Four Dimensions of Project Success

Unlock the secrets to unparalleled project management success as we sit down with Mounir Ajam, the mastermind behind Uruk Project Management's revolutionary approach. Our enlightening chat traverses the intricacies of the four dimensions of project success, shedding light on how they serve as pillars for not just projects, but entire organizations looking to thrive. Discover the innovative solutions from Sukad Corp, including the digitized CAMP methodology on the Uruk platform, and learn how they're changing the game in project, program, product, and portfolio management.

Mounir Ajam challenges the notion that project acceptance is synonymous with project success. With his seasoned perspective, he delineates the importance of measurable, quantifiable criteria in gauging technical project performance and the pivotal role of project management plans in setting cost and schedule frameworks. This episode is not just about reaching the finish line; it's about redefining it through a robust assessment against the project management baseline, capturing success in a nuanced, multifaceted light that extends beyond technical achievements.

Step into the world of project management excellence as we dissect the critical stages of concept and feasibility, scrutinize the value delivery model, and address the overarching objective success that often comes to light long after a project's completion. Mounir illustrates how recurring dilemmas in any dimension of project success might hint at underlying systemic issues within your organization's practices. By embracing comprehensive portfolio management, we empower ourselves to spot trends, make informed improvements, and pave the way for exemplary performance. Join us for a session that promises to elevate your approach to managing projects, setting a new standard for success.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:06

Good day, howdy, and welcome to the 4pm podcast. My name is Munir Ajam. My core passion is project management in community. I come to you with at least close to 35 years of experience. My eagerness to share knowledge and to mentor and coach groups help organizations transform the way they manage projects to a higher level. 4pm's tent in this case is shortened for us for what we call value, which means project program, product and portfolios. So a lot of our topics will be around these 4pm. Let's get going. Good day, munir Ajam. Founder and CEO of Rook Project Management. Welcome to another episode from Rook Project Management about project management, education in general and along the topic of the 4pm. Remember, 4pm stands for project programs, product and portfolio management. Today's topic is about project success and this goes along what we call the Rookway, the four dimensions of project success. I will elaborate on the Rookway inside this session With this. Let's get going. Let's shift now to talk about. We made an introduction, we identified the gaps, we identified the current state of practice. So what is the four dimension of project success?

Speaker 1: 1:48

In 2007, while at Sookat Corp, which we were based in Dubai at that time, we launched a project management innovation program. So basically, we started today, 2007,. We started to do some research and development work. So basically, the project management innovation was mostly about identifying issues, gaps, and innovate Come back with a new idea to deal with some of those gaps we were identifying. So it was a research and development program and its purpose was to address the various gaps in practice left by the community and what we saw as professional association did not cover. So we felt we need to do some work in that area. So our work led to five solutions. We called them five innovation, innovative solution or five R&D solution, whatever you'd like to call them and let me just briefly introduce them. I'm not going to explain them all. We will be publishing a blog article and maybe some other materials and on our website to cover these topics. So I will not go into detail here today, but I'll just list them and briefly introduce them. So the first one is we look at an organization, how do we? And there were maturity model out there. Many professional societies and association have maturity model. However, you know it's more about they were more about assessment. So we started with something we call the seven element of project management maturity, which was basically about what are the seven elements that we think are extremely important to help us build an organizational project management system, and obviously that includes the methodologies. So that was more of a starting point and then we the main. The solution that we work on was the customizable and adaptable methodology for managing project, and we've had videos on this and obviously our root platform started with the idea of converting this customizable and adaptable methodology.

Speaker 1: 4:09

Camp is from a from paper to a digital solution. To support camp, we created the four dimensional project success, which is today's topic, and we also have two other areas related to performance management and project control, which is the four control reference points for dimension, for control reference points they are similar concept and the six steps of performance management how do you assess and forecast project and you assess performance on project. Again, this presentation is only about project success. The other topics is they will be, they are addressed via separate videos or articles or other content. What I want to stress here and this is my one minute or 30 second of marketing all of this is being built into the or already been built. Some of it already been built, like camp, is already been built into the root platform. So the digital solution we're working on as a root project management, the root platform. It's basically the 4pm kind of a platform that focus on managing project program and portfolios. So basically the project management element is based on on camp. The four dimension is also related to camp and that is being part of it has been has been built in already and the other part we are building in within the next few weeks. And the seven element, which is basically about the organizational project management system. These processes basically, which mean policies, guideline processes. They are built throughout the platform and the other two areas here about project performance management are being built as well. So technically, all of these are in. The work that started back in 2007 is now being converted into a digital solution to help organization lead project program in their portfolio.

Speaker 1: 6:14

So what are the four dimension? The first dimension Now maybe I should say here why the four dimension? If we work on a given project, every one of these dimension can give us an insight about something specific about the project. So that's good value on a project. However, these become much more powerful and valuable when we look at the portfolio level. As a portfolio level, for example, if we see that most projects are doing well, except in the area of technical success do you want, for example? Or they're doing very well, except in D2 or D3 or D4, one of those four dimension. So that indicate to us that that is a problem area for us that we need to fix, because in other areas we're doing well. Maybe that is the area where we are weak. So, in a way, at the portfolio on a project by project level doesn't tell me much, just tell me how am I doing on that project or program. However, when I look at it as a portfolio level, it indicate where we might have, as an organization, consistent problem. Now you understand what I was saying earlier. The objective is not to find the guilty and penalize people. The objective is to find where we might have systematic gaps as an organization so we can improve. So that is one of the reasons why we have the four dimension.

