Important steps to improve a project's success: a residential development project case study
Important steps to improve a project's success: a residential development project case study
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Issue Date
2009
Authors
Li, Hongkan
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Abstract
There are two types of project failures: the visible and the invisible failures. The visible project failure usually happens in contractors’ or subcontractors’ projects. The invisible or passive project failure usually exists in owners’ projects.
Existing project management (PM) theories have exposed some insufficiencies to the success of an owner’ projects. The current theoretical framework evaluates a PM success by means of the “iron triangle” (scope, budget, and time), and a project’s success by the overall objectives of the project that are fulfilled throughout the product lifecycle. A successful PM is not the decisive influencing factor to the project’s success. Current PM theories are rarely valuable until the project is strategically successful. Project success is determined by its fit to the business strategy, which drives project selection, and the formulation of an emergency strategy when encountering a market shift. Therefore, a project’ success is contingent on having suitable strategies.
This paper aims to propose a solution to the high probability of an owner’s project failure. There are three important steps to improve a project success. First, upgrade the PM from a tactical level to a strategic level. In other words, link the project tactics with successful business strategy making sure that the project tactics closely align with market demand. Second, popularize the established project management techniques and provide the necessary training. Third, continuously improve the soft’skills of the members of the project in order to create a harmonious working environment.
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Engineering management