Measuring program success

Growth in the use of programs has led to a requirement of understanding what constitutes program success. A measurement construct for program success, which comprises four dimensions--delivery capability, organizational capability, marketing capability, and innovative capability--was developed based on 172 responses to a web-based questionnaire to program managers. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and canonical correlation analysis were applied to test for the relationship between program success and program context. Results showed that the measurement construct for program success was stable over different types of program contexts. Program context was also operationalized through two dimensions: program types and program context characteristics. It provides a tool for further investigation into program assessment. The paper also includes a literature review that starts with the success school of project management as it provides the theoretical perspective for the study.