Increasing the value of research: a comparison of the literature on critical success factors for projects, IT projects and enterprise resource planning projects

Since the beginning of modern project management in the 1960s, academic researchers have sought to identify a definitive list of Critical Success Factors (CSFs), the key things that project managers must get right in order to deliver a successful product. With the advent of Information Technology (IT) projects and, more recently, projects to deliver Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, attention has turned to identifying definitive lists of CSFs for these more specific project types. The purpose of this paper is to take stock of this research effort by examining how thinking about each type of project has evolved over time, before producing a consolidated list of CSFs for each as a basis for comparison. This process reveals a high degree of similarity, leading to the conclusion that the goal of identifying a generic list of CSFs for project management has been achieved. Therefore, rather than continuing to describe lists of CSFs, researchers could increase the value of their contribution by taking a step forward and focusing on why, despite this apparent knowledge of how to ensure their success, ERP projects continue to fai

Critical success factors for IT project management: a case study of a UK MOD IT project

This paper examines Critical Success Factors (CSFs), tackling the lack of empirical research on public sector IT project management, using content analysis and considering the importance of context in case study research. Major government IT projects often end in costly failure, raising questions about whether CSFs are understood, applied and, if so, whether they have any impact. This study identifies twelve relevant CSFs, before examining their use through a case study of a major Ministry of Defence (MOD) IT project. The study of context reveals two overarching issues for government: the need for increased governance and to learn lessons. MOD Reports translate government policy to the Defence context, but there is little evidence of any impact on project initiation. The case study suggests the benefits of spending more time on project initiation, expending resource on preparation rather than rushing into development, potentially a cultural problem within MOD procurement. There was an apparent lack of top-level engagement with this project initially, in terms of recognising it as strategic and allocating the necessary resources. The need to build relationships, communication and trust between contractor and supplier is overridden by the commercial realities of a contractual situation along with the apparent lack of awareness of the need to manage the contract beyond the delivery of requirements and the lack of competence to undertake that management. The overarching conclusion is that the impact of CSFs is variable: ignoring them will have an adverse effect on performance, whilst applying them will strengthen the resilience of the project management but cannot guarantee success. This draws into dispute the use of CSFs as a project management tool, particularly with regard to the emphasis on ‘success’. Although increased governance and control from central government appears to be a solution to IT project failure, it potentially forces generic solutions on to unique problems, further constraining action and potentially resulting in less reliable reporting in order to protect funding and resources. Generic CSFs are not the solution to the problems of major government IT projects, unique projects operating in highly specific and complex contexts; more contingent solutions should be sought. There needs to be greater recognition of this complexity, which makes these projects unpredictable, and more tolerance of error to allow learnin