Indicator indicating the successful implementation of the project. Conditions, factors and criteria for the successful implementation of the project. Time and planning

Criteria for the success of the project.

Parameter name	Meaning
Topic of the article:	Criteria for the success of the project.
Category (thematic category)	Technologies

Project success criteria- a set of indicators that make it possible to judge the degree of success of the project.

Success criteria for project management- indicators of project management efficiency.

Project success͵ usually means that all stakeholders get results that meet their expectations, traditionally formulated in the form of goals and requirements. If such goals and requirements are formulated, the criteria for the success of the project can be quantitative indicators reflecting the degree of achievement of the project goal or fulfillment of certain requirements.

A clear and unambiguous definition of these criteria is a mandatory task at the initial stage of a project launch. The project manager should identify and agree on the success indicators and how they will be measured with all project stakeholders.

The general criterion for project success is the achievement of the project objectives at the planned time and within the planned resources.

The main requirement for the criteria is their unambiguous and clear definition. For each project and each client, success criteria must be defined, evaluated and analyzed.

The fact that the goals set at the beginning of the project are not achieved does not always mean the failure of the project. Moreover, if the views of the parties on the goals and objectives of the project change during the implementation of the project, these changes should be reflected in the relevant criteria for success.

Success in project management is related to the success of the project͵ however they are not the same thing. It is possible to successfully lead the implementation of a project͵ which will subsequently be terminated due to the loss of relevance, for example, due to a change in the company's strategy. If the success of the project is usually associated with the achievement of the expected business result then the success of project management is usually associated with such criteria as adherence to the restrictions on the implementation time and cost of the project the timeliness of deliveries, the quality of communications, the time to respond to emerging risks and problems, etc. etc.

If, due to ongoing changes, the project loses its relevance, it is extremely important to consider options for making changes to the concept or make a decision to close this project.

Defining success criterion the project is relevance of the result at the time of its achievement.

At the very beginning of the project, it is highly advisable to analyze the reasons for possible project failures (potential risk areas).

The main reasons for project failures are:

• unclear goals;

· Insufficient funding;

· Changing business priorities;

· Insufficient support from senior management;

· Ineffective team (qualification of project personnel);

· Insufficiently effective interaction in the project;

· Lack of self-government;

· Insufficiently effective communications;

· Lack of motivation (refers to internal risks);

It is necessary to test the project for “reasons for possible failures”: are the goals of the project clear enough? How reliable are investors? Is the project team qualified? Is her motivation enough?

Success criteria and failure criteria are interrelated. But over time, they can change, in particular as the market situation changes.

Criteria for the success of the project. - concept and types. Classification and features of the category "Criteria for the success of the project." 2017, 2018.

First of all, it is necessary to formulate the goals of the project as clearly as possible. It is desirable that they be formulated according to the SMART 1 criterion. From experience, this is far from easy. I remember how I had 2 teams from a very large energy company formulated the goals of their projects, which at that time were already in full swing. After an hour and a half of arguing, they finally managed to more or less clearly define goals - before that, the company had a very vague understanding of what exactly needs to be done.

But this is often not enough. Therefore, a description of the criteria by which the project will be evaluated at the end is added to the goal. They are called criteria for the success and failure of the project. It is very important to define them at the initial stage ("agree on the shore"), since this will allow in the future to avoid many conflicts associated with the assessment of its results.

Basic criteria are applicable to any project, additional ones should always be identified separately.

If you do not set the criteria, incidents often occur. So with an illiterate implementation new system motivating employees not only do not start better

1 See clause 2.4 "Objectives"

work, but also quit. At the beginning of the project, an important criterion was forgotten: to retain key personnel.

It's good if the goal of the project is formulated in one phrase and clarified next to

criteria.

