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Success Factors
of
Project Managem ent: The Critical Few
- An Empirical Investigation -
Prof. Dr. Hans Georg Gemuenden
Dr. Thomas Lechler
I. INTRODUCTION projects (about 1,800 successful, 1,200 unsuccessful and
- -
about 276 0 unclassified projects). The basic structure of this
conceptual research frame differentiates between four classes
of variables: Peo ple, Activities, Barriers and Success.
During recent years, project management has been firmly
established as a co ncept for organ izing extraordinary,
innovative as well as strategic endeavors. However, still
many of these projects fail. What are the recommendations
that research can provide to practicing managers?
The following contribution aims at providing general
recomm endations regarding project manag ement. This effort
is based on the assumption, that the project success depends
on a relatively small number of variables, the so-called
success factors. For the purpose of this study, success factors
of project managem ent be defined after BOYNT ONnd ZMUD:
,,Critical success factors are those few things that must go
well to ensure success for a m anager or
an
organization .. [or
a project]. l
11.
THECONCEPTUAL
FRAMEWORK
In order to select the most relevant variables for testing, a
comprehen sive review o f the em pirical research on su ccess
factors of project management was conducted. This review
included
44
studies, which investigated a total of 5,760
Figure
1
The conceptual research frame
People:
The factor top management includes direct support as
well as the general interest of the top m anagement for an
individual project.
The factor project leader refers to the formal authority of
the project leader.
The factor project team describes know-how and the
social skills of the project team.
Activities
The factor participation refers to the involvement of the
project team in decision making.
The factor information/communication describes the
formal information system as well as the effectiveness of
communication.
The factor
planning/controlling
focuses on effectiveness
of planning an d controlling.
Information
Communication
Boynton und Zmud (1984), p 17 Additions by
the authors.
cf.
Fritz
(1992)
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Barriers:
Success:
The factor
conflicts
pertains to both the intensity and the
kind
of
the conflict.
Changes o project goals
refers to the extent, importance
and frequency of changes.
The determination of project success is a very complex and
multidimensional issue.The present study examines the total
impact of each individual su ccess factor on overall projetct
success. For a detailed analysis of the factors influences on
the three sub-dimensions (effectiveness, efficiency, social
success) of project su ccess cf. LECHLER2
111. RESEA RCH DESIGN AND DATA ANALYSIS
The data for this research was gathered through a
questionnaire which was distributed to the members of the
German Project Management Society (Gesellschaft fur
Projektmanagement (GPM)). After the initial contact by
telephone, two questionnaires3 were mailed out to each
respondent, asking them to report on one project they regard as
successful, and one project they regard as f a i l ~ r e . ~he data
collection effort achieved an overall response rate of
43 ,
resulting in a sample of
N=448
projects. The literature on
project management features only one study with a larger
ample.^ The sample fo r the present investigation contains data
on 248 successful and 190 unsuccessful projects. These two
sub-groups are not entirely balanced because som e respondents
were unwilling to report on an unsuccessful project or didnt
have any experiences in that regard.
The data analysis was conducted using the LISREL-
Approach (Linear Structural Relationships). using LISREL
version 7.13 6
I v .
EMPIRICAL
ESULTS
The present model displays considerable explanatory power.
The eight success factors explain approximately 59 of the
variance in project success (r2=.59).
The individual success factors exert their influence on project
success in different ways, as will be explained below:
Top management directly promotes project success as
customer and highest organizational authority yl .24).
Through
transferring formal authority
to
the project leader
yzl
.65) and by influencing the design of the project team ( ~ 3 1
.3
5), Top management provides the organizational environment
for the successful completion of the project. Top management
also impacts the process directly through the factor participation
Gemuenden (1990); Hauschildt, (1991); Lechler (1997).
A part of the questionnaire was taken from the surve y of Pinto
(1
Cf.: Rothwell et al. (1974).
Baker, Murphy and Fisher (1974).
Joreskog,
K.;
Siirbom
D. (1989).
986 .
y4] .47). The considerably high impact of top m anagement on
project success can also be interpreted from a more critical point
of view, as it could indicate an overly strong involvement of top
management in the process of the project itself.
The project leader exerts influence over the factor
informatiodcommunication
( P 6 2
.lo). The impact of the
project leader on planning/controlling, however, was not
supported by this data,
so
that this hypothesis has to be rejected.
