Critical Success Factors in Project Management - Coursework Example

Project Management There exists a broad acknowledgement in virtually every industry that a project manager requires a focused effort to help in gaining a detailed comprehension of the probable impacts of the critical success factors that can by extension help in their involvement in today’s and the future projects. In this manner, their likelihood of attaining the projected goals can greatly improve in view of budget, resources as well as time constraints. This paper is organized into sections. The first section gives a general overview of what it takes to succeed in a project. The second section provides a review and a discussion of the competences of a project manager. The third section presents a review and discussion on critical success factors in project management. The fourth section discusses the nature and level of manager competences that would be considered as critical success factors and finally, we have the conclusion. Project Management Introduction There have been arguments on the definition that is appropriate project success. From 1960, researchers specializing in project manager have been attempting to define project success with the academicians continuously debating over what project success entails. Even though the number of existing literature centered on the criteria for project success has grown in number, minimal empirical data is found within such literature. Project success definition takes varied dimensions depending on the individuals that form part of the involved team. Establishment of project success needs not to be handled as a binary issue; instead it can be on a varying scale of sorts (Camilleri, 2011). Meaning that if a project for instance had three targets that are not met exactly, it will be helpful knowing the degree to which the project neared those predetermined targets. This quantitative assessment can in some way be handled using prioritization models of the formalized portfolio system. The model entails attaching a weight to every attribute of project success and the attributes as are identified as deliverable, cost, duration and the extent to which the project meets the business objectives. To be considered successful, a project would need to meet the business requirements, be delivered and maintained within schedule, be delivered and maintained within budget and be able to deliver the anticipated return on investment and business value (Kezner & Learning, 2013). From a vast number of surveys, there is evidence that It based projects have experienced failures in the past. In fact, the extended period of learning and implementation of different project management methodologies along with the relevant controls and measurement has not left the IT projects any better than those old times when a single computer used to take up an entire room. Some of the factors that often contribute to failure are issues like incomplete or vaguely stated business requirements and specifications, insufficient or lacking executive support, changing business specifications, insufficient planning, technological incompetence and insufficient resources among others. On the other hand, success factors for different projects include but not limited to realistic schedules and estimates, clearly defined project goals, prior specification of the quality criteria of the anticipated deliverable, active support from top management, team competence, and proactive issue resolution together with the project manager’s level of competence. In the context of project management, a critical success factor is an important influence which can determine the success of a project (Kezner & Learning, 2013). Thus, critical success factors refer to the series of conditions, influences or factors that contribute towards the outcome of a project. Critical Success Factors in Project Management Presence of a competent project manager is a plus if a project team desires success. However, there are other crucial factors that can determine the success level of the project being undertaken. Some of the critical success factors for projects include: - Competent Staff Project strategies and plans risk falling apart if in the absence of appropriate members in a team hence the need to have every stakeholder, supplier, expert resource and core project staff constituted in the team. It is a requirement that the members be committed to and have the same vision while striving for overall success (Rad & Anantatmula, 2010). Any inadequacy within the team can pose serious trouble to project managers. A team that exhibits an out of synchronization or inept leadership type has the potential of leading a project to a failure zone. It is useful assigning appropriate people to project aspect that are relevant to them while ensuring that they work well together. Moreover, the team as a whole ought to be wholesomely informed and participative so as to end up with a more successful outcome. This requires steady communication. It is only when a team is competent that a PM could explore the option of using automated tools such as Copper Project which can facilitate duties like management of project plans or To-do list, setting resource availability and booking their time on particular projects or tasks. Properly Defined Scope Project scope is one of the project management crucial success factors for the reason that it does lay the foundation for final success in a project. The term refers to defining the client, deliverables, financial and human resources, work packages and outcomes pertaining to a project. Any inadequately defined project that fails to have a suitable link with an organization’s strategy increases the chances of a project failure (Kendrick, 2009). Besides, insufficient project scope is bound to haunt the project in question all through its life cycle. Therefore, there is need to allocate sufficient time for the phase involving project scope definition. Proper Planning A comprehensive project planning is able to set a project for success just from the beginning. The planning process would require that every stakeholder be on board which each of them knowing the direction that the project is to take. Planning lets a team look organized and meet the predetermined deadlines (Zaval & Wagner, 2011). Besides, good planning can help stakeholders in staying informed about the project progress. This initial phase of project process permits for creation of realistic and reliable time scale. Providing an assurance regarding precise times for the cost estimates that are to be produced or for clearer deliverable and milestone documentation simplifies the progress of the project. Proficient plans will always detail every resource requirements while doubling as warning systems. In case it is the task slippage at risk, a warning system follows providing an appropriate visibility of what to anticipate. Careful Risk Management Risk management in projects is vital if project success is of importance to team members. A good risk management strategy is an important tool if an involved team desires to avoid project failures. The concept can help in planning the project as well as other additional control purposes whilst the project is being carried out. Many PMs have the common belief that things hardly get out of the stipulated