EXAMPLE 58. Fedor Khaliulin, head of the design and construction company "GLASARD":"V commercial organizations and most of the projects are commercial. That is, one of the first criteria for success is profit. This is so clear to everyone that sometimes this criterion is not even formally included in the list. If you make such a mistake in a project with a large number of project team members, it may turn out that since the profit is not formalized, then there is also no formal procedure for monitoring the profitability of the project. In this case, the project manager will be left without prompt access to the most important information. "

Example.By February 1, 2011, open and launch at full capacity a shopping and entertainment complex with the following parameters:

- total investment amount: ... euro;

- location: at the intersection of major highways within the Moscow Ring Road;

- availability of convenient access roads and parking lots for ... parking spaces;

- total area: from ... sq. m;

-100% lease of retail space at a price of ... / sq. miles higher;

- operating costs no more ... / sq. m;

- the number of staff in the state is no more than ... people, etc.

Practice Assignment 43

Select a project on the example of which you will study the material

This chapter.

The project can be both real and fictitious. It is important that you and your team members find it interesting. Also, you should understand its subject area: either you are a professional in it, or on the basis of common sense.

From experience, it's good if it willtypical project, which you do for your external clients (of course, if your business consists of projects, for example, website development). Or it could beinvestment project to create a new asset for your business. Or -organizational, such as implementation information system... The benefit you get depends on the example you use to work through the material in this chapter.Formulate the goals of the selected project according to the SMART criterion and describe the criteria for success and failure.

SELECTION OF PROJECTS

The resources of any organization are limited, and there is always a choice where to direct them: to which of the current or new projects, to which department, etc. V large company it is desirable that a formal project selection procedure be applied for example, once a year at the Project Committee with adjustments every six months or quarterly. In a small firm, everything can be simpler, but it is advisable to hold meetings several times a year on current and promising projects.

When selecting projects, a variety of factors,for example:

The strategic importance of the project for the company;

Financial performance project (profitability, payback period, etc.) 1;

Restrictions:

~ temporary;

~ the need for resources (financial, human, technical, etc.);

~ technological;

~ administrative;

Risk level;

Project stakeholders and their interests. It is critical for the project to do this analysis. For example, the interest of the owners or top managers of the company in the project may outweigh all other factors. In this case, alas, the decision to launch a project is often made by will, without justification and calculations;

Assumptions and assumptions. We often do something based on assumptions that are sometimes not realized. For a long time, most companies have planned the future on the assumption that the wealth of their customers will grow steadily. The crisis crept up unnoticed ...

When selecting projects, it is advisable to write down the key assumptions on the basis of which you believe that it will be successful.

EXAMPLE 59. Grigory Odulov, Deputy general director trading company: “Unfortunately, many projects are launched only on the basis of assumptions and assumptions. And it is not the fault, but the misfortune of managers and company owners that project management is turning into risk management. Often one can only guess how this or that "interested" department (represented by a particular official) will interpret, depending on the situation, a certain law; how long will the current "rules of the game", tax policy, etc. "

It is desirable that ready-made presentations of current and possible projects, prepared in a single convenient form, are brought to the Project Committee,

1 See p. 4.3.4 “Project finance management”.

which allows the company's management to make an informed decision in the shortest possible time. The project office can provide methodological assistance to project managers and initiative groups in preparing projects for their submission to senior management.

Practice Assignment 44

Describe how the selection of projects is carried out in your company today. How optimal is this based on the interests of the business? Suggest the optimal procedure, as well as criteria for evaluating and selecting projects.

PROJECT CHARTER

It is very convenient when everyone key parameters of the project are brought together in a document called charter (passport, declaration, card) of the project. Then, anyone who needs to familiarize themselves with the project will need a few minutes: a good charter is 1-2 pages long.

My client- director of a large online store - shuddered when he heard the "Project Charter". In his previous company in France, it was a hefty 100-page tome. When introducing KSUP, he set us a strict requirement: “Minimum of documents! Otherwise there will be no time to work. " We didn't mind.

The project charter is approved by the top management of the company. It is the “tip of the iceberg”: a lot of preparatory work is needed to prepare a high-quality charter. By the way, the presentation of a new project to the management can be prepared on the basis of its charter.

