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What Determines Success Or Failure Of A Project? Essay

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What determines success or failure of a project?

Research by Roberts and Furlonger (2000) in a study of information systems projects show that using a reasonably detailed project management methodology, as compared to a loose methodology, improves productivity by 20 to 30 per cent. Moreover, the research indicates that 85 to 90 per cent projects fail to deliver on time, on budget and the quality of performance expected.
It should be emphasized that the causes of failure to deliver on time, on budget and to the quality of performance expected could be addressed by the application of project management practices.

Roberts, J.P. and Furlonger, J. 2000. Successful IS Project Management. Gartner [ID No. TU-09-2012]:2

Some practitioners advocate that a project is successful if it satisfies all three legs of the triple constraint, namely, performance (specification), cost and time. This is viewed as the most basic level of project success (Greer, 1999). Thomsett (2002) in an extensive examination of 20 failing projects over a period of 18 years expands this criteria of success as: “satisfies stakeholder groups, meets functional requirements, meets quality expectations and requirements, within cost, within deadline, delivers sustained and actual benefits and provides the team with professional satisfaction and learning”.
Greer, M 1999. Handbook of Human Performance Technology. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Thomsett, R. 2002. Project Pathology, Causes, patterns and symptoms of

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