Success Factor in Project Management - Coursework Example

Scientific project success Name Course Tutor Institution Date of submission Introduction The intentions of most development and research projects are to ensure that all elementary activities are accomplished within the stipulated time and costs as assimilated by the project managers. In most cases, failure to meet some of these costs and assumed project periods means that the project is likely to fail. From a professional point of understanding, different projects require different scales of inputs and affiliate resources. However, there are some standard measures and aspects that influence the success of these projects. Prior to the detailed analysis of the factors that facilitate the success of the projects, it is essential first to assess the key elements of a project and project management (Dorian, 2011). These elements are considered as the project triangle or the three key elements of projects. The paper intends to address the three key elements, which will act as a guide towards decisive selection of essential factors that contribute to the success of projects. These elements are considered to be the most standard constraints that every ongoing project is likely to face. The three elements (constraints) in project management The three major elements or constraints in project management include cost, scope and time (Turner, 2014). They are the ones that are considered even when the project management team is making a decision on the right approach or method to use in determining the completion time of the project. Thus, it is after analysing these factors that it becomes easier to determine the success factor in project management and the appropriate approaches with regards to risk management and mitigation. Cost It is paramount for both the organisation and the project manager to have a cost-estimate when undertaking projects. The main agenda is to ensure that the budget facilitates the development and implementation of the project, even at a lower cost than stipulated (Turner, 2014). At times, it is imperative for the project managers to allocate resource and allocate additional resources in a bid to meet the set deadlines of the projects. Increased costs arise from the additional requirements with regards to wages, bills, and other miscellaneous factors that have to be there for a project to complete within a desirable time. Time Time is the central factor when the project managers intend to determine the earliest and latest completion times for the projects. A project’s activity can either take shorter or longer time to complete. These periods are determined by use of methods such as Critical Path Method CPM Critical Path method or GANT (Meredith, & Mantel, 2011). The completion of these tasks depends on a series of factors including the experience, skills, and the tally of people undertaking the project. It is one factor that cannot be erased from the general outline of essential factors in the project. Failure to meet the stipulated deadlines is usually an adverse course that could mean that the project management team failed to complete the project effectively, sometimes calling for the addition of resources. Scope The third factor is Scope. It is an element that acts as a measure of the outcome of the project undertaken. It comprises of a list of deliverables, which need to be addressed by the team conducting the project. In most instances, successful project managers are expected to have ample knowledge in managing the project and any other aspect that could signify feasible changes in the project (Turner, 2014). Failure of the project manager to consider this issue means that the project is likely to consume more resources or take more time than expected to complete. Factors that contribute to a project’s success The analysis of the three elements in project management calls for a decisive analysis of factors that facilitate successful completion of projects being undertaken. These are issues that the managers ought to look at very carefully and act accordingly. Some of these factors intend to create an atmosphere that is utterly conducive to the success of the project. Others are intended to create a routine environment that will make a follow up on essential elements such as funds and time used to complete the project. The following is a detailed outline of the success factors in project management. Adequate executive management support The initial moment when the executive support is need is when the project is being proposed. It is essential for the management team to agree and imply the essentiality of undertaking the project. Arguably, the management team must agree to give the project enough support in terms of approving essential elements such as funds that are demanded by the projects. That means that it has to play a very crucial role in funding the projects without failing (Turner, 2014). In most cases, a series of projects are usually being undertaken concurrently. Therefore, failure of the executive management team to consider and pay attention to every project may result in a halt or closure of some projects. Therefore, the executive management team acts as a technical and financial sponsor for the most project being undertaken. Further, the executive management team manages to come up with quick and applicable solutions in cases where conflicts and misunderstandings emerge during completing projects. For instance, the executive management team brings the stakeholders together and spearheads the process of making decisions and resolving the conflict without taking sides. That means that ample attention and response of the executive management team to projects contributes to the success of the project. Stipulation of clear business or project objectives The objectives of a project are one steering factor towards completing it successfully. Therefore, it is imperative that the project management team communicates the essentiality of the projects to supporting sections such as the executive management. When clear objectives are communicated to the relevant stakeholders, it is feasible for them to react accordingly when the project fails to complete in the stipulated or expected time (Meredith, & Mantel, 2011). Developing a clearly defined plan A clearly defined plan is characterised by the clear stipulation and assignment of the responsibilities and accountabilities to the stakeholders in the project. The development of a plan is more than just featuring and entering tasks into a software application. Instead, all the variables and deliverables have to be planned and defined prior in conjunction with the necessary tasks that contribute to producing them (Razz, Shinar & Diver, 2002). Accordingly, the project management team has to deploy resources to ensure that all activities are planned accordingly, and accountabilities are stipulated clearly. That