Each company decides for itself what information should be included in the model charter of their project. For example:

PRACTICE 45

Study the above project charter form as it applies to your company.Change it if necessary.Draw up the charter of the project you previously selected based on the form you created. This is one of the key tasks of this chapter. If you do not have enough information to fill in some sections of the charter, return to this task later.

Economic calculations can be submitted in "Business plan" and / or "Feasibility study"(Feasibility study).

In a medium and large company, it is advisable to conclude with a project manager agreement (contract) specifically for this project, even if he works on the staff of the company. To record his responsibility in writing, the criteria for evaluating the results, "carrots and sticks."

PLAN BY THE Milestones

Another document that is helpful in the initiation phase is the milestone plan. A milestone is a key event in a project. Milestone Plan - a sequence of project milestones with the expected dates of their occurrence. He helps senior management to make the decision to launch the project, and on this basis, control is carried out.

Oftentimes, leaders are so happy with the milestones that they are eager to get started on the project. Although this is still only preliminary planning: the list of works, their interrelationships, etc. is not clear until the end 1

There should not be too many milestones: preferably no more than 12. It is also useful to plan what document will confirm the passage of a particular milestone. Since a milestone is an event, it is advisable to formulate the names of the milestones in verbs perfect kind: "Terms of reference has been signed" etc.

Practice Assignment 46

Develop a plan for the milestones of your project, from launch to completion.

OTHER DOCUMENTS

Each company decides for itself what other documents are needed at the stage of project initiation.

For example, even at the very initial stage, you can demand from the initiators of the project a short "Project concept" before moving on: after all, the collection detailed information, its analysis, calculations, various approvals require labor time. And the management may decide that it makes sense to do all this work only after the preliminary approval of the project.

Experience shows that not everyone can clearly and clearly state their thoughts on 1 page or 2-3 slides. Here is the first filter for selecting projects - and it works automatically, without additional management efforts. And at the same time - a means of educating employees.

Practice Assignment 47

Decide what documents your company needs at the project initiation stage.Include everything you need to do, but don't add unnecessary bureaucracy.

£ 42. PROJECT START-UP MEETING

When the decision to launch the project has already been made and the team has been approved, it is advisable to hold a meeting at which to give the participants the go-ahead: "Start!" Quite accurately, the essence of this event is conveyed by the English term "kick-off meeting" ("start-up meeting"), which means something like "kick-off meeting".

The meeting is held in order to:

Publicly approve the start of the project;

Announce a single agreed point of view on the project;

Obtain the consent of all interested parties, motivate the participants.
It is desirable that the project manager, the project team,

top management of the organization, other key players,

At the meeting, the project manager will usually conduct it. short presentation, after which he answers the questions of the participants.

At the exit, each participant must clearly understand:

What tasks does the project solve;

Who is in charge of the project;

Key clients and stakeholders;

The benefits of these parties from the implementation of the project;

Internal organization project, distribution of roles;

Project parameters: goals, scope of work, timing, budget;

The main difficulties and methods of overcoming them.

Practice Assignment 48

To be continued...

Today I want to briefly tell you about the criteria for the success of projects and project managers.

But first you have to answer the question “what is a project” :)

What is a project

This is the first question any manager needs to answer.

Not obvious, but project management more difficult than “normal”, so-called “regular management”. Managing a department or subordinates is one thing. Leading a project is another matter entirely.

Most project management methodologies are voluminous. For example, the latest edition of the “bible of managers” PMBoK is almost 1000 pages, the manuals of Prince2, IPMA and others (about them - some other time) are also not small.

In the life of a leader, it is important to learn to quickly understand “the project is in front of you or not” so as not to waste energy (and attempts to pull 1,000-page methodologies where you can get by with a little blood).

One of the first discoveries to be made is that top management itself, as a rule, does not understand well where projects are and where not. Those. There is no need to hope that you have been entrusted with something, called it a project and have already thought well. In practice, projects are called anything, it is you (the project manager) who needs to check what has been said for adequacy.

