Does Customer Satisfaction Have an Impact on Projects Success - Case Study Example

Does Customer Satisfaction Have an Impact on Project’s Success Name: Course: Course code: Date: Table of Contents Abstract 3 Introduction 3 Purpose of study 4 Literature review 4 Project cost and customer satisfaction 6 The Time objective and customer satisfaction 7 Quality objective and customer satisfaction 9 Customer satisfaction in customer relations on improving project success 10 Using experienced and trained consultants 11 End user training and involvement 11 Discussion 12 Conclusion 13 References 14 Abstract Project management is usually a complex process that involves the proper use of material and human resources in order to achieve a set objective for the organization[Kha14]. Projects in organizations vary depending on the field the organization is in, but they are all focused on the prediction of a brighter future for the organization. It is due to this factor that the success factors for projects and project management have high variables. Project management deals with the proper driving of the project in order address factors that play a role in the success of the project[Kha14]. In the event that project management is done well, there are higher chances for the success of the project that when it was done poorly. Customer satisfaction is one of the man factors that affect the success of a project. The success of all projects is measured by the level of customer satisfaction that is seen during and after completion of the project. In addition, the success of the project will be affect by factors related to customer satisfaction such as customer service relation in the context of projects related to the service industry. The contents of this study are focused on establishing the influence that customer satisfaction has on the success of a project. Introduction The use of projects and project management has become a norm in all industries due to the high level of competition in the markets[Kue07]. The competition in the markets are attributed to the dynamic changes in the fields of technology, marketing and shifting economies. Globalization has played a major role in the development of this factors. Projects are now seen as the most sensible tools to employ in order to beat the competition in the market. Through project management, organizations are able to focus on specific goals that if achieved will aid in the success of the project[Zwi06]. Projects, however, are operating under great levels of uncertainty caused by dynamics in the market and most of all, customer satisfaction. Project management has been defined in other quarters as a process that aims at meet customer needs. In other words, projects are directed towards achieving customer satisfaction. Purpose of study Customer satisfaction is the measure of how an organization’s products or services are able to meet and satisfy the needs of clients. It is therefore right to say that; customer satisfaction has an impact on the overall success of an organization[Zwi06]. Apart from having an edge over other competitors in the market, an organization can achieve success through channeling its efforts towards customer satisfaction strategies. The importance of customer satisfaction has been termed to play a role in the success of projects[Kha14]. The contents of this study are focused on finding out the influence that customer satisfaction has on the success of a project. Apart from poor project management skills, customer satisfaction has been found to also influence the success of a project. The contents of this paper are focused on establishing the influence that customer satisfaction has on the success of a project. Literature review A project is a set of objectives that are defined by a set objectives and productivity projections. Projects are made up of complex interrelations between the use of resources under the exposure of risk and other changing dynamics just to achieve the set goals[Kue07]. Project management, on the other hand, refers to the processes that are employed in order for the organization to use its available resources just to achieve an end in the long run. In as much as there will be changes in the operating environment of the project, the project management makes sure that the project is able to achieve its objectives no matter the situation. The success of the project is measured by rate at which the objectives of the project have been met[Kha14]. this is the mostly used tool when it comes to measuring the success of the project. Measuring the success of projects has been a subject of discussion for a while among scholars. Apart from the level at which a project is able to achieve its objectives, the level of customer satisfaction is also used as a measure for project success. Due to the role of customer satisfaction in the success of a project, it is presumed that it has a major influencing role in the failure or success of a project[Kha14]. The success of a project is usually measured using the golden triangle rule[Zwi06]. The golden triangle rule is usually focused on how the project has been able to meet its objectives. The main objectives for this model are cost, time and quality[Zwi06]. The three are measure according to the scope of the project in terms of size an input into the project. In as much as the three are always seen as the ultimate objectives of a project or project management, they are only but a means for the organization to achieve customer satisfaction[Zwi06]. In the field of projects and project management, customer satisfaction is given great importance since it helps build on the reputation of the organization. Once a project is completed with all the objectives achieved, it will have the potential to be successful because it will have et the expectations of the consumer[Zwi06]. It is for this reason that customer satisfaction is important to the success or failure of a project. There is a big relation between the core objectives of a project to customer satisfaction. It can be said that customer satisfaction it tied to the main objectives of project management. For example, it is true to say that, if project management is not able to meet the targets of the project the project will also not be able to achieve customer satisfaction. From this analogy, it can be drawn that customer satisfaction has a role to play in the success of a project through it relation with the core objectives of project management. Project cost and customer satisfaction When designing a project, emphasis is given to the cost of the project so that it can be appealing to the stakeholders