Lists of the sources of project failure are easy to come by. The attributes needed for project success are harder

1. +
Project Success Assessment
There are many lists describing the reasons for project failure.That’s an easy to
do.
Assuring the success of an IT project is much harder.This success starts with
assessing the capabilities of the project delivery process and participants

2. Copyright ©, 2014, Niwot Ridge LLC, Performance-Based Project Management®
+ Organization
! Are the required program management functions
identified and is an adequate Program Management Plan
in place?
! Are the key members of the performing organization
identified and in place and committed?
! Do the key members of the performing organization have
the right experience to be successful?
! Has an organization structure been established that can
successfully execute project?
! Is there evidence of good communication with the
customer regarding project status, open actions, and
closure plans?
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3. Copyright ©, 2014, Niwot Ridge LLC, Performance-Based Project Management®
+ Requirements
! Are the customers
requirements clear, complete
and well documented?
! Is the level of detail of the
requirements appropriate to
the project and schedule?
! Is there a shared
understanding on the
requirements?
! Is there a plan for dealing
with changes in the
requirements?
! Is the Concept of Operations
of the resulting software
developed and validated by
the user community?
! Is the proposed solution
traceable to the customer’s
requirements?
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4. Copyright ©, 2014, Niwot Ridge LLC, Performance-Based Project Management®
+ Project Plans
! Is an adequate plan in place
for staffing the project in a
timely manner with the
needed talent?
! Is an appropriate set of
integrated techncial,
schedule and cost baselines
in place?
! Are adequate test plans and
independent test
organization in place or
planned?
! Does the proposed test
approach include proven test
elements?
! Have all test facilities,
qualified personnel, and
equipment required for this
project been identified or
planned?
! Has an adequate
Performance Measurement
Baseline been established?
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5. Copyright ©, 2014, Niwot Ridge LLC, Performance-Based Project Management®
+ Product and Project Risk
! Is an adequate process in
place for managing techncial
risks?
! Have risk handling activities
been addressed in the master
schedule and basis of
estimate?
! Has the risk of achieving what
the customer wants been
qualified?
! Has a programmatic
performance assessment
plan been developed?
! Is there an adequate basis of
estimate, supported by
history?
! Is there budget, supported by
history to find, track and fix
errors introduced during
development?
! Does the quality assurance
organization have adequate
authority and reporting
independence to ensure the
project conforms to its
specifications?
5/7

6. Copyright ©, 2014, Niwot Ridge LLC, Performance-Based Project Management®
+ Schedule Risk
! Is there an Integrated Master
Schedule (IMS) that
describes all the
deliverables, staffing, and
risk mitigation activities?
! Have the probabilistic critical
path(s) been identified?
! Are there risk handling plans
for the critical path items?
! Is the amount of work on the
critical path(s) realistic?
! Does the IMS show
dependencies between the
critical project elements?
! Does the IMS provide
adequate margin and slack?
! Does the IMS show all key
milestones?
! Are startup inefficiencies
addressed in the IMS?
27 Nov 06
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7. Copyright ©, 2014, Niwot Ridge LLC, Performance-Based Project Management®
+ Quality Assurance
! Is there evidence that a Quality Assurance
organization is in place for this project?
! Does the Quality Assurance organization have
authority and reporting independence to ensure the
deliverables conform to their specifications?
! Is there an independent quality function?
! Have adequate resources been identified and
funded to provide Quality Assurance
7/7