We need a definition that will help sort the tasks into those that require a project approach and those that (fortunately) can be solved more easily using “regular management” more familiar to most people.

Definition of the term

Let's remember or google a more or less classic definition. We come across something like: "A project is an event to achieve a goal, limited resources in time and associated with the achievement of a unique result."

Such wording is common. Including in PMBoK itself. Problem: They're unfortunate. Of these, the main thing is not clear - how a project differs from a “non-project”.

Don't believe me? Try to find at least one example of any activity that does not fit this definition?

Explaining with an example

You go to work or make yourself an omelette for breakfast in the morning.

Are these activities to achieve the goal? Of course, the goal is quite specific (to arrive at the destination, to get enough).

Time limited? Undoubtedly! You cannot have breakfast for half a day or spend a day on the road.

Are resources limited? Again, yes. You have an understandable amount that you can and do not mind spending on the road. Or in the case of scrambled eggs, just a dozen eggs in the refrigerator. If you use them up, you will be left without breakfast.

Should such work be called a project? Of course not! What are 1000 pages of methodologies for frying eggs. You can cope with one intuition and common sense.

If you were not cooking fried eggs alone, but with your family, passing a frying pan to each other, then cooking breakfast would still not turn into a project, intuition would still be enough.

On the pathos of coaches

Many project management coaches love pathos and tend to exaggerate. Sometimes they say “everything in the world is a project”. Or “project management is a very ancient skill, the first projects are thousands of years old - here, the Egyptian pyramids ...”.

I dare to say - the construction of the Egyptian pyramid by the ancient Egyptians was not just a project, as was the preparation of scrambled eggs. There are (fortunately) much less projects around us than it seems. And in the normal, modern sense of the word, full-fledged project management was formed about 50-70 years ago (hardly more).

However, back to the scrambled eggs.

Now imagine that you have a more difficult task ahead of you. Preparing more than just scrambled eggs for breakfast for yourself (or your family). Some event is coming (the birthday of the child). You want to make a surprise - take the ostrich egg scrambled eggs.

The rates are skyrocketing. There are still time limits (for example, the birthday is coming soon). There is only one egg, you bought it from an ostrich farm. You know very little about ostriches and you are not sure whether you will be able to cook it properly. It is not even clear whether it will fit in a normal frying pan and whether the shell will break correctly. You really do not want to make a mistake and spoil the surprise for your child.

And in such a situation, your activity begins to more and more resemble a project. You start planning more carefully (compared to your usual breakfast) - surfing the Internet, figuring out “how to fry”, “how to break”, select a special frying pan (or even buy a suitable one in the store, calculate the time. Not necessarily all 1000 pages of PMBoK will be used in this approach, but there are a lot of elements that you would not even think of using for a regular breakfast or a trip to the office, you will apply here.

What changed

Let me offer my definition.

We call a project a work on a task, which is inherent at the same time:

• limb,
• high uncertainty.

Finiteness is a "framework", a limitation in terms of time and resources.

High uncertainty means that it is not completely clear how to solve the task at hand. Only when BOTH conditions are met - apply project management.

Think of the major industries and industries in which project management is prevalent: for example, IT or applied science. When a development and implementation project is launched software product or to launch a new pharma on the market. drug - they usually have a frame. The company has a certain budget and can afford to invest in development for a certain time. But then the money has to come back. At the same time, the task that software engineers, technologists and scientists will solve - often does not have an understandable algorithm, it is poorly predictable, and many risks can work (we have to partly adopt the principle of “get into battle, we'll see there”).

It is at this juncture that approaches from regular management work very poorly. When there are both very rigid frameworks (finiteness) and high uncertainty at the same time.

This is why (in my opinion) construction Egyptian pyramids by the ancient Egyptians - not a project. At least one of the parameters is missing. And this is the finiteness.