Additionally, there was no significant direct influence of the
factor project leader on project success, so that this hypothesis
had to be rejected too.
The
project team
is the main driving force for project
operations and thus directly promotes project success
P I 3
.36). A good team actively utilizes its decision m aking authority
Pd3 .33). Its know how leads to better planning and more
adequate and flexible controlling of the project
PS3
.36) in
addition to improved information flows/communication within
and outside the team (P63 .65).
This data does not display a significant relationship between
participation
and project success,
so
that the hypothesized direct
impact is not supported. However, participations strong
influence on communication
( P64
.32) gives evidence to the
assumption that participative leadership enhances the formal
and informal exchange of information within the project.
Additionally, the project team participating in project relevant
decisions does improve on the quality of planning and
controlling PS4 .29).
Out of the group of activities the factor
inform tiodcommunic tion
shows the strongest direct impact
on project success ( D l 6 .13). Its influence on planning and
controlling ( p 56 .20) documents the importance of free
information flows on that success factor.
Surprisingly low is the direct impact of planningkontrolling
on project success PI2
. lo).
This result contradicts the
widespread opinion that plannin ghon trolling is one of the most
important success factors. The relatively weak influence could
be attributed to high levels of uncertainty, that force the project
team to take ad hoc actions as reactions to ever changing
situations. In such cases, the need to react may outweigh the
benefits of the preset project plans. Another explanation for this
weak influence could be that the project team does not take the
plan seriously, in which cas e the plan would serve as an alibi.
The strong negative impact of
conflicts
on project success
demonsaates the significance of effective conflic
management to projects. Oftentimes the causes for conflicts
come from outside the project. For instance, differences
between project and line management over authority as well
as political activities are frequently being carried into the
project from outside. Conflicts are particularly likely to occur
in so-called week project organizations, where projec
decisions have to be approved by numerous departments and
hierarchical levels. Additionally, projects
in
these
organizations are more apt to experience high personne
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Figure
2:
Path diagram of the empirical model Level of significance
)
y1 =.19
turnover, which, in turn, may increase the chances for
changes in goals (another obstacle to project success).
The second barrier,
changes
n
goals, also displays a
strong negative impact on project success. Because of
complexity and uncertainty, project goals are often difficult
to determine. However, our data documents that a lack of
continuity in goals is significantly related to unsuccessful
projects.
Ow research also suggest, that the potentials for
conflicts and changes in goals are built up before project
start, and thus are hardly controllable during the cou rse
of
the
project.
CONCLUSIONS AND OUTLOOK
Making use of LISREL, a structural model was developed
which explains 59 of the variance in project success while
taking into account causal effects among the eight success
factors. The demonstrated indirect effects underline the
importance of accounting for interrelationships in
determining the relative impact of the eight factors on project
success. Recognizing these structural issues, the analysis
shows all eight factors to be significantly related to project
success.
1.
2.
3.
8
9.
REFERENCES
Boynton, A.; Zmud, R. (1984)An Assessment of Critical Success
Factors. In: Sloan Management Review ,
Nr.
2, S.17-27.
Fritz, W (1992)Marktorientierte Untemeh mensfuhru ng und
Untemehmenserfolg, Grundlagen und Ergebnisse einer empirischen
Untersuchung.
Gemuenden, H.G. (1990)Erfolgsfaktoren des Projektmanagements-
eine kritische Bestandsaufnahm e der empirischen U ntersuchungen. In:
Projekt Managemen t, Nr. 1,2, S.4-15.
Hauschildt, J. (19 91)Zur Messun g des Innovationserfolgs. In: ZfB,
Nr.
Lechler, T. (1 997)Zu r Messung des Innovationserfolgs. Lang Verlag,
Frankfurt.
Joreskog, K.; Stirbom, D. (1989)LISREL 7 User's Reference Guide,
Scientific Software, Inc.
Murphy, D.; Baker, N.; Fisher, D. (1974)Determinants of Project
Success, Boston College, National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, Boston
.
Pinto, J.K. (1986)Project Implementation: A Determination Of
Its
Critical Success Factors, Moderators And Their Relative Importance
Across The Project Life Cycle, Dissertation at the University of
Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh.
Rothwell, R.; Freeman, C.; Horsley, A.; Jervis, V.; Robertson, A.B.;
Townsend, J. (1974)SAPPHO updated - project SAPPHO phase
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In:
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377
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