IT Project Success
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Dear PM Practitioner:

We need the benefit of your expertise in our assessment of what factors are critical to achieving IT project success. If you would allow us to introduce ourselves, we are PM researchers/writers interested in expanding the IT PM knowledge base with the insights of practical, real world experience. Our digital questionnaire attempts to address the variety of definitions of success used over the last 25 years. Because we’ve included all previous attempts to measure IT project success in this questionnaire, it’s not a quick, handful of items. However, you may actually find it fascinating to see the myriad factors that scholars have associated with IT project success. More importantly, your insights will help to refine the definition of success. Your expertise can help to shape the future application of best practice within project management.

We would appreciate a response by October 31, 2011. Participation in this study is voluntary. There are no risks beyond those experienced in daily life. The questions are not personal, and are unlikely to cause any discomfort. You may withdraw at any time by closing your browser, and you can decline to answer any question. Completion and submission of the survey constitutes consent to participate. There is no compensation or cost to participate. The link that was provided to you is secure and unique, residing on a secure server. The link will not be used for any tracking purposes. This survey is anonymous, however, you have the option of providing your name and title on the survey, which will constitute your acknowledgement of informed consent and grant us permission to quote you with appropriate citation. If you provide your name/contact information, specific answers will be kept confidential, and you may also withdraw at any time by contacting the researcher. Results will be compiled in aggregate for creating the report findings. If you would like to receive a summary, please note your contact information on the last question of the survey. Please know that we appreciate your time and your insights.

If you’re curious about our recent research and publications in the area of IT project management, check out our recent article in IJPM (October 2010). If you have any questions regarding survey content, please call (918) 444-2907 or e-mail stevensd@nsuok.edu. For questions regarding confidentiality and anonymity, please contact NSU's Institutional Review Board at http://arapaho.nsuok.edu/~irb.

Thank you for your participation,

Dr. Deborah H. Stevenson, Dr. Jo Ann Starkweather
Information Systems and Technology
Northeastern State University

1. What is your title?

What is your title?

2. What industry is your organization in?

What industry is your organization in?

3. What country do you live in?

What country do you live in?

4. What is your age?

What is your age? <= 30 yrs

31 - 40 yrs

41 - 50 yrs

>= 51 yrs

5. How many years have you been with this organization?

How many years have you been with this organization? <5 yrs

5-14 yrs

15-24 yrs

>=25 yrs

6. How many years have you been in your current position?

How many years have you been in your current position? <2 yrs

2-5 yrs

6-10 yrs

11-15 yrs

>=16 yrs

7. What percent of your projects are IT related?

What percent of your projects are IT related?

8. What percent of your projects’ clients are external to the organization?

What percent of your projects’ clients are external to the organization? <10%

10-19%

20-29%

30-39%

40-49%

50-59%

60-69%

70-79%

80-89%

>=90%

9. What is the average revenue value of your projects?

What is the average revenue value of your projects? <$100,000

$100,000 - $499,999

$500,000 - $1,000,000

> $1,000,000

10. What is the average duration of your projects?

What is the average duration of your projects? <6 months

6 months – 11 months

1-3 years

>3 years

11. What is the average duration of your organization’s projects?

What is the average duration of your organization’s projects? <6 months

6 months – 11 months

1-3 years

>3 years

12. Do you hold a PM certification? If "yes", please specify the certification.

Do you hold a PM certification? If "yes", please specify the certification. Yes

Other (please specify)

13. On average, what proportion of your project team members are co-located (in the same location)?

On average, what proportion of your project team members are co-located (in the same location)?

14. On average, what proportion of your communication is conducted electronically versus face-to-face for each of the following:

	% Electronic Communication	% Face-to-Face Communication
Team Members	*On average, what proportion of your communication is conducted electronically versus face-to-face for each of the following: Team Members % Electronic Communication	Team Members % Face-to-Face Communication
Sponsors	Sponsors % Electronic Communication	Sponsors % Face-to-Face Communication
Contractors	Contractors % Electronic Communication	Contractors % Face-to-Face Communication
Clients	Clients % Electronic Communication	Clients % Face-to-Face Communication

15. Has your organization been affected by the economic downturn of the past two years?

Has your organization been affected by the economic downturn of the past two years? Yes

16. If so, what measures has your organization taken in response to the economic changes? Check all that apply.

If so, what measures has your organization taken in response to the economic changes? Check all that apply. Layoffs

Shorter Project Durations

Smaller Projects

IS Budget Decrease

Increase in Number of Contractors Hired

Entire Projects Outsourced

Other (please specify)

17. What IT development methodology does your organization use most often?

What IT development methodology does your organization use most often? System Development Lifecycle
Agile Methodologies

18. On a scale from 0 – 100, where 0 = No Effect on Project Success, please choose a number that represents the percent that each attribute below contributes to project success. Your responses do NOT have to add up to 100, as this is simply a rating of each individual factor.