The construction of the Egyptian pyramids is not a project

The construction of the pyramid began when the pharaoh was born. It had to be finished by the time of his death. If there was no death in infancy, then, most likely, at least 20-30 years were allotted for the construction. Resources (people, materials) were also not in short supply. Opinions differ - whether the pyramid was built by slaves or free mercenaries, but, in any case, the principle worked - “did something go wrong? Let's bring in more people. ” If you have unlimited time frames and / or budgets, then sooner or later you will cope with any task. Even with a very complex one. And very incomprehensible to you. From the fifth, tenth or twentieth time, after huge expenses, you will succeed.

An example of the "Egyptian pyramids" in modern world- some state projects. Or the work of some product companies (more often in the IT sector). When a company has made a certain IT product and then for years refines and improves it, selling more and more new customers, expanding the number of services. Until such a company reaches a new level of development, but it is already very rich - it does not need project management (imagine Google or Facebook). Now these are giant corporations, engaged in a variety of projects from the creation of cars and satellites to medical and financial startups. But they once had 1 very successful product (search engine or social network), and could set its development as their only task (on which they could spend at least an unlimited amount of money). Such a Google and such a Facebook would not need project management.

Operational activity is what

Sometimes the so-called "operational activities" are mentioned. This is the most obvious example one can imagine when project management is not required at all.

For operating activities violation of both principles is characteristic: (infinity) finiteness and (absence) uncertainty.

An example is the work of a car assembly plant. The plant where the conveyor operates. Cars move along it. Someone is engaged in painting the body, installing wheels, headlights, seats, and so on. This activity is conditionally endless (it will be repeated from day to day until the plant is closed or the production of this brand of machines is curtailed). It is extremely predictable (it is well known how many cars can be produced per shift, what will be the “exhaust” at the end of the day, week, month, year). Applying the principles of project management in such conditions will not provide any benefit (it will only complicate and confuse everything).

Another example of operational activity is IT support work. The call center or site accepts applications, they are distributed according to a certain algorithm among the employees, who either give oral recommendations to the user, or eliminate minor defects. Such work closely resembles an assembly line: small, most often the same type of input requests, a predictable algorithm for their processing. At least until it comes to large-scale restructuring of the system. In such conditions, project management is also useless.

However, when you are faced at the same time with a task that has high uncertainty and finiteness (scope), project management is currently the best (with some reservations) way to solve it.

Project success criteria

When talking about defining a project, it is important to mention the criteria for success. What is a “successful manager”? What is a “successful project”? And what is considered a failure?

The answer has long been worked out by methodologists.

A successful project is one that met a predetermined deadline, cost (and other resources), provided the customer with what he asked for, and at the same time the key stakeholders are satisfied.

It sounds cumbersome, but easily conveyed in one picture. Imagine a triangle (they have stopped drawing it in PMBoK for some time now, but the essence has not gone anywhere). The triangle has three sides = terms, money, content. In the center is a smiling emoticon. Everything.

These are the criteria for your successful project.

Edge - what is agreed with the customer before the start of the project. Usually - such agreements are high-level, in general outline, but they are also indestructible. Have you promised to build a brick house, 9-storey, within 12 months and with a budget of $ 1 million? Do it!

What will this house look like, what the balconies will look like, which company elevators to install in it - the second question. This has yet to be agreed upon, possibly during the course of the project. But framework agreements - right away. Before the launch of the project. Usually they are recorded in a hyper-laconic document called "project charter" (about it some other time).

So, the three facets of the project you must define BEFORE you start working. Terms (“we will finish no later than”), money (“the project budget is not more than ...”) and content in 2-3 sentences (“what we do and what we don’t do”). These faces are symbolized by the triangle in the picture.

They need to be achieved so that the key (not all, but key) stakeholders of the project (key users and representatives of the customer, your management, key regulators and some others) are satisfied. This satisfaction is symbolized by a smiley face inside the triangle.

How to Become a Good Manager

A good project manager is different from bad topics that falls into the triangle at completion and makes the key stakeholders happy.

