What is success?

SUCCESS CONCEPTUALIZATION

GENERAL CONCEPTUALIZATION

The questions 28 and 29 of the questionnaire of this research (Section Organization Identification) are about the subject success.

Conceptualize success in project management, in a general way, is not easy because this issue has been applied in the most several human activities and with peculiarity that create meaningful differences. Certainly, the concept is naturally understood in each department of company where the subject is practiced. The following text does not intend to be theoretically accurate and wide application of, without questioning, but it has been showed adequated for the purposes of this questionnaire:

TOTAL SUCCESS: A successful project is one that achieved the target. This usually means it was finished and produced the expected results and benefits and the stakeholders were fully satisfied. Furthermore, but not necessarily, it is expected that the project has been completed within the desired outcomes for time, cost, scope and quality (small differences can be accepted).

PARTIAL SUCCESS OR COMMITMENT SUCCESS: The project was completed but did not produce all the results and expected benefits. There is considered dissatisfaction among the stakeholders. Besides that, probably some of the desired outcomes for time, cost, scope and quality were significantly exceeded.

FAILURE: There is a huge dissatisfaction among the stakeholders because the project was not completed or because it did not attend the expectations or because some of the desired outcomes for time, cost, scope and quality were exceeded in an absolutely unacceptable way.

EXAMPLE:
In an organization we can have a department that makes projects for which we have the following datas on the last 12 months (or last fiscal year):

  • Total success: 60%
  • Partial success: 30%
  • Failure: 10%

For the case of the questionnaire, we must report only the values showed above for Total Success and Partial Success, in questions 28 and 29, respectively. We mean, there is not a question for reporting the failure rate since the total has to be 100%.

CONCEPTUALIZATION FOR CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

WARNING: IF THE DEPARTMENT IN QUESTION IS INVOLVED WITH PROJECTS OF ENGINEERING OR CONSTRUCTION USE THE BELOW CONCEPTS.

The concepts of TOTAL SUCCESS, PARTIAL SUCCESS AND FAILURE, for the various subcategories of the Construction Industry are as follows:

Subcategories:

  1. Incorporation estate (building construction)
  2. Services (Industrial Construction, Heavy Construction) for clients of private sector.
  3. Public Works and Infrastructure (including Heavy Construction) to public sector clients.

The concepts are as follows.

Total success: almost finished the work on time, scope and budget (insignificant differences). The customer was very satisfied with the product delivered. The company obtained the expected profit and there is no significant technical or pending judicial or labor. There were no serious accidents during construction.

Partial success: the work was completed and delivered. However incriminating facts occurred (significant delay and / or significant overflow on budget) that significantly decreased the profitability of the work, or there are minor technical or legal disputes or labor that certainly will reduce the expected profit, and / or client received the work, but was not satisfied, and / or accidents occurred, but the rate of their severity remained within the established parameters.

Failure: the work was not completed or delayed and / or overflow budget were so exaggerated that the work was deficit, or there are pending technical or legal or labor quite significant  sure to make the work loss, and / or client does not agree to accept the work, and / or accidents occurred during construction that tarnished the reputation of the company.

Subcategory Management works

The concepts are as follows.

Total success: almost finished the work on time, scope and budget (insignificant differences). The customer (internal or external) was very pleased with the product delivered. The company has obtained the financial results expected and there is no significant technical or pending judicial or labor. There were no serious accidents during construction.

Partial success: the work was completed and delivered. However incriminating facts occurred (significant delay and / or overflow significant budget) that significantly decreased the expected financial results, or there are minor technical or legal disputes or labor that will certainly reduce the expected financial results, and / or customer (internal or external) received the work, but was not satisfied, and / or accidents occurred, but the rate of their severity remained within established parameters.

Failure: the work was not completed or the delay was so exaggerated that compromised the success of the enterprise and / or the financial result was negative, or there are pending technical or legal or labor quite significant sure to make the bottom line deficit, and / or the customer (internal or external) does not agree to accept the work, and / or accidents occurred during construction that tarnished the reputation of the company.

Subcategory Engineering (Engineering Projects, ie, design) to customers outside public or private

The concepts are:

Total success: almost finished work on time, scope, quality and budget (insignificant differences). The customer (internal or external) was very satisfied with the delivered product and its performance, and the company achieved the expected financial results.

Partial success: the work was completed and delivered. However incriminating facts occurred (significant delay and / or overflow significant budget, and / or underperforming for the product delivered) that significantly reduced the financial result, and / or the customer (internal or external) received the job, but was not satisfied.

Failure: the work was not completed or the delay and / or overflow budget were so exaggerated that the work caused a financial deficit, and / or the performance was far below that expected for the product delivered, and / or the client (internal or external) does not agree to accept the job.

CONCEPTUALIZATION FOR I.T.

WARNING: IF THE DEPARTMENT IN QUESTION IS INVOLVED WITH PROJECTS OF SOFTWARE SYSTEMS (I.T.) USE THE BELOW CONCEPTS.

Total success: the project almost finished on time, scope and budget (minor differences). The user completely satisfied because the product/service that has been delivered and is being used really added value to their work;

Partial success or committed: the project was terminated and the software is being used. However, there were incriminating facts (significant delay and/or significant cost overrun) and/or user satisfaction is partial because the product/service does not provide all the features needed and expected and/or does not add value to its expected work;

Failure: the project was paralyzed or product/service delivered is not being used for not meeting the expectations of the users or the delay was such that it resulted in losses to the business. The user / client was deeply dissatisfied.