Project success: the human factors research identifies
What separates a project that delivers from one that derails? Success-factor research points less to method than to the human side.
A reference framework
Jeffrey Pinto and Dennis Slevin (1987, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management) identify ten critical success factors, including mission clarity, top-management support, client consultation and communication. Their approach relies on project managers' views.
What large projects add
Bent Flyvbjerg (2014, Project Management Journal) documents recurring cost and schedule overruns in megaprojects, attributing them partly to optimism and incentives rather than technical flaws.
Limits of these findings
Factor lists stem from retrospective perceptions: successful teams readily credit communication. They show associations, not demonstrated causes. (our executive and employee training programmes)
The limit of common practice
Training project managers mainly on planning tools addresses the most visible part of the problem, not the most frequent.
A practical check in Geneva
At kick-off, ask each stakeholder to state the project's mission in one sentence and compare. Repeat mid-way: convergence is a simple alignment indicator. To go further: explore the Project Management training in Geneva, or browse our executive and employee training programmes in Switzerland.
In pictures: Project Management in Geneva
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