All methodologies, by and large, are focused on how to form a triangle at the start of the project with sufficient accuracy and what to do along the way when deviations arise (missed estimates, new requirements appeared, customer representative changed, etc.).

The manager is not successful if he does not know how to keep the project in the triangle (which he himself agreed upon at the start). Or if his projects are completed “on budget and on time and strictly according to the technical specification”, but the customer remains deeply unhappy and disappointed (a smiley face in a triangle with the corners of his lips down). Another example of failure: the project is completed within the originally designated triangle, the customer is satisfied, but the team overextended itself - people in it are demotivated, many, having received a project bonus, filed a letter of resignation. The internal reputation of the company is spoiled, it is difficult and expensive to look for new specialists in the labor market. In this case, the top management of the company will probably be unhappy. And these are also interested key parties (after all, the project was done with their money - they were the ones who paid your salary as a manager and all staff members).

Project management is a balancing act: how to define and not fail the triangle (time-money-content) and achieve the satisfaction of the key project stakeholders. This is the key thing to remember about the criteria for project success.

The article was written based on training course on project management.

The project manager always strives to bring his project to a successful conclusion, to avoid failure. Successful project implementation is essential successful career how professional manager the project, and almost any leader who is responsible in the organization for certain projects.

Project success means the receipt by all stakeholders of the project results that meet their expectations, formulated in the form of goals and requirements.

At the beginning of the project, the project manager must clearly understand the expectations of the key participants and the indicators by which the conclusion about the success of the project will be formed, and during the implementation of the project, monitor and predict the state of these indicators.

The task of determining these indicators should be solved at the stage of project initiation. At the same time, each of the interested parties must determine their understanding of the success of the project and agree with the project manager on the appropriate indicators and methods for their assessment.

Project success criteria- a set of qualitative and / or quantitative indicators that make it possible to judge the degree of success of the project.

That is, they reflect the degree of achievement of certain project goals or the fulfillment of certain requirements.

The main types of project success criteria:

Traditional: "on time", "on budget", "according to specification";

Compliance with the requirements (expectations) of the customer and users;

Meeting the expectations of other project participants.

For example, criteria for the success of a new film project might be as follows:

Delivery of the finished film on time, within the allocated budget;

Getting a certain profit based on the rental results;

Realization of a certain edition on DVD (or Blu-ray) discs;

Receiving positive feedback film critics and high rating viewers' ratings;

Nominated for one of the prestigious awards.

Note that you should not confuse the concepts of "project success" and "project management success". Successful management the project is determined by indicators of the effectiveness of project management (quality and timeliness of adoption management decisions, efficiency of risk management, optimality of plans and workload of performers, etc.). Effective management the project is an important condition for the success of the project, but not the only one. Even a project that is well managed can fail.

Let's consider several versions of the success factors of projects.

Project success factors- external and internal conditions on which the successful implementation of the project depends.

For example, Peter Morris divides project success factors into technical and human. As a result, conclusions are drawn about the importance of taking into account the factors associated with people, with the organization of their interaction in the project.

Another study was conducted and described by J. Pinto, during which a survey was conducted of 400 project managers from various fields ( Scientific research, construction, information Technology etc.). They were asked to name the factors that ultimately determine the success of a project.

As a result of the survey, 10 main factors of project success:

1) mission of the project (strategic importance and achievability of the goals of the project);

2) management support;

3) the quality of the elaboration of the project plan;

4) consultations with the client (customer);

5) provision of qualified personnel;

6) technical support project;

7) customer approval;

8) monitoring and feedback;

9) communications;

10) problem management.

Alexey Polkovnikov and Mikhail Dubovik, based on surveys of managers and project participants (on the factors of project success), made the following conclusions:

1) critical factors for the success of projects include both factors common to all projects, and specific, characteristic only for certain types of projects. Therefore, the project manager must take into account the specifics of the project and identify the factors of success characteristic of his project;

2) different participants the project (project manager, project curator, customer, performer) assess the importance and state of success factors in different ways;

3) for successful implementation the project needs to achieve several complementary success factors.

