Abstract
While a project is to be finished successfully both planning and execution are to be properly implemented poor planning will never allow appropriate execution and control processes or achievements of any project targets .The objective of “the role of project plan on success of project” is to investigate the factors commonly assigning with the project success in contrast to the project failure. Further knowledge areas defined by A Guide to Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) and to determine ways of increasing effectiveness. The study evaluated their use of 21 processes that relate to planning out of 39 processes required for proper project management. The result of this study directs towards project success. Poor planning in the project within the areas brings towards the certain risks such as critical path increasing cost of the project, effects project quality and sometimes brings toward the project failure. Improving quality planning process requires the development of modern tools in areas such as communications and organizational training programs designed for the functional managers.
CHAPTER#1
Introduction
Success of any project can be achieved by measuring the ability to complete the project according to desired goals and specifications within the certain specified budget and the promised time schedule while keeping clients or stakeholders satisfied.
To ensure the successful completion of any project planning is taken as the top priority and must be properly implemented. Control is one of the monitoring mechanisms that ensures that planning phase is properly implemented with corrective actions that are being introduced where there are undesired discrepancies in the project plan and its execution.
Success is not just elusive; it is also multifaceted and difficult to measure a firm can assess the success or failure of development project of any(or all of many terms including customer satisfaction financial return and technical advantages. Success may not be measure at the individual of any project but also at the program level with so many variables considered and stake holders involved (Abbie griffen and albert L page)
- Project success
1.1. Definition and Importance
The importance of the concept of project success is reflected by the Project Management Institute (PMI) devoting its 1986 Annual Seminars & Symposium to this topic. Defining project success is a difficult task: Project success is a topic that is frequently discussed and yet rarely agreed upon. The concept of project success has remained ambiguously defined. It is a concept which can mean so much to so many different people because of varying perceptions, and leads to disagreements about whether a project is successful or not (Liu & Walker, 1998).
The criteria for measuring project success must be set out at the beginning of the project, otherwise different team members will find themselves travelling in differing directions and one or more of them might perceive the project to be a failure.
Two Concepts.
Two distinct components of project success can be identified:
Research Hypotheses
Based on the analysis of the recent literature, this article uses a set of hypotheses, stated below, and a field study designed to investigate them
Product success
This deals with the effects of the project’s final product. It is common for project management literature to confusingly intertwine these two separate components of project success and present them as a single homogenous group.
In order to properly define and assess project success, a distinction should be made between product success and project management success, as they are not the same. Conceptually, the determination of project management success disregards product success, e.g., a project has been managed efficiently but eventually does not meet customer or organizational expectations (Shenhar, Levy, & Dvir, 1997).
Definitions
In order to distinguish between the project and project management it is necessary to develop distinct definitions for the two terms.
A project can be considered to be the achievement of a specific objective, which involves a series of activities and tasks which consume resources. It has to be completed within a set specification, having definite start and end dates.
The use of project management has become associated with such novel complex problems, which are inevitably called a project. Consequently the success of project man- agement has often been associated with the final outcome of the project. Over time it has been shown that project management and project success are not necessarily directly related. The objectives of both project management and the project are different and the control of time, cost and progress, which are often the project management objectives, should not be confused with measuring project success. Also, experience has shown that it is possible to achieve a successful project even when management has failed and vice versa (see, for example, Wit2). There are many examples of projects which were relatively successful despite not being completed on time, or being over budget, e.g. the Thames Barrier, the Fulmar North Sea oil project defining the requirement of work, establishing the extent of work, allocating the resources required, planning the execution of the work, monitoring the progress of the work and adjusting deviations from the plan.
A new, or different form of management, will then establish the operation and control of the project use from this point on. The focus, therefore, of project management is distinct from that of the project because it is short term, until delivery of the project for use. In contrast the project itself is long term, based on the whole life rather than just the development cycle. Having established this distinction between the project and project management it is possible to start to distinguish between success and failure of the two.
Project success or failure
The definition of a project has suggested that there is an orientation towards higher and long-term goals. Important parameters within the goals will be return on investment, profitability, competition and market ability. A range of variables and factors will affect the ability to achieve these goals, which have been identified by various authors. The following list has been derived from the writings of Cash and Fox 4, Baker et al.5’6, Kerzner 3, Wit 2 and KumarT:
(a) objectives;
(b) project administration;
(c) third parties;
(d) relations with client;
(e) human parties;
(f) contracting;
(g) legal agreements;
(h) politics;
(i) efficiency;
(j) conflicts and
(k) profit.
The current literature, for example, Morris and Hugh 8, would imply that the success of a project is dependent on having:
• a realistic goal;
• competition;
• client satisfaction;
• a definite goal;
• profitability;
• third parties;
• market availability;
• the implementation process;
• the perceived value of the project.
