Consider these Four Scenarios and decide which you'd rate as a 'Success'
Say you set out to build a four-bedroom house with a large open-plan family area that opens onto a large patio. Your budget is $500K and the expected timeframe to build is 6 months.
Scenario 1
You end up spending $750K, it takes 10 months and you cannot get a bed in the fourth bedroom, the ‘open-plan’ area has six pillars in it and the planned French doors to the patio are now a window with a radiator beneath it (making it difficult to change). So, you now have a (bed)room you cannot use and your open plan living style has been thwarted. Would you call this ‘success’?
Scenario 2
You end up spending the $500K and complete in 6 months, but all of the house faults detailed in scenario 1 still apply. Would you call this ‘success’?
Scenario 3
You end up spending $750K and its takes 10 months, but you get exactly what you asked for in terms of the house. Would you call this ‘success’?
Scenario 4
You spend the $500K in 6 months and you get exactly what you asked for. Isn’t this the true definition of ‘success’?
(There is also a Scenario 0 where you spend $x dollars over y months and get nothing finished.)
Project success statistics by Standish Group, Gartner and others are fairly consistent in their results
Scenario 0
Deliver nothing = 15% of all projects started
Scenario 1
Over time, budget and under deliver = 50% of all projects started
Scenario 2
On time, budget but under deliver = 30% of all projects started
Scenario 3
Over time, budget but to specification Unknown, included in scenario 1.
Scenario 4
On time, budget and to specification = 5% of all projects started.
Hence the poor project success statistics that measure only 35% of projects as successful in project management terms and 5% as successful in business results terms.
(NB Both scenarios 3 and 4 deliver the business value expected.)
You may be surprised that each of these scenarios is considered ‘success’ in some organizations:
Scenario 1
“Completion” is the measure of success regardless of how long it takes or how much it costs and what is delivered
Scenario 2
“Project efficiency” is the measure of success regardless of the result delivered
Scenario 3
“Delivering the result” is the measure of success, regardless of the time or cost
Scenario 4
“Delivered value” is the measure of success. After all, isn’t this why the project was commissioned in the first place?
The real impact is on the realized value.
Scenario 0
Negative — all costs, no value.
Scenario 1
Negative — remedial and ongoing costs on top of delivery costs exceed value
Scenario 2
Negative to breakeven — costs lower, but value realized also lower
Scenario 3
Positive but compromised — value realized exceeds costs by a factor of 1.3 delivered for every dollar invested
Scenario 4
Significantly positive — value realized exceeds costs by factor of 3 or more.
Shouldn’t you be focused on the scenario 4 measures of success — full delivery of business outcomes and benefits on time and on budget?
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