Summarizing and organizing the research results, it can be concluded that the success factors of the project relate to three main elements of the project (see Figure 1):

1) correct and clear definition of the goals and results of the project;

2) effective project management;

Figure 1 - Factors determining the success of the project

Correct and clear definition of the goals and results of the project.

Even a well-planned, organized and implemented project can be considered unsuccessful if the wrong goals were initially set. For example, an organization can make mistakes in the selection and launch of projects (projects that do not correspond to the organization's strategy, projects with opposite or inconsistent goals, as a rule, cannot be recognized as completely successful).

Project objectives are in most cases defined outside of the project. They are formed by the top management of the company (the customer), and the project manager's influence on the initial formulation of goals is limited. The project manager has the opportunity to participate in clarifying the goals of the project, especially when preparing the launch of the project and on initial stages planning.

Critical Success Factors, Related goals may include the following:

1) the mission of the project - the strategic importance of the project for the organization (the prerequisites for initiating the project and its significance for the organization should be logical and clear to all the main participants);

2) the goals are clearly defined and equally understood by all project participants;

3) goals are adequate and achievable;

4) the project is supported at the level of the top management of the organization;

5) the expectations of the customer, consumers and other key stakeholders are taken into account.

Effective project management

Building an effective project management system largely depends on the project manager. And it is precisely the lack of an effective project management system that is often cited as the main reason for problems with project implementation.

Even for projects provided with experienced specialists and all the necessary resources, deadlines and budget overruns are characteristic due to the lack of timely coordination of the work of the contractors, delays in the supply of equipment and many other problems arising from the lack of adequate plans, organization of execution and control of work.

Critical Success Factors, Related management may include the following:

1) the availability and quality of elaboration of plans;

2) the adequacy of the organizational structure (clear distribution of responsibility and authority, effective interaction with the departments of the organization implementing the project);

3) the effectiveness of procedures for interaction, decision-making and control;

4) the effectiveness of motivating project participants.

Adequate provision of the project with resources and appropriate technologies

The provision of the project with resources, unfortunately, only partially depends on the project manager. But the factors associated with the technological and resource support of the project must be assessed and carefully analyzed even before the launch of the project. It is better to abandon a project than to take on a project that is not provided with resources and is technologically unfeasible.

Problems with the technological support of projects can be associated both with the use of outdated technologies and equipment that are no longer able to provide the necessary competitiveness, and with the use of new technologies that are not yet sufficiently mastered and debugged.

Critical Success Factors, Related resource and technological support project may include the following:

1) the quality of elaboration of project documentation (literacy of technological solutions incorporated at the design stage);

2) technological security and feasibility of the project (the use of reliable and modern technologies and equipment);

3) availability of qualified performers (including adequate qualifications technicians and the possibility of their timely involvement);

4) adequate legal support for the project (including support for contract management processes and solving other legal issues).

Consider goals and content of the project.

Among the most common reasons for project failure are the following:

The goals and boundaries of the project are not clearly defined;

The strategy and implementation plan of the project are not sufficiently developed;

Inadequate resource provision for the project;

Unrealistic dates, etc.

All the reasons given are associated with a lack of understanding and a vague description of the project as an object of management. The manager and other project participants may understand the goals and content of the project in different ways, not represent its real scale and complexity. And without this, it will not be possible to build an adequate organizational structure for project management and ensure the involvement of performers for the implementation of the project.

Thus, the project manager must understand as clearly as possible the features of the project itself, as well as the limitations and features of the environment in which the project will be carried out.

Let's consider the main elements of the project that need to be identified.

In Figure 2, the project is presented in the form of a pyramid, in which three main parts can be distinguished:

1) the top of the pyramid - project objectives(they define what the project is for);

2) the middle part of the pyramid - project product(this is what should be created during the implementation of the project);

3) the base of the pyramid - tasks and work(which must be completed to create a project product).

