The Project Success Model ™

Project success and project failure are NOT absolutes. Every project has multiple success criteria related to business results, product/service results, and project delivery results (cost, schedule, scope, and quality).

So in order to define success and failure of your project you should;

1) Define all the criteria relevant to your project. 

2) Define how you will measure them.

3) Define when you will measure them.

That is where the Project Success Model ™ can help you.

The Project Success Model ™ is a so-called conceptual model. Where a mental model captures ideas in a problem domain, a conceptual model represents 'concepts' and relationships between them.

A conceptual model in the field of computer science is also known as a domain model. The aim of a conceptual model is to express the meaning of terms and concepts used by domain experts to discuss the problem and to find the correct relationships between different concepts.

The Project Success Model ™ contains five concepts (or steps). These concepts and the relationship between them can be understood as a reinforcing cascade, with the choices at the top of the cascade setting the context for the choices below, and choices at the bottom influencing and refining the choices above.

1) Define the desired business outcome

2) Define the problem

3) Define the scope (project completion)

4) Define project delivery success

5) Define product/service success

Although it is often easiest to start by defining the desired business outcome, there are no restrictions as to where to begin. What is most important is that you go through multiple iterations – to refine your definition of project success until it is stable, clear, and feasible on all three levels.

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