Measuring Project Success in the Construction Industry

This article explores alternative methods of determining project success beyond the traditional project metrics based on how an experienced project stake holders evaluate the characteristics of project success, both objectively and subjectively rather than exclusively relying on externally established criteria that may not reflect project stake holders view of the outcome in the context of the performance challenges, strategic objectives or the marketplace

Traditionally, project management has dealt only with managing the project planning and implementation process. This view of project management specifically views the project as a task or process that needs to be completed following the specifications, budget and time given. This approach has provided universally accepted metrics of cost, schedule and performance to evaluate the success of the project. In addition to the above traditional project metrics the industry professionals have also recognised that, on some projects, safety performance can be the primary determinant of success, regardless of the outcome of the other classical metrics. The data provide under the traditional metrics are fairly easily quantifiable, however, there are other aspects of a project, including the level of "quality" achieved, and that may be more subjective. Additionally, when subjectivity is involved, the "eye of the beholder" becomes a major factor in evaluating how well a project performed and how successful it was perceived. On the other hand, these traditional metrics do not provide the necessary view of success from the perspective of the organization and its stakeholders. Initial research has indicated that there are more subjective considerations that, while being difficult to quantify, can have an important impact on perceptions of project success. During ongoing project management research the authors recognised the need for a measurement tool that would account for subjective as well as objective metrics in accessing project success. This tool would have to provide the flexibility necessary to account for the fact that every project is different. In most Construction Projects scenarios, a group leads project as stakeholders, i.e., the project manager, team members, end users, project sponsor and top management, who then designate another individual or group, e.g. an Architect, Engineer, Quantity Surveyor who prepares the design drawings, project cost estimates and contract documents. The construction is then managed by a construction project manager either employed directly by the owner or by a general contractor. Once we realise that projects can fail to meet the traditional metrics of success, but still be successful to the stakeholders, this creates a quandary for the project manager. How does one really define success? Is it possible that a "Challenged" project could be cancelled that would have met the sponsors' needs? Is it also possible to identify a project that should be cancelled that is currently on time, on budget and meeting the defined needs? Project success can be divided into two components, product (project) success and project management success as shown in the table below.

Project management success Meeting time, cost, and quality objectives Quality of the project management process Satisfying project stakeholders needs related to the project management process

Project success Meeting the project owners strategic organizational objectives Satisfaction of users. needs, and Satisfaction of stakeholders. needs when related to the product

Many project managers do not conduct a post implementation review that is essential for establishing the overall success, failures, challenges and lessons learned. For those who do, it is usually within a month or two of completion of the project and usually focuses on the traditional metrics, success/failures and how the project team did in performing the project implementation and move to other project. However, for many projects, this may be insufficient time to get a clear picture of the project's business success or failure. The ability to identify key attributes of project success is important to project owners, engineers, and contractors. Understanding the attributes of success contributes to the efficient execution of the construction project. Many Industry professionals have pointed out that the main challenge in determining project success is the lack of a standardised approach The main objective of this research was to develop a system for measuring construction project success that account for the subjective, as well as objective, metrics as a 360 degree approach by receiving the feedback from all the stakeholders of the project including end users in order to enable more insightful conclusions about a project's success beyond the framework of the traditional project metrics. An extensive literature review was conducted in order to investigate the extent of the research done in the direction of this investigation and to find out the basic terminology used in the measuring the project success. The data was collected through interviews and a questionnaire and analyzed in different ways in order to find the answers to the research questions.

Business Related 13% Stakeholder Related 15%

Time Related 25%

Quality Related 19% Cost Related 17%

Safety Environment Related 11%

As highlighted earlier, traditionally, project management approach follows the metrics of cost, schedule, performance and safety to evaluate the success of the project. The research findings also support this approach, however, research also found the importance of non traditional metrics in measuring the project success. Moreover, research supports the inclusion of new non-traditional metrics which focus on the perspective of the sponsors and its end-users satisfaction. The research also indicated that there are subjective considerations that, while being difficult to quantify, can have an important impact on the project success. This research also recognized the need for a measurement tool that would account for subjective as well as objective metrics in assessing project success. The resulting construction Project Success Measurement System (PSMS) instrument has been designed to investigate how experienced project stake-holder perceived project success both objectively and subjectively. The project manager can use this tool to identify the important success metrics before the start of a project, and to evaluate the level of success achieved at project completion. The PSMS is also useful as a research tool whereby construction project success can be measured and compared to a broad range of moderating factors such as labour relations, design development, and project team training. Evaluating the relationships of such factors to project success might suggest opportunities for process improvements. The project manager can use the PSMS to evaluate the effectiveness of project design documents and change controls contributing to project success. Continuous improvement programs implemented by engineering and design organizations can use the instrument as a means of scoring project success for the purpose of measuring improvement and deficiency trends. Similarly, lessons learned programs can incorporate the PSMS as a source of project success feedback beyond the framework of objective metrics alone. In this case, the relative importance scores of various project activities can contribute to the knowledge base of the project organizations, which can help to balance priorities and the application of resources in future projects.

Chaminda S Jayasuriya

An abstract of the Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the Degree of Master in Business Administration of the Preston University.