1.
It’s beyond Cost, Quality and Time
[ Whitepaper]
Sekhar Kommuri
MEASURING PROJECT SUCCESS

2.
Measuring the success of projects and learning from failures can make
a significant impact on businesses. When evaluating a project, it is
important to make the evaluation all-encompassing and quantifiable.
In the industry, we commonly measure project success by the triple
constraints of cost, quality, and time. The interesting part is, the
amount of effort we put into measuring the triple constraints on
projects is vast, and yet they are perceived to be inadequate measures
of project success. Delivering a project ‘on-time and on-budget’ is no
longer an adequate measure of project success. We need to think
beyond these parameters to gauge the success of the project or the
work we did for the customer. We need to add another level to it.
Key stakeholders may not necessarily perceive meeting all the three
constraints as a mark of success. There is another layer that is much
more critical to the success. That means we will have to extend our
metrics beyond the usual trio of cost, quality, and time.
They are connected to project outputs, whereas the other factors
about are linked to business outcomes. So the next-level dimensions of
Ability, Applicability, and Sustainability will form another triangle over
the triple constraint (CQT).
Ability (Strategic)
Applicability Sustainability
Quality
Time Cost
SUCCESS
Measuring Project Success: It’s beyond Cost, Quality and Time
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Figure 1: Success triangle

3.
These high-level objectives can be categorized into two types and will
have 50:50 share in project success.
1. Cost, Quality, and Time (Project Level Objectives): 50% share in
success
2. Ability, Applicability, and Sustainability (Business Level Objectives):
50% share in success
The degree to which these goals have been met determines the true
success or failure of a project. One must consider the goals of all
stakeholders throughout the project lifecycle and at all levels of the
management hierarchy.
Quality
10% 10% 8%
Time
13% 13% 10%
Cost
13% 13% 10%
Ability Applicability Sustainability
100%
Business Level Objectives
ProjectLevelObjectives
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Measuring Project Success: It’s beyond Cost, Quality and Time
Figure 2: Project objectives pie chart
Figure 3: Project objectives matrix

4.
In today’s world, project teams are expected to partner with the
customer, understand the business drivers, and ensure that the project
delivers the business results that were specified in the business case
and project charter.
Delivering business value requires gaining an understanding of the
business drivers—the problem or opportunity that precipitated the
project—and defining a clear set of quantifiable business objectives to
address the problem/opportunity. This includes specific, defined
measurable outcomes that can be measured after the release of the
project/application to determine whether the goals were achieved or
not.
Here are some business-level objectives/goals that can be evaluated
beyond the triple constraints. However, this list may vary based on the
nature and scale of the project or program. These quantifiable
business objectives should be specified or defined in the project
charter before we start the project and all stakeholders should agree to
them.
It is evident that there will be some subjectivity in rating the objectives.
But the effort should be to keep most of the objectives quantifiable.
Ability (Strategic) Applicability Sustainability
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Measuring Project Success: It’s beyond Cost, Quality and Time
Table1: Business level objectives explained
Meeting the organization’s strategic goals
Meeting quantifiable business goals
Helping the organization to set next level
targets, benchmarks and drive business
decisions
Meeting ROI targets
Delight the customer
Satisfying/motivating project teams
Helping the vendor to build a brand,
gain knowledge and increase customer
footprint.
Is this solution durable after 2, 5 and
10 years?
Are the documentation/manuals
sustainable over a long period?
Is its business longevity relevant?
What is the probable market
share/demand?
Is it upgrade-compatible?
Can it maintain consistent ROI?
Met forecasted needs
Meeting end users' (primary
beneficiaries) expectations; not just
sponsor expectations
Motivating end users towards the
project
Keeping it adoptable for end user
Keeping it relevant to the
users/stakeholders
Affecting long-term program
planning
-

5.
Project SWOT Analysis, Stakeholder Feedback, End-User Surveys, and
Objective Metrics can help you to measure the degree to which these
goals have been met.
As deliberated above, the actual project success can be measured as
the sum of scores for both the categories as described below.
PO % = (PS1 + PS2 + PS3)*100 / 60*
* The total score for PO (60) is liable to change from project to project
Table2: Scoring Project Level Objectives (PO)
How to Measure – Objectives Metrics
Cost – 20% Quality – 15% Time – 15%
Factor
Score
(1-5)
Factor
Score
(1-5)
Factor
Score
(1-5)
No additional effort has been
spent
Met all quality GOALs defined On time to UAT
No additional cost has been
incurred
Met NFRs (Performance,
Security, Portability etc.)
On time to Production
No scope creeps Have adequate documentation
and user guides
NO Integration delays
Unpredicted Risks have been
mitigated
Have adequate user trainings
and operational guidelines
Met all project and program
business timelines
Total (PS1) Total (PS2) Total (PS3)
BO % = (BS1 + BS2 + BS3) *100/90°
*The total score for BO (90) is liable to change from project to project
Project Success % = (PO % + BO %) * 0.5
There will be many methods and procedures to measure your project’s
success. Choose different measurement methods on each project to
see which one defines your success best.
Table3: Scoring Business Level Objectives (BO)
Ability (Strategic)- 20% Applicability – 15% Sustainability – 15%
Factor
Score
(1-5)
Factor
Score
(1-5)
Factor
Score
(1-5)
Business Benefits / Strategic Goals
outlined in project charter were
achieved
User adoption & frequent
use
Benefits were in line with
forecasts
The solution addresses the customer
need
Motivated / revitalized
users
Easy & low cost
maintenance
Expected ROI was achieved Usability Upgrade compatibility
Customer is satisfied Met required application
performance
Cater to predictable
future needs
Project teams are motivated All stakeholders benefits
are met
Time to Market
Opened future business opportunities
for vendor
Acceptable performance
levels at peak loads
Total (BS1) Total (BS2) Total (BS3)
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Measuring Project Success: It’s beyond Cost, Quality and Time

6.
Defining quantifiable metrics to track the success of a project should
be inculcated not only in the project team and project managers, but
also in the customers/sponsors of projects. All quantifiable metrics
should be documented to clearly understand the quantum of a
project’s success. Future projects can also draw inferences from these.
Conclusion
Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Tavant Technologies is a
specialized software solutions & services provider that provides
impactful results to its customers across North America, Europe, and
Asia-Pacific. Founded in 2000, the Company employs over 1500 people
and is a recognized Top Employer.
About Tavant Technologies
Sekhar Kommuri has more than 18 years of experience in the IT
Industry, spanning across Delivery/Program Management, Transition
Management, Project Management, Requirements Engineering,
Process Management, and Quality Assurance for a variety of enterprise
applications. He has managed and delivered a number of large and
complex accounts belonging to domains like Utility, Banking, Telecom,
Media, Mobility, and eBusiness. He has extensive knowledge of the
latest delivery methodologies.
He is well versed with the CMMI Level 5 Standard for project delivery,
and proficient in Six Sigma. He has been successful in systems
architecture design using architecture frameworks & design patterns,
n-tier architecture, and object-oriented distributed software
development.
About the author
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Measuring Project Success: It’s beyond Cost, Quality and Time
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Tel: +1-866-9-TAVANT | Fax: +1-408-519-5401 | bizdev@tavant.com