plan. While planning, it would be helpful producing a risk log together with the action plan regarding the risks that are likely to befall the ongoing project (Karolak, 1996). The key stakeholders should be informed about the existence of and where to trace the risk log. If something arises, the team will be capable of solving the issue using the previously defined management plan. This instills confidence among the team members while they face project risks. On the other hand, the tool leaves clients feeling more comfortable with the progression of the project. Open Communication Project success largely depends on close look at details or listening to outside information sources (Wysocki, 2013). An open communication within the team turns to be very essential. If following a particular time table, it is recommended that the team is properly informed. A problem arising from the project’s side has the potential of impacting other parts in negative way. Thus, communication stands to be the best way to evade the occurrence of problems. Also, there is a need to have communication internally focused within the organization. Maintaining an organizational history pertaining to main projects offers a convenient access to the well off business processes and policies. Failure to this can result into repetition of mistakes. Proper communication is also inclusive of knowing where to set boundaries. For instance, an involved team ought not to give promise it cannot keep. A move by a team to say no at the initial stage helps in avoiding a growing number of problems at some later time. Moreover, it is in order that the team remains honest about what it is able to accomplish. Project Manager Competence Project managers have a duty to make sure that there is a wholesome success in the delivery of a product or a service within the constraints of safety requirements, quality, schedule and cost. Thus, they play an important role in different fields. According to Bolles and Hubbard recognize competence as a term whose use is widespread but with a meaning that varies from one person to another. They however acknowledge it as a combination of personal attitude, experience and knowledge (2007, p. 140). Attitude bears some relationship with behavior whereas experience and knowledge are related to function. Competency is linked with job performance and individual behavior. A job performance would be considered effective is it achieves particular results or gives specific outcomes needed by the job via particular actions whilst observing the procedures, policies as well as the conditions within the organizational environment. So, competencies are particular abilities, knowledge, skills, behaviors or characteristics which help in enhancing job performance. It turns out that an individual’s character can determine whether he or she can demonstrate excellent job performance. Becoming a successful PM is dependent on a person’s skills alongside the desire and determination to have tasks accomplished. However, there are other competences that a PM would need to have so as to succeed. The section here below discusses some of these competences: - Communication Skills Communication skills are constantly used by the project managers while performing their routinely jobs. There is need for a project manager to be in a position to have project guidelines and goals communicated to team members while inspiring them to meet complete project tasks within the predefined deadlines. Also, the PM will need good communication skills in relaying information to professionals and specialists who happen not to be part of the project team (Jalote, 2002). A PM links an involved team with the entire organization hence the need for them to effectively communicate with the business leaders inside the organization. Problem Solving Skills A PM needs to think independently then suggest an innovative solution to any arising problem soon after it has been noticed. The PMs would have to improve their problem solving skills so as to enhance whatever might come on the way. Perceiving problems as opportunities to exercise leadership skills is critical skill needed by the PM. An example of an instance that would require strong problem solving skills is the project implementers declining specification changes suggestion by users while the project is at the later phases of execution. This situation would require that the PM weighs between delivery of a dissatisfying product to the clients and the costs associated with redefinition of specification followed by exploration of different project methodologies design approaches. Leadership Competence To manage a project effectively, The PM must win the confidence of the team members and the latter must entrust the PM with the duty to guide them through his goals, something that is hard to achieve if leadership skills lack. Constant encouragement of the team members, modeling best practices and the capability of inspiring other people are leadership skills that every PM will find valuable. Becoming a competent leader would also require that the project manager owns a proven success record because the team members ought to know that the Pm leading them is capable. Clear Vision In order to become successful, a PM will need a clear vision of the manner he wishes the project to be carried out. Success in this context goes past ownership of that vision; it also entails the capability of articulating the vision to other team members while inspiring them to share in the selfsame vision. At a point when the involved team members are in a position of seeing the vision of the PM as though it is their own, they are likely to feel invested within the ongoing project. Relationship between PM Competence and Project Success Has the competence of a project manager anything to do with project success? This section of the paper aims at discussing the factors which affect the outcomes of projects like client satisfaction and project cost in view of the level of competence of the project manager focusing on software based projects. Whereas hard skills like domain or technical expertise might be a requirement in a PM, the soft skills like tacit knowledge concerning the organizational culture or client behavior turn out to be most important suggestions and contributions that a PM can bring into a project. A soft skill would not have a direct improvement on the outcome of a project. Instead, it helps in case of projects with significant coordination complexities or if the level of familiarity with the task or client in question is limited. IT professional s are better placed if are acquainted with management and interpersonal skills on top of their knowledge on application domains and technology. Successful project management required both soft and hard skills. To an IT specialist, domain expertise, technological experience, vast knowledge on project management and overall IT experience are examples of the hard PM skills. On the other hand, soft skills chiefly revolve around the way to manage and work with people and include things like tacit knowledge on the way to handle people, organizational knowledge plus management and leadership skills. Early research results reveal that soft and hard skills among the It specialists both bear some relationship with performance. There needs to be some relationship