will enhance increased performance and time management. Most importantly, the process of planning should also include inculcating a risk management plan to ensure that the project does not suffer closure or termination because an unmitigated risk occurs. Imposition of constant and effective communication Communication is imperative to the success of any project or even organisation. Stakeholders demand ample communication concerning the progress of the project. The success of the project is determined by the effective participation of the executive management team, the sponsors and other stakeholders find it essential to get informed about the progress of the project (Meredith, & Mantel, 2011). That gives them a reason to interject when the project fails to complete either because of inadequate funds or rapture in the stipulated completion time. Similarly, effective communication between the people assigned to undertake the project promotes an adequate working environment that is reinforced by co-operation. A successful project is characterised by frequent task assignment communications and regular briefings. The extent or frequency in which the communication is used should be defined in every segment of the projects. Therefore, the communication plan is incorporated into the project plan to ensure there is coordination of all the factors and elements in the project. Effective communication is a sign of transparency especially when it comes to stakeholders who support the projects after considering the reliability and accountability levels of the project undertakers. Management of the project scope in an effective manner The scope of the project is fathomed in terms of goal setting, as well as, planning of stages in a project. Arguably, it would be important to ensure that the project scope does not change due to unnecessary delays or unprecedented issues (Larson & Gray, 2011). Arguably, the project manager ought to show ultimate care and sobriety when there are feasible changes to the scope. He or she has to ensure that they are managed. The management of changes that are paramount to the success of the project is one amongst the hardest things that project managers face. Strong project closure A project needs a strong closure to ensure that it does not continue consuming resources (Cooke-Davies, 2002). Therefore, the project management team has to agree with all the stakeholders concerning the critical success factors that have to be met. Some of these issues that the two sides have to agree upon include testing, project delivery, as well as, release upon which the project is signed off. Therefore, there is the need for a satisfaction survey for future reference since it contains substantial information with regards to the project (Ward &Chapman, 2003). Therefore, the manager has the responsibility of ensuring that all activities run smoothly. The entire team pays attention to the key factors that would contribute to satisfactory project outcomes. Careful risk management Every project bears a probability of failing at one time or the other. Therefore, it is essential for the project manager to acknowledge the factor of risk management during the planning process (Beloit, & Gauvreau, 2004). The action plan requires a concurrent risk analysis to ensure that there is prior preparation in terms of time for project completion and resources likely to get consumed. The fact that the project management team acquits the information to the stakeholders makes it easy for them to help whenever the project suffers a major setback. That involves sponsoring important financial salvages such as bailouts. Mitigation of major risks Mitigation of risk is understood in different perspectives and dimensions. However, it is considered to be the approach of reducing adverse effects of a risk to a project or affiliate program being undertaken by an organisation. From a professional point of understanding, there are several approaches towards mitigating risks. These are approaches considered universal with respect to the kinds of risks being addressed. The major risks can be accepted, avoided, limited or transferred. The first approach of mitigating risk is accepting the risk. The approach is not usually considered as one that helps reduce the impacts of the risk (Gardiner & Stewart, 2000). Instead, it is considered to be an option where risks are accepted since acceptance of the same risks could lead to a high level of expense as compared to the risk itself. For instance, the project may not want to spend a lot of money on avoiding the risk that has a very low feasibility of occurring. Therefore, the management or risk mitigation team prefers to assume the risks. The second approach is that of Risk avoidance. There are risks that can be avoided because some of the projects and funds cannot be met. That includes ensuring that the action plan does not incorporate activities that would lead to the emergence of similar risks. In most cases, this approach could lead to loss of value or relevance of the projects if the action skipped bears intensive relevance to the project. The third approach is that of Risk transfer. It incorporates handing over the risk to a third party. For instance, the project may have other subsidiary participants whose agenda is to contribute material or other forms of resources to the project (Larson & Gray, 2011). The project management and risk mitigation team may decide to transfer the risks to some of the outsource agents. The risks transferred assist the project in reducing associated costs of the risks. The risk limitation is the most common approach towards risk mitigation that project managers and risk mitigation teams use. The teams develop a counter approach to reducing the impacts of the risks that are expected. The project stakeholders accept the risks and deal with them to ensure that they are reduced in terms of magnitude and impacts expected. Conclusion Successful projects require careful analysis of the success factors and concurrent enactment to ensure that there is a registered flow of events towards completion. That implies that elements such as cost, time and scope are considered before commencing the project (Westerveld, 2003). The management team, afterwards, comes up with an action plan that is blended with a risk mitigation plan. The risk mitigation plan ensures that the project will not close down due to unprecedented issues that could have been assessed. Most essentially, successful projects are accompanied by effective communication, actively involved executive management team among other imperative aspects. Failure to consider these factors seriously means that the projects will fail or will end up consuming a lot of resources than expected. References Dorian, L. (2011, February). ICABC: Industry Insights -- Risk Management: Understanding Risk Mitigation. 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