and customers[Kha14]. The cost of a project will determine the success of the project before or after its completion. One might ask how customer satisfaction affects the success of the project through cost. For example, in the construction industry it is important to evaluate the clients and then decide on the best cost for construction. An evaluation of the relationship between the client and the cost of construction is important because if the houses are past the financial capabilities of the targeted market, then the project will be a failure since the price will not attract tenants. Here it can be said that the satisfaction of the clients with the pricing of the house affects the success of the project directly[Kha14]. In other organizations maybe manufacturing, products are made with a consideration on the cost of production in order to make sure that the cost of production does not get to a point it will be difficult to return on the investment. In as much as cost reduction is an objective of project management, it is also a way for the project manager to meet the need of the clients in one way or another making sure that they are satisfied[Zwi06]. It has been said that the cost of buying goods in a standardized market will affect the satisfaction of the client. Through an evaluation of how customer satisfaction play a role in the cost determinations of a project, it ca be said that is also affect the success of the project. Projects with poor cost planning mostly end up failing because of poor levels of customer satisfaction[Car08]. On the other hand, projects that pay attention to the satisfaction of the client through cost optimization end up being successful during and after their launch. The Time objective and customer satisfaction Consumers and stakeholders pay keen interest on the timeliness of project management in the completion of the project[Kue07]. The time taken to complete a project is a times taken as the main measure for the success of the project. In most cases that faster the completion of the project the higher the success of the project. The success, however, is if the quality of the project is as stipulated. Considering the fact that customer satisfaction affects all the core goals of project management, it means that the time taken to accomplish a project is affected by customer satisfaction which in turn affect the success of the project. In most cases the time taken to complete a project is dictated by the market which is made of consumer demand which out to be met. If a project was to take 5 years and it end up taking four, the project will be considered a success[Kha14]. On the other hand, if a project is sluggish and it ends up taking more time that the stipulated one, the project will have slim chances of succeeding in the market. An example taken from the construction industry shows that project that take long to accomplish are beaten by competition and in as much they will receive clients, the reception will be poor because of the poor appreciation the clients will have for the project[Kha14]. The time objective in all projects are used to give the customer anticipation and to also create anxiety and need for the product. Project management is now supposed to make sure that the need created by the timeline should satisfied at the designated time. From this context, it can be said that customer satisfaction is achieved only when the project has been completed in time. Customers find satisfaction and appreciation for projects that are completed in time. customer tend to shy away from products and projects that do not seem to meet their targets and that is by missing the timeline. In the service industry, the time taken to accomplish a service is directly equated to customer satisfaction. If the client is not satisfied with the time a hotel takes to prepare a meal, he might opt to go to a faster cooking restaurant or a restaurant with enough staff for service. In most service providing organizations the success of the project is affected by the satisfaction of the client in the timeliness of service and response. Poor timing response in the police department play a major role in the success of the police department in providing its services. This because in the case of a robbery, timely responses by the police department will translate to satisfaction by the general public. It the same way poor satisfaction by the public on police response will trigger action to improve efficiency of service[Car08]. From an evaluation of the time objective and its relation to customer satisfaction, it can be said that customer satisfaction under the context of time management affects the success of a project especially in the manufacturing industry. An example from the manufacturing industry is when a delivery for perishable was to be done at a certain date and then the deadline was missed and the perishables went to waste. The clients will be disappointed at the whole project because the main objective for a project like that is to make sure that time is kept. It the timeline is missed; the relevance of the project will be null. Under this context the dissatisfaction of the customer will equate to failure of the project. The success of the project on the other hand will be characterized by the satisfaction of the client once the project is able to beat the timeline. Here, the satisfaction of the customer impacts positively on the success of the project. It is through analogies like this that one can see how customer satisfaction plays a major role in the success of a project. Quality objective and customer satisfaction The quality of a product or service determines the reception the product will receive in the market[Car08]. Products that are of god quality will be successful in the market as opposed to poor quality products that will not survive the market. The quality of a product of an eventuality of a project will determine if the whole project was a success or not[Zwi06]. As stated earlier in the paper, all the objectives of a project are focused on the satisfaction of the client[Zwi06]. In this sense, if the quality of a product led to its failure in the market it was because the clients were dissatisfied with it. It is still evident that the satisfaction of the client play a role in the success of a project through being the benchmark for quality. For example, in the construction industry when the is a project to build houses, the quality of the houses from the onset might affect the success of the project on the long run. Some of the main stakeholders and potential buyers might disapprove of the plan and discontinue the construction