between an individual and the routinely job though it has been a challenge to conceptualize this type of relationship. PM hard and soft skills both affect project performance like client satisfaction and cost performance. In case of an IT outsourcing project, this turns to be of great importance for the reason that project costs and satisfaction of clients could significantly determine the market share and vendor profits. PM hard skills are helpful in improving the performance of a project but not as much as the soft skills do. Soft skills would be found useful in case of large sized projects with larger teams who have high time pressure. A PM with higher soft skills can help in situations of limited client or task familiarity so there are chances of a project being effectively managed despite possible unfamiliarity with domain and technological requirements of that project. Software engineering particularly has certain distinguishing characteristics like uncertainties that surround different phases and project life cycle. Allocation of project resources requires that we have project characteristics matched with the PM’s competence. It is possible viewing that type of matching as a strategic option in response to the environment. A deviation from the optimal pattern of allocating resources will negatively impact performance. While the relationship between skills and performance may be satisfying, some kind of interaction between the skills and the organizational characteristics ought to result into more benefits. Projects do vary in terms of complexity, scope and technology. Teams too vary in terms of their degree of the tasks to be executed. Consequently, it sounds odd having the assumption that PM’s competence will affect every project equally. This is indeed a motivating factor towards exploring the contingency perspective of a PM’s soft skills-in view of complexity- to familiarity with client and task. Fit refers to matching a project environment to the PM characteristics. As per the suggestion of structural contingency theory (Burton, 2008), a fit between a business and the surrounding environment can is crucial in determining organizational effectiveness. Software projects can be deemed as temporary organizations within existing organizations hence the need for a fit between a project and the associated PM and this greatly impacts the outcome of the project (Dinsmore & Cabanis, 2011). In general, IT centered projects are basically complex and need multifaceted management skills. The skills of a project manager have to extend past project management skills to include domain and technical expertise as the project requires. Some of the project management activities are project scope definition and requirements specification, resource management advisory services on technical architecture, estimation of budget and schedule, risk management plus preparation of risk mitigation plans, making sure that the project under execution is in compliance with the organizational quality framework, efficient management of change control and communicating the status of the project to different stakeholders. Coordination is mandatory during the development or maintenance of software. If there is IT outsourcing, the PM will as well interface with the clients. It is usual to have the involved team members of an IT project geographically distributed and this makes coordination more challenging. This calls for the PM(s) to offer domain and technical leadership, manage the organizationally and geographically distributed teams, interact with clients plus coordination with stakeholders found within and outside the organization. Hence, PM will need an appropriate mix of the soft and hard skills to effectively manage a project and to improve project performance. Direct Effect of PM’s Soft and Hard Skills A match between a project and a PM goes past the domain and technical skills to other broad project PM profile attributes like an earlier exposure to the adopted methodology. The PM happens to be the most senior person in a project and will always be seen as a sounding board for every architectural and technical decision regarding the project. Besides, the increasing number of strategic functions being outsourced or IT-enabled charges the PM with the duty to demonstrate a high level of knowledge concerning the business objective of every IT system provided. Hard skills are conceptualized as task familiarity meaning that the assessment of the hard skills that a project requires will often be based on what the project manager brings forth. For instance, a PM specializing in object oriented technologies might succeed in leading a project on another technology like mainframe. In the same fashion, domain experience might be required of a PM. Surveys reveal that task familiarity is helpful if performance is to be improved. Earlier exposure to project characteristics such as domain, methodology and technology renders the task at hand more familiar to a PM and this has the implication of an improved performance. Task familiarity is particularly important in software projects (Donaldson, 2001) and in this case, a PM ought to be in a position to assume a leadership role in view of project management as well as taking lead in the technological initiatives. The person should be capable of advising team members and clients on the available technological options. Besides, the fellow should understand every business need pertaining to the application software under construction. That type of familiarity leads to lower coding or testing errors, increasing efficiency and consequently impact positively on the project outcomes like cost and budget. A demonstrated familiarity on PM’s side will leave clients confident that everything in the project is under control. This shows that an increasing number of relevant hard skills that a Pm brings to a software project increase the likelihood of project success. Conclusion Poor project management is known to affect organizations culturally, economically or strategically though they may also impede client relationship, reduce the morale of the involved team and bring about cost overruns. In spite of the widespread familiarity with the need to choose a good project manager, limited knowledge still exists regarding the best way to have project managers fit into projects. Thus, organizations and businesses need to be trained on the appropriate selection criteria for project managers given that they are central to the success of a project. References Bolles, D., & Hubbard, D. G. (2007). ‘The power of enterprise-wide project management,’ New York, American Management Association. Burton, R. M. (2008). Designing organizations 21st century approaches. New York, Springer. Camilleri, E. (2011). Project success: critical factors and behaviours. Farnham, Gower Pub. Dinsmore, P. C., & Cabanis-Brewin, J. (2011). The AMA handbook of project management. New York, American Management Association. Donaldson, L. (2001). The contingency theory of organizations. Thousand Oaks, Calif. [u.a.], Sage Publ. Jalote, P. (2002). Software project management in practice. Boston, Mass: Addison-Wesley. Karolak, D. W. (1996). Software engineering risk management. Los Alamitos, Calif. [u.a.: IEEE Computer Society Press Kendrick, T. (2009). 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