What Are Your Chances of Project Success? [From the Archives - First Published in 2003]

ScottGraffius_Com - From the Archives - Chances of Project Success - 2003 - LwRes



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This article was first published on 12 July 2003.

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The Standish Group provides research reports valued by those in technology management. In their
Chaos Report and the follow-up Compass Report, Standish reported the top 10 criteria for project success.

This unique self-assessment is based on Scott M. Graffius' professional experience and Standish's findings. You're invited to take it to identify your project's success potential.

Note: This tool is tailored for projects utilizing a waterfall or hybrid approach and is not applicable to agile projects.

User Involvement

  • Are the right users involved?
  • Additionally, are the right users involved early and often?
  • Are there good relationships with the users?
  • Is involvement easy (frictionless)?
  • Are the users’ needs uncovered?

___ total items with a “Yes” x 3.8 = ___.

Executive Management Support

  • Is the right key executive(s) involved?
  • Does the key executive(s) have a stake in the outcome?
  • Does the project team have a stake as well?
  • Is there a well-defined project plan?
  • Is it understood that failure is a possibility?

___ total items with a “Yes” x 3.2 = ___.

Clear Statement of Requirements

  • Is there a concise vision?
  • Is there a business case?
  • Is there a functional analysis?
  • Is there a risk assessment?
  • Have metrics been identified for tracking and reporting?

___ total items with a “Yes” x 3.0 = ___.

Proper Planning

  • Is there a problem/pain/opportunity statement?
  • Is there a solution statement?
  • Have the right team members been assigned to the project?
  • Is there a firm specification/requirements?
  • Are there attainable milestones?

___ total items with a “Yes” x 2.2 = ___.

Realistic Expectations

  • Are the specifications/requirements clear?
  • Prioritization of needs? (While the default plan is to fulfill all requirements, the importance/value of each one should be quantified or qualified so that the most important items are prioritized.)
  • Are there small/manageable milestones?
  • Is change manageable (through a change management process or otherwise)?
  • Can the project be prototyped or delivered in phases or incrementally?

___ total items with a “Yes” x 2.0 = ___.

Small Milestones

  • Is the 80/20 rule observed (focus on the 20% of features that result in 80% of the benefit)?
  • Is top-down design used?
  • Are time limits set?
  • Is a prototype tool used?
  • Can progress be objectively measured?

___ total items with a “Yes” x 1.8 = ___.

Competent Staff

  • Has a gap analysis on skills been done (and needed skills identified, if applicable)?
  • Are the right people on the team?
  • Is there a training program or otherwise an opportunity for team members to level up their skills?
  • Are there appropriate incentives?
  • Is the team appropriately skilled/equipped/available to see the project to completion?

___ total items with a “Yes” x 1.6 = ___.

Project Ownership

  • Are roles for team members defined?
  • Are roles for those involved with the project but not a member of the team (such as sponsors or executives) also defined?
  • Does everyone have a good understanding of they will collaborate and contribute on the project?
  • Are incentives tied to success?
  • Is everyone involved committed?

___ total items with a “Yes” x 1.2 = ___.

Clear Vision and Objectives

  • Is the vision shared?
  • Is the vision aligned with the organization’s goals?
  • Are objectives achievable?
  • Are objectives measurable?
  • Are sanity checks/gates in place?

___ total items with a “Yes” x 0.6 = ___.

Focused Staff

  • Are there incentives?
  • Is there a focus on the deliverables?
  • Does each team member have part ownership?
  • Is everyone working together?
  • Is confidence being built as the team progresses?

___ total items with a “Yes” x 0.6 = ___.

Add all of the points to obtain the final score. Total score is ____ out of a maximum of 100 points.

Results range from 100 to 0, with 100 being the ideal for the project's success potential.

It is suggested that projects with a score less than 90 are revisited, and that challenges or impediments are resolved.

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How to Cite This Article

Graffius, Scott M. (2016, January 2). What Are Your Chances of Project Success? [From the Archives - First Published on 12 December 2012]. Available at:
https://scottgraffius.com/blog/files/archive---chances-of-project-success.html.
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© Copyright 2016 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.





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