which will translate to a failure of the project. Here, the satisfaction of the client plays a direct role in the failure of the project. From an analysis of project management in the construction industry one can clearly see that the quality objective is all set to satisfy the client and if it does not, then the project will fail. From a perspective of the production industry, if the quality of a product is presumed to be less than what was stipulated during its marketing, there are high chances for the failure of the product in the market. This shows that customer satisfaction has a direct impact on the success of a project through determining or assessing the quality of the end products and service. Customer satisfaction in customer relations on improving project success It has to be noted that the major aim of customer relationship management is to improve the functionality and profitability of the organization. Most organizations are taking customer relationship management seriously in order to improve customer satisfaction, growth and productivity of the company. Customer relationship management has proven to significantly improve the profits of a business that employs the customer relationship management well. There are several factors that will ensure success of a customer relationship management program in developing customer satisfaction that will in turn affect the success of a project that will require customer relations. It can be said that customer relationship management is focused on the satisfaction of the client hence the focus on the relationship of the client with the organization. customer relationship projects are created so as to improve the relationship of the client and the organization which is basically the satisfaction of the client on the products and services provided by the organization. below are some aspects of customer relationship management programs that when looked at from a keen eye are focused on the development of the relationship between the client and the organization by making sure that customer relations are good enough to foster for customer satisfaction in the organization. Below are some of the factors that affect customer satisfaction in customer relations during a project. Using experienced and trained consultants Since CRM needs high training in information technology in the implementation of the software needed. Customer relationship management project require the insight f professional in order for them to be successful[But04]. When it comes to the development of customer relationship management programs, the use of trained professional hep in the development of good programs that focus on achieving customer satisfaction within an organization. the satisfaction of the customer on the use of program will depend on the level of expertise that was put in the development of the project. When using untrained personnel, the eventuality of the program will not be able to get the customers attention and hence its disapproval in the market. The use of an experienced person will help in the development of programs that are customer friendly and easy to use. In the field of customer relations management programs and projects, the quality and success of the project is deeply affected by the level of satisfaction the client achieves from the use of the product of service afterwards. End user training and involvement End user training and development is a process undertaken in the final stages of a customer relationship management project[Rei04]. End user training is in customer relationship management projects is used as a measure for the level of user satisfaction in the new project. End user training is supposed to make the client conversant with the new program or project in place. It is focused on the view of the customer on the instructiveness of the project and how they find its usage. If the client is not fine with the usability of the program, the trainers are supposed to show them how the program works. If after the training, the customer finds the program difficult to use they will disapprove of its and hence the concept of customer satisfaction on the success of the project. The involvement of the end user in the project is supposed to find out the opinion of the customer on the functionality of the program and to also get the clients opinion on the viability of the new product or service on the market. The success of a customer relationship management program also depends on how much the end users have been trained and educated on the use of the program[SCR12]. End user training and involvement in the development of new projects and products helps in pointing out the needs of the client so that the organization will focused on the satisfaction of the clients need in the long run. Discussion Project management is a complicate task that require that attention of specialists who pay attention to the needs of the client. By doing so the clients are satisfied and the project is a success. On the other hand, the success is not guaranteed unless the project takes into consideration all the other aspects of the market. If all the aspects of a project including customer satisfaction are taken into context the project will be successful. Projects that lean on one side of the equation will achieve success but not to its full potential. From an analysis of customer relations management on new projects, it can be seen that in as much as projects in CRM seem far-fetched, they all depend on the level of customer satisfaction the success of the project. Projects in any field are a way for organization to entice the needs of clients then give them what to expect in order to satisfy their need. Through the creation of a need by the project or making the client realize one, it means that the success of the project is highly dependent on the satisfaction of the client. Conclusion From an evaluation of the literature review above, it can be said that customer satisfaction a major role to play in the success of a project irrespective of the field its organization is operating in. The objectives for all project management tasks are geared toward giving the client some satisfaction of sorts. If the client is not satisfied with the eventualities of a project it will translate to the failure of the project. On the other hand, if the client is satisfied with the outcome of the project, chances are high that the project will be successful. References Kha14: , (Khan, 2014), Kue07: , (Kuen, 2007), Zwi06: , (Zwikael, 2006), Car08: , (Carson, 2008), But04: , (Buttle, 2004), Rei04: , (Reinartz, 2004), SCR12: , (SCRIOŞTEANU, 2012), Read More