Only two of the items from this list would lie directly within the scope of project management as previously defined. These are the definitions of a goal and the implementation process. This would indicate that project management and its techniques are only a subset of the wider context of the project. Project management plays a role in project success.
but that role is affected by many other factors outside the direct control of the project manager. This would start to explain why projects can succeed or fail independently of the project management process.
Project management success or failure
CHAPTEER#2
Literature Review
This study focuses on the planning phase of a project, this section first introduces the relevant project planning literature. Then, the planning processes included in the PMBOK® Guide will be discussed.
2.1. Project Planning
The goal of the planning phase of a project is to prepare the structure for project execution and control. Planning is an important factor for project success (Cooper & Kleinschmidt, 1995; Fortune & White, 2006; Zwikael, Shimizu, & Globerson, 2005) and as such is recognized as one of the critical success factors of project management (Johnson et al.2001; Pinto & Slevin, 1988; Turner, 1999; Zwikael & Sadeh, 2007). However, some criticism of project planning practices can also be found in the literature, especially as regards the ability to accurately estimate cost and schedule during planning. For example, Flyvbjerg, Holm, and Buhl (2002) investigated 258 transportation infrastructure projects, worth US$90 billion and representing different project types, geographical regions, and historical periods. The authors found overwhelming statistical significance that the cost estimates used to decide whether such projects should be built are highly and systematically misleading. They suggest that one should not trust cost estimates and cost-benefit analyses produced by project promoters and their analysts. This can lead to high cost overruns at the end of the project (e.g., Keil, Rai, Ellen, Mann, & Zhang, 2003). Bigelow (1998) criticizes the importance of planning by quoting project managers who claim that planning takes too much time and that customers do not know what they want. Project planning involves specifying a set of decisions concerning the way in which project work should be executed in the future. The primary purpose of planning is to establish a set of directions in sufficient detail that the project team can be told what must bedone, when it must be done, and what resources to use in order to successfully produce project deliverables (Meredith & Mantel, 2006).
The major benefits from quality planning are:
(1) to eliminate or reduce uncertainty,
(2) to improve efficiency of the operation,
(3) to obtain a better understanding of project objectives, and
(4) to provide a basis for monitoring and controlling work (Kerzner, 2006).
A project manager is responsible for completing the project to the satisfaction of all relevant stakeholders. Therefore, project managers should not only make certain that their actions are executed according to plan, but more importantly, that the plan is reliable and properly represents stakeholders’ requirements.
Project Planning in the PMBOK® Guide T. Williams (2005) criticizes the use of project management bodies of knowledge, which he finds inappropriate for complex, uncertain, and time-limited projects. However, most scholars believe that implementing a body of knowledge increases the chance of project success.
In this study, the PMBOK® Guideis used because of its popularity and recognition. However, some criticism related to thePMBOK®Guideincluded lack of covered scope of the nine Knowledge Areas, missing issues (e.g., technology and design), environmental issues, and business and commercial issues (Morris, 2001). According to the PMBOK® Guide— Fourth Edition (PMI, 2008), a project manager is expected to perform 42 processes, including 20 planning processes. Therefore, planning processes consist of about 48% of all processes that should be properly performed by a project manager during the project life cycle. The PMBOK® Guidealso includes the following nine Knowledge Areas: Integration, Scope, Time, Cost, Quality, Human Resources, Communications, Risk, and Procurement. Many project managers find it disturbing that the PMBOK® Guide doesnot identify the relative importance of each of these nine Knowledge Areas. Such an analysis would give project managers and executives a better understanding of how to distribute their limited time and resources. Knowledge Areas have been compared in a limited number of studies. For example, in evaluating the maturity of 38 companies in the United States, Ibbs and Kwak (2000) found that project managers pay most attention to Cost and Communications areas. Cooke-Davies (2002) argues that Risk and Human Resources Knowledge Areas are critical for project success. However, no vast study has yet been conducted aimed at finding the relative importance of each of the PMBOK® Guide’s Knowledge Areas during the planning phase of projects. In summary, project managers do not always have the time, knowledge, and tools to effectively perform all of the project management processes included in the PMBOK® Guide. Research Hypotheses Based on the analysis of the recent literature, this article uses a set of hypotheses, stated below, and a field study designed to investigate them. 1. The relative importance of Knowledge Areas—The Pareto principle states that 80% of the wealth of the nation is distributed among 20% of the population; this is the basis for the “80/20” rule, which states that “20% of the known variables will account for 80% of the results” (Craft & Leake, 2002). The application of this rule in project management may mean that different Knowledge Areas have unequal impact on project success. Thus, the first hypothesis is phrased as follows:
H1: Dissimilar Knowledge Areas have a different impact on project success.