1. Communication Related Factors

On a scale from 0 – 100, where 0 = No Effect on Project Success, please choose a number that represents the percent that each attribute below contributes to project success. Your responses do NOT have to add up to 100, as this is simply a rating of each individual factor. 1. Communication Related Factors -- Ability to communicate at multiple levels
-- Admit mistakes without losing respect
-- Clearly articulate what must be accomplished
-- Communication & collaboration between PM and project owners
-- Convey ideas easily
-- Facilitate
-- Foster an environment that allows team members to communicate open and honestly
-- Keep the team moving toward a common goal
-- Listen
-- Negotiate

19. On a scale from 0 – 100, where 0 = No Effect on Project Success, please choose a number that represents the percent that each attribute below contributes to project success. Your responses do NOT have to add up to 100, as this is simply a rating of each individual factor.

2. Project Related Factors

On a scale from 0 – 100, where 0 = No Effect on Project Success, please choose a number that represents the percent that each attribute below contributes to project success. Your responses do NOT have to add up to 100, as this is simply a rating of each individual factor. 2. Project Related Factors Achieves business purpose operationally
Achieves business purpose strategically
Achieves business purpose technically
Business process
Business performance
Commercial success
Complexity of Technical Tasks
Define project properly
Delivers functionality
Density of project network
Efficiency of project execution
Ensuring correct and adequate information flows
Making a fresh start when mistakes in implementation have been identified
Meets design goals
Meets planning goals
Meets quality thresholds
Meets stated objectives
Meets target cost of project
Number of people involved
On Budget
On Time
Politics
Produced to spec
Project plan
Project schedule
Project size
Project value
Reliability
Maintainability
Realistic Schedule
Scope changes
Shorter project duration
Stress management
System design
Terminated reasonably if needed
Technical performance
Technical innovations – identifying technical problems in the project
Type of development methodology used (SDLC/Agile)
Uniqueness of project activities
Urgency

20. On a scale from 0 – 100, where 0 = No Effect on Project Success, please choose a number that represents the percent that each attribute below contributes to project success. Your responses do NOT have to add up to 100, as this is simply a rating of each individual factor.

3. Project Manager/Team Related Factors

On a scale from 0 – 100, where 0 = No Effect on Project Success, please choose a number that represents the percent that each attribute below contributes to project success. Your responses do NOT have to add up to 100, as this is simply a rating of each individual factor. 3. Project Manager/Team Related Factors Ability of project manager to learn from experience on projects
Ability to communicate at multiple levels
Ability to coordinate
Ability to deal with ambiguity and change
Ability to delegate authority
Ability to escalate
Ability to tradeoff
Accommodate employee personal goals/rewards
Attitude
Coaching
Commitment
Competence of project manager
Creativity of project manager
Cultural history
Decision Making of project manager
Education
Experience
Flexibility of project manager
Leadership
Length of prior projects that project manager has experienced
Mentoring
Perception of his/her role/responsibilities
Personnel growth
Personnel - recruitment
Personnel - selection
Personnel - training
PM certification
Providing development opportunities for project team members
Risk management
Satisfies needs of project team
Team building
Team – Commitment
Team – Technical background
Team - Troubleshooting
Team size of past projects
Technical expertise of project manager
Time management
Verbal skills
Voluntarism Presence – the degree to which free expression of ideas and concerns are allowed, innovation, questioning, and participating in defining goals
Work history
Written skills

21. On a scale from 0 – 100, where 0 = No Effect on Project Success, please choose a number that represents the percent that each attribute below contributes to project success. Your responses do NOT have to add up to 100, as this is simply a rating of each individual factor.

4. Organization Related Factors

On a scale from 0 – 100, where 0 = No Effect on Project Success, please choose a number that represents the percent that each attribute below contributes to project success. Your responses do NOT have to add up to 100, as this is simply a rating of each individual factor. 4. Organization Related Factors Adequate documentation of org. project responsibilities
Adequate risk management education
Business planning
Corporate culture – type of
Corporate management – type of
Effective benefits delivery and management process that involves mutual cooperation of project management and line management functions
Economic environment
Ensuring correct and adequate information flows
Evaluating suppliers/subcontractors based on how well they meet schedules
Functional manager’s support
Information technology
Making additional resources available to meet project milestones and deadlines
Maintained integrity of performance measurement baseline
Management style at organization level within which project work was done – levels of threat or security
Maturity of organization’s process for assigning ownership of risks
Mature scope change control process
Minimizing project duration precedence over other objectives
Organizational effectiveness
Organizational contingency theory – the degree to which organizations can adapt to the environment to maintain organizational effectiveness
Past experience
Planning with commitment to project
Political environment
Portfolio and program management practices that allow the enterprise to resource fully a suite of projects that are thoughtfully and dynamically matched to the corporate strategy and business objectives
Project champion – presence of
Project completed within minimum or mutually agreed upon scope change without disturbing main flow of work of the organization or culture
Project organizational structure
Project owner imposes minimum levels of structure on PM – should result in an “empowered” PM
Project owner takes interest in project
Risk management plan up to date
Social environment
Sound basis for project
Strong business case
Suite of project, program and portfolio metrics – giving “line of sight” feedback on current project performance and anticipated future success (project, portfolio and corporate decision can be aligned)
Taking corrective action to control progress against the project schedule
Technological environment
Top/senior management support

22. On a scale from 0 – 100, where 0 = No Effect on Project Success, please choose a number that represents the percent that each attribute below contributes to project success. Your responses do NOT have to add up to 100, as this is simply a rating of each individual factor.

