The project implementation profile

Although there are numerous models for managing the technical aspects of projects, the field needs a model that also addresses the human and managerial concerns of practicing project management, a model that identifies the factors critical to successful project implementation. This article examines a conceptual model for managing the project implementation process, a model that helps project managers monitor, anticipate, and allocate resource functions, a model that also serves as a project management diagnostic tool. It explains the methodology the authors used to develop this model and defines the ten factors that structured the model's development and the questionnaire--which the authors administered to 94 project managers--surveying the model's relevancy to project implementation. It then details how each of the ten factors critically affects the success of project implementation. It also uses the model--called the project implementation profile (PIP)--to analyze two projects (one failure, one success).