H0: All Knowledge Areas have a similar impact on project success.
Assuming that the first null hypothesis is rejected, we may state the second one on the basis of the following:
.Actual extent of use of Knowledge Areas’ processes—Project managers are not aware of the Knowledge Areas that have the greatest impact on project success. Therefore, they do not necessarily invest more effort in performing the most important Knowledge Areas. For example, project managers may choose to invest their limited time in Knowledge Areas that are easier to perform or that are supported by convenient tools, rather than in those that have the greater impact on project success. Hence, the second hypothesis to be investigated is:
H2: The time spent on Knowledge Areas in projects is positively correlated with the Knowledge Areas’ impact on project success.
H0: The time spent on Knowledge Areas in projects is not correlated with the Knowledge Areas’ impact on project success.
Moderate influence of industry type—Most scholars agree that differences in project management exist among industry types (e.g., CookeDavies & Arzymanow, 2002; Ibbs & Kwak, 2000; Zwikael & Globerson, 2006). As a result, it is expected that in different industry types, each Knowledge Area has a different impact on project success. Thus, the last hypothesis is phrased as follows:
H3: Knowledge Areas have different impact on project success in different industry types.
H0: Knowledge Areas have similar impact on project success in all industry types
2.2Success measures
Although studies of organizational e?ectiveness and organizational success have been at the heart of organization theory for many years, research into project success has not converged to a standard approach. One widely used approach searches for a simple formula that is unequivocal and easy to apply. Measures of this type have typically equated success with meeting the project’s budget and schedule and achieving an acceptable level of performance. However, these measures, even when taken together, are at most partial. They may count as successful projects that met the planning objectives (schedule, budget and performance objectives), but may not have met end-user needs and requirements or there may have been di?culty in commercializing the ?nal product. The success rating of a project may also di?er according to subjective, individual judgment. Freeman and Beale point out that success means di?erent things to di?erent people. Comprehensive success criteria must therefore re?ect di?erent interests and views, which lead to a multi-dimensional, multi-criteria approach. Pinto and Mantel [16] identi?ed three aspects of project performance as benchmarks for measuring the success or failure of a project: the implementation process, the perceived value of the project, and client satisfaction with the delivered project. Shenhar, Dvir and Levy [17] used 13 success measures adapted from previous research and showed that these measures could be grouped into four dimensions: (1) Meeting design goals, (2) Bene?t to the customer, (3) Commercial success, and (4) Future potential. Clearly, not all four-success dimensions are of the same importance. Lipovetsky et al. [18], who analyzed defense projects, concluded that the success dimensions meeting design goals and bene?t to the customer are the most important ones to all stakeholders in the projects (customer, developer or purchasing organization). In this research we followed a similar approach and looked at success through the eyes of the main stakeholders involved in the project: the end-user, the project manager, and the contracting o?ce
Objectives of study
• To fulfill client and stakeholders expectations keeping them happy throughout the project.
• To ensure the quality of project within the planned cost of the project and deliverables.
• Identify initial risks with the help of project plan useful throughout entire project.
- Research Methodology
3.1 Sample and Data Collection
This study was carried out using a questionnaire. questionnaire is a popular method of collecting data because researchers can gather information fairly easily and questionnaire responses are easily coded The questionnaires were distributed in different project based private and semi Government organizations located in the Sindh province working on different nature of projects. The questionnaires were distributed through electronic emails and visiting their organizations. A total of 80 questionnaires were distributed. Data was collected using a non-probabilistic sampling (convenient sampling) technique. Data was collected from primary sources. Cover letter was also attached with questionnaire to insure that there is no risk to participate in this research and also assure you that participation will be confidential. The survey was divided into 5 sections. First section was about demographic information which contains items including: age, name qualification and so on. The second section was about project planning. Third was project risk management. Fourth was about organizational culture. Last section was about project success.
3.2 Scale Used
Data for project planning, project risk management, organizational culture and project success was evaluated on 5 point likert scale (1= Strongly Disagree; 2= Disagree; 3= Neutral; 4= Agree; 5= Strongly Agree). English is mandatory subject for all the educations in Pakistan. Thus, given the sampling frame, no need to translate into native language
3.2.1Project Planning
QUESTIONNAIRE
- Demographic information:
- Questionnaire number¬¬¬¬¬__
- Date__________________
- Respondent name___________________________
- Organization name__________________________
- Project ______________
- Designation of respondent____________________
- Mobile number _______________
- Email address_____________________________
- Experience________________________
- Age:________
- Project planning:
- Strongly disagree 2.disagree 3.neutral 4.agree 5.strongly agree
3.project risk management: - organizational culture
- project success
Sample Solution