5. User/Stakeholders Related Factors

On a scale from 0 – 100, where 0 = No Effect on Project Success, please choose a number that represents the percent that each attribute below contributes to project success. Your responses do NOT have to add up to 100, as this is simply a rating of each individual factor. 5. User/Stakeholders Related Factors Client consultation
Client acceptance
End user benefits
Future potential
Meets user requirements
Participant satisfaction
Projects can still be perceived as successful even though they don’t meet standard criteria
Prompt responses to customer requests
Provide organizational learning
Satisfactory benefit to owner
Satisfying stakeholder needs
Stakeholder having common understanding of success criteria before project starts
Taking corrective action to meet customer requirements
Trustworthiness – must have trust of stakeholders
User expectations

23. What percentage of overall project success can be attributed to:

What percentage of overall project success can be attributed to: Communication Related Factors
Project Related Factors
Project Manager/Team Related Factors
Organization Related Factors
User/Stakeholder Related Factors

24. What percentage of projects in your organization are considered successful?

What percentage of projects in your organization are considered successful?

25. Please identify which factors contribute most to project success for each project stage:

	Planning	Intiation	Business Requirements Analysis	System Requirements Analysis	Design	Development	Testing	Deployment
Communication Related Factors	*Please identify which factors contribute most to project success for each project stage: Communication Related Factors Planning	Communication Related Factors Intiation	Communication Related Factors Business Requirements Analysis	Communication Related Factors System Requirements Analysis	Communication Related Factors Design	Communication Related Factors Development	Communication Related Factors Testing	Communication Related Factors Deployment
Project Related Factors	Project Related Factors Planning	Project Related Factors Intiation	Project Related Factors Business Requirements Analysis	Project Related Factors System Requirements Analysis	Project Related Factors Design	Project Related Factors Development	Project Related Factors Testing	Project Related Factors Deployment
Project Manager/Team Related Factors	Project Manager/Team Related Factors Planning	Project Manager/Team Related Factors Intiation	Project Manager/Team Related Factors Business Requirements Analysis	Project Manager/Team Related Factors System Requirements Analysis	Project Manager/Team Related Factors Design	Project Manager/Team Related Factors Development	Project Manager/Team Related Factors Testing	Project Manager/Team Related Factors Deployment
Organization Related Factors	Organization Related Factors Planning	Organization Related Factors Intiation	Organization Related Factors Business Requirements Analysis	Organization Related Factors System Requirements Analysis	Organization Related Factors Design	Organization Related Factors Development	Organization Related Factors Testing	Organization Related Factors Deployment
User/Stakeholder Related Factors	User/Stakeholder Related Factors Planning	User/Stakeholder Related Factors Intiation	User/Stakeholder Related Factors Business Requirements Analysis	User/Stakeholder Related Factors System Requirements Analysis	User/Stakeholder Related Factors Design	User/Stakeholder Related Factors Development	User/Stakeholder Related Factors Testing	User/Stakeholder Related Factors Deployment

26. Please indicate what percentage of overall project success can be attributed to the following project stages (0-100%):

Please indicate what percentage of overall project success can be attributed to the following project stages (0-100%): Planning
Initiation
Business Requirements Analysis
System Requirements Analysis
Design
Development
Testing
Deployment

27. At what stage(s) does your organization measure project success? Please check all that apply.

At what stage(s) does your organization measure project success? Please check all that apply. Planning
Initiation
Business Requirements Analysis
System Requirements Analysis
Design
Development
Testing
Deployment

28. Using the specific item lists provided for each group of factors in the previous tables, which factors have contributed most to the increase in project success rates over the last 10 years?

Using the specific item lists provided for each group of factors in the previous tables, which factors have contributed most to the increase in project success rates over the last 10 years?

29. How do you define project success?

How do you define project success?

30. How does your organization define project success?

How does your organization define project success?

31. PLEASE NOTE: Returning this questionnaire indicates that I have read the information in the cover letter and I agree to participate in this study. Responses will be held confidential. If, however, you would like your comments to be quoted in our research publications, please provide your name and title as you would like it to appear in print.

PLEASE NOTE: Returning this questionnaire indicates that I have read the information in the cover letter and I agree to participate in this study. Responses will be held confidential. If, however, you would like your comments to be quoted in our research publications, please provide your name and title as you would like it to appear in print.

IT Project SuccessExit this survey

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