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by Claudette Albers-Reid on October 6, 2024
Multiple variables can contribute to the success or failure of projects. And the bigger the project, the more likely it is to fail, regardless of how well-planned, budgeted, and executed.
For most projects, poor time management obviously can lead to missed deadlines and unhappy clients. Inversely, meticulous tracking of billable hours can help increase project profit margin, and so on.
Mapping out a framework for project success within your organization can help streamline your operations and mitigate common risks. One way to do it is by identifying critical success factorsand applying them before the project gets under way.
To do that, it’s helpful to break down CSFs into distinct categories, so that you can easily identify lynch points and map them out across your planning.
Here we’ll discuss the 5 variables for project success based on a CSF methodology, also known as the application of critical success factors (CSFs), and how you can easily leverage project management software in each of these areas to increase your chances for a positive outcome.
What are critical success factors in project management?
Critical success factors (CSFs) in project managementare the conditions and characteristics that significantly impact project success. Historically, academic researchers have noted that context plays a role in which of these are most important, i.e. construction projects may have certain CSFs that a marketing campaign won’t.
The CSF methodology has been well established in the last 30 years, but most focus has been placed on the traditional iron triangle of project success factors: cost, schedule, and scope, with quality at the center.
Source: Villanova University
While effective, the iron triangle doesn’t necessarily take into account key elements that tip the scales throughout the lifecycle of the project. In other words, there are more systematic influences that can make or break success.
A different framework: The 5 Variables for Project Success & How Software Can Help
Although the concept of the iron triangle is still widely used today as a theoretical underpinning of project success, a more comprehensive framework can help businesses address more nuanced issues that will determine whether or not a project is both profitable and meets the client’s expectation.
The 5 variables for project success in our discussion are based on this academic paper, Determining Critical Success Factors of Project Management Practice: A conceptual framework, but you can find similar versions of the basic idea in many publications. FYI, these can be applied across the board, but were originally created for construction projects.
By using these five categories, you’ll be able to more easily pinpoint the CSFs you need to knock your project out of the park every time.
Furthermore, we’ll discuss easy ways you can leverage your project management software that can act as a partner in each area by helping to streamline and automate certain processes.
1. Actions
Within the CSF framework, project management actions include specifying a communication system, project planning, structural organization, safety program (if applicable), and quality assurance program.
Identifying the communication pathways you’ll use before the project begins is critical to keep teams efficient and prevent siloed information from getting lost.
More and more teams are foregoing traditional email conversations for Slack and/or comments and mentions directly related to tasks in the project management solution. Even for communication with stakeholders, choosing one solution and sticking with it can help avoid confusion.
Project planning also can be undertaken with your project management software via intuitive roadmaps and Gantt charts that are easy to create and share. These living, interactive tools will stick with you as the project progresses, keeping your data together in one place.
2. Procedures
Within our framework, project procedures refer specifically to bidding and tendering strategies. The bidding and tendering process is the way in which you invite third parties to bid on a project. The documentation for the bid is referred to as a tender.
After you issue a tender, third-party vendors will submit proposals to contribute to the project. The proposals with the bid amounts are then vetted in order to choose the best supplier for the project.
You can use a variety of digital tools to manage the bidding and tendering process for your next project. An easy way is via your contract management suite, which may stand alone or be part of a larger project management tool.
Alternatively, a CRM like HubSpot, Salesforce, etc can also work as an effective digital platform to manage bids, serving as a ‘dynamic database’ that can easily pull the correct information, keep records, and organize information on businesses you’ve worked with before.
3. Human (client) factors
The critical success factors related to the customer include their experience, needs, the size of the organization, and what role they want to play in the project. Intimately getting to know the needs of your customer is the first step.
Some clients prefer not to be involved in decision-making throughout the project’s lifecycle, while others on the opposite end of the spectrum want to act more like a team member. Be sure to validate your customer’s desires and exactly how they want to participate.
An easy way to include your client in the project, regardless of how much they want to be involved, is by using a client portal. This is available with PSA solutions and project management software that goes beyond task management.
In the client portal, you can select what you’d like the customer to see. For example, you can share your Gantt chart listing the status of tasks, but if you choose, you can hide the more granular aspects.
No matter what, transparency with the client is key, and that’s something project management software can help you with. You can share financial dashboards in the client portal, so they always know where budget versus actuals stands.
Invoicing is another area where clients want to be kept abreast of cash flowing in and out. Project management software with invoicing included can manage this for you, keeping all billing on a predictive schedule. Although it may seem small, transparent invoicing can go a long way in boosting the customer experience overall, i.e. achieving project success.
4. Project factors
Specific project factors related to success include the type of project, scope, and complexity. Is this a brand-new endeavor or do you have a template that can be repeated? What is the scope? Is the project straightforward or do you need more sophisticated planning?
If it’s a project similar to one you’ve completed successfully in the past, don’t reinvent the wheel. With project management software, you can resurrect these former success stories in the form of templates which can be used again and again.
If your project has tons of dependencies, a Gantt chart is recommended to help streamline your processes and give you a handy visualization of the status at any given point.
Most project management tools now offer a Gantt chart feature that updates in real-time, where you can assign tasks and make changes directly. If not, you can create Gantt charts for free using Online Gantt that requires no sign up and no up-charges down the road.
5. External variables
Finally, depending on the project, you may need to take into account multiple external issues that may impact timeline, budget, and client experience. For the most part, external issues represent things that you cannot control, like the weather for construction projects, for example.
Shifting exchange rates are another common external issue for international projects where monies flowing in and out must be converted to pay bills and employees. Political climates can also impact certain projects, especially during an election year.
External issues should be accounted for in a comprehensive risk management plan, where you can prepare for unexpected changes. Project management tools provide templates to help you create a comprehensive risk management system, where risks are identified, tracked, and mitigated. You can even use AI to automate this for you, which will make tracking risks much easier along the way.
Takeaway
To identify critical success factors, first break down project success into these 5 categories: actions, procedures, human factors, project factors, and external variables. You can use your project management software to aid you in this process via automations, client portal, Gantt charts, and other useful features that will stay with you from the planning through to project delivery.
Finally, remember that not all project management software is created equal. Some solutions are geared mainly toward task management, making them unfit for complex projects that require defining CSFs before work begins. Free versions, while useful for startups and simplistic projects, do not provide the kind of functionality needed for the use cases listed above.
All-in-one platforms like PSOhub, Wrike, and Monday.com are better suited to help you complete the entire exercise discussed here because they offer the robust features to help you plan and track project success. Look for easy-to-setup automations, a client portal, included invoicing, and of course, an affordable price point for your organization.