Objectives of the project

The concept of a goal is one of the key in project management, since any projects are initiated and implemented to achieve specific goals.

Figure 2 - Pyramid of goals and objectives of the project

Project / program objectives- the desired results (effects, benefits) achieved with the successful implementation of the project / program given the requirements and conditions for their implementation (in accordance with NTK)

The goals of the project primarily answer the question "for what?" (Why is this project being implemented? What primarily the customer (project owner) wants to receive as a result of implementation of this project?) However, objectives may reflect the expectations of other key stakeholders and project participants.

For example,

If the expectations of the company's shareholders from the implementation of the project for the implementation of a new information system can be associated with obtaining additional transparency and manageability by the company, then the expectations of the head of the department who will operate the system are associated with the ease of operation and reliability of the new system. Users of the future system expect the system to be easy to use and to simplify (or not overly complicate) their production processes.

The goals of the project should be formulated by the client. The project manager should clarify and, if necessary, refine the objectives of the project.

A set of interrelated goals can be defined for a project. Goals can be structured by level (hierarchy of goals: from general to more specific). Several complementary goals may reflect the different interests of the project participants.

Mission of the project (or strategic goals of the project) - these are goals achieved in the long term, aimed at fulfilling the mission and achieving the strategic goals of the organization.

Project goals (operational, short-term goals) - the desired result of the activity, achieved upon successful completion of the project, aimed at obtaining specific short-term effects, meeting needs or efficient use available (emerging) market opportunities in the near future, indicating the general ways, methods and technologies to achieve them.

The development of a hierarchical structure of project goals will allow you to determine more precise requirements for the project product, formulate requirements for organizational structure project management and assign responsibility for achieving goals.

Project strategy- a general vision of the way to achieve the goal of the project; defines the directions and basic principles of the project; characterized by a system (set) of qualitative and quantitative indicators ( in accordance with STC).

Sometimes the same goals can be achieved different ways... Accordingly, the choice of the main way to achieve the goal of the project is also an integral part of the process of defining and refining goals.

For example,

An increase in the accuracy of recording the working time of employees can be achieved as a result of both the implementation of the information system and the creation of special service control.

An increase in the volume of supplies of products can be achieved through both the construction of a new plant and the acquisition of a finished asset from competitors.

Different project goals can be achieved at different times. Understanding the sequence of achieving the goals of the project will allow you to develop a strategy for the implementation of the project, will make visible rather long and complex processes of achieving strategic, long-term goals.

Project objectives are defined by a set of indicators (success criteria) that the project manager must achieve in order for stakeholders to receive the expected benefits.

Project product

It is not enough for the project manager to clearly understand the goals of the project. It is important to define and agree with the customer project product(that is, what exactly should be created and delivered to the customer as a result of the project).

Project product- a material or other entity produced in the course of the project, the creation and use of which will ultimately ensure the achievement of the goals of the project.

The product of the project can be created tangible and intangible assets, for example, new products and services, new technologies, buildings and structures, production facilities, trained personnel, organizational changes carried out in the company, etc. Often the product of a project is complex and includes both tangible and intangible components.

The customer can accept the final product in its entirety or accept separately each component of the project product (i.e. ancillary products created during the project to ensure the final product).

For example, the concept and prototype of the system, project documentation, report on marketing research are also project products and delivered to the customer, but they are developed to ensure the creation of the final project product.

The initial requirements for the product are defined in the project assignment (specifications, terms of reference). In the future, the requirements for the product can be specified and detailed during the development of project documentation.

Since goals are driven by the expectations and requirements of the key project stakeholders, one of the initial processes defining goals can be the process of collecting and analyzing requirements.

Requirements for the project- clearly formulated wishes of customers, sponsors and other project participants for the characteristics that the goals, products, services, short-term and long-term results of the project should correspond to, as well as restrictions and other conditions for the implementation of the project / program (in accordance with NTK).

 

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