Project success

definitions and measurement techniques

Article Skill Development February 1988

Project Management Journal

Pinto, Jeffrey K. | Slevin, Dennis P.

How to cite this article:

Pinto, J. K. & Slevin, D. P. (1988). Project success: definitions and measurement techniques. Project Management Journal, 19(1), 67–72.
The concept of project success is a topic often discussed researchers and practitioners, yet rarely do these professionals agree on the factors that distinguish a successful project from a failed endeavor. This article examines a systematic approach to gauging project success, one that proposes a more generalized and more widely accessible system of measuring success. It identifies the major characteristics shared by all projects and discusses the criteria that practitioners and researchers have traditionally used to gauge project success. It then discusses the factors used for measuring successful project implementation--technical validity, organizational validity, organizational effectiveness-- and the impact that these factors have on determining a project's success.
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