, and transferred from one endeavor to another. It reflects how cultures, can impact a project.
Culture Breakdown Structure
The intent, herein, is to organize and simplify the representation of the culture elements as to provide a means to assess quickly its impact on a project's success. While the proposed representation is the author's view, one can build her/his own grouping of culture elements and generate a different grouping perspective. The use of a breakdown structure does not limit the interaction between its sub-elements. Rather, it offers a practical representation that can be memorized and modified as required to facilitate situation analysis and problem solving.
Projects are entities. Cultures influence entities. Since there is no project without people or some kind of organization represented, it is proposed to represent the elements of culture accordingly. Exhibit 3 shows a culture breakdown structure with three main culture element groupings; organization, individual and project management cultures.
Exhibit 3 - Culture elements breakdown structure
The sub-elements define the proposed contents of each one of the three summary elements. The added dotted boxed elements indicate the breakdown structure is by no mean exhaustive.
Influence of culture elements and project management essentials on project success
Analyzing the influence of the culture elements on a particular project better prepares the project manager for the realities of projects. The multiple culture elements impacting a project are the project team's obligation to address. Deciding to address them is deciding to increase the probability of project success.
While a project's requirements may be expected to address specific culture differences or issues, influencing the execution of a project with the culture elements is as critical. More specifically, the selected project management practices should reflect the recognized culture elements.
Exhibit 4 combines the summary groupings of culture elements and project management essentials into an instrument facilitating the analysis of the factors that should influence the selection of project management practices most appropriate for a particular project. The analysis should also result in the tailoring of the project management practice to a proper depth of application, as to contribute favorably to the success of the project.
Exhibit 4 - Selecting project management best practices for a particular project
A frequent evaluation of the state of the project management essentials throughout the project, together with the measuring of established and documented success criteria provide a means for making decisions improving the likelihood of project success. The objective and usefulness of this assessment instrument is reflected in the actions taken, decision made and priorities established.
Conclusion
There is no single recipe for project success. However, there are essential project management ingredients which allow a quick and meaningful appreciation of what is needed for a particular project to succeed. Also, the influence of culture elements on project success should be addressed by the project manager by selecting and implementing considerate project management practices bringing value to the execution of the project.
As a project stakeholder or observer, one can develop a realistic view about the probability of success of a project at any time during its planning and execution. If you know what action you need to take to influence the positive outcome of a project, you understanding where you stand.