Speaker 1: 7:35

So now, if we look at dimension one, now if you look at the horizontal, the concept stage, visibility stage, this is what we call our camp standard model. So basically, when we say standard model, that does not mean set in stone or one side fits all. It means this is a standard model. And if you go back to our videos and episode on methodology and the value delivery model. The idea behind this is need to be tailored, so from this methodology we can develop tailored method. Those tailored methods could be four stages, could be 10 stages, could be 15 stages. Well, maybe 15 is too much, but depend on the size of the project and the complexity of the project and the type of the project and the industry. The number of stages would be different and the circle with number are gate. Of course every stage has a gate. So if we have four stages, we will have four gate. If we have 10 stages, we'll have 10 gate. In this model we have nine stages.

Speaker 1: 8:40

The first five are what some organizations, especially in the capital project industries, they might call them the front end right, because at gate five typically where management make the final decision to implement the project. So maybe a wake up call for many of us who work on construction project or software development projects. The bad news, guys, is that you probably were not involved or did not exist before gate five. Most likely, when the project reach gate five or I mean if it is a small micro project, it would be gate two right, when the project reach that approval gate and you work on the implementation work or the software development or the actual construction. That means a lot of work should have been done already, right? So you might only be working in that area and the implementation stage. Again, it doesn't matter where you are or where you are. This is more, for if I am the project owner, if I am, my organization is the project owner organization. I probably see this entire life cycle.

Speaker 1: 9:52

So now, with this introduction that is applicable to all dimension, let's go into dimension one. Now we said we make usually the final approval to go into implementation at gate five. So usually at that point we would have a project detailed plan and the name of the detailed plan could be different from industry to industry. In industry or project, they might call it feed front and engineering design and infrastructure, they might call it preliminary engineering and real estate, they might call it architectural design and software, they might call it the backlog or the development plan or the product vision, whatever the case might be. That means when we reach that point, that means we already have what we maybe simplifiedly call it a scope, well-defined scope to implement. So we've reached a point where the product scope is well-defined and now we are ready to go start to implement it. Whether we build it in Big Bang or we're going to build it incrementally or theoretically, it doesn't matter. We have a technical scope document, details, of course, the details that we need to build. So we have that and typically, if organization follows some good quality principle, they would probably have the quality standard established as well to do that. So the project detail plan include many, many, many things. However, the main thing that I want to focus on here is that it include the product scope, baseline, what need to be built, and so when we are finished, when we go through this, when we implement it and we go to operation rather than this and when we do some initial operation and we do some testing before, at gate eight, in this model, when we issue the final acceptance typically, which mean we have verified or validated that we have done the technical work Now I use the word technical success on the horizontal arrow, but does it mean successful?

Speaker 1: 12:09

I don't know or what it mean. Is that in this model, at gate eight, when I do the final acceptance, testing to accept the final product and remember I can accept the final product with problem? Ideally we shouldn't, but the reality is we often enough finish project with too many gaps and too many problems and too many errors. So we do, we still accept it. This is why acceptance we always stress in our literature and in my writing and my work. Acceptance does not mean success. Acceptance that mean look, I'm gonna accept this product, good or bad, I have no choice. Obviously, if achieve everything I wanted, great. If it didn't, we still have to accept it. What do we do? So acceptance is not success, so we meet.

Speaker 1: 12:59

But, however, at that point we can assess success. Now, how do we assess success? Remember, we shouldn't have a criteria. If we don't have a criteria, then it's a matter of opinion. I ask my customer the customer is happy, or so, so or whatever. That's not good enough. We need quantifiable measures. So, basically, meaning the scope and usually this item is the primary focus of this dimension is about technical success, which means scope and quality. Did we deliver? In other words, did we deliver the product scope as designed, to the quality standard? And the answer is never yes or no. It's always there are some range.

Speaker 1: 13:43

Right Now, if you included some clear, quantifiable criteria with some kind of threshold and maybe an error margin, you might be able to depend on the nature of your project you might be able to define, to determine whether you have success or failure or somewhere in between. I don't talk about it in this session. However, we actually have a model as well that, okay, how do we grade a project success or failure? We can have failure, we can have success and we can have maybe something in between right and one or two. Anyway, that's not the topic today, so let me leave it. The organization can decide how they want to assess. You could choose zero or one right, fail or success, or you could use also some intermediate dimension to determine, because it's never, I think, perfect. There's always some issues. So the question is what is your threshold, what is the margin of error you're willing to allow and to consider that something is successful? Moving on to notice, we're getting bigger now as a project management success, now project management success.

Speaker 1: 15:04

In our model, again in your methodology, it might look a little bit differently. We define the project management plan in the strategy stage before gate four, and we might do some updates on it before gate five. However, the primary management plan or execution plan, or whatever you might want to call it, is done typically around gate four or before gate four, and with some minor update at gate five, and that include cost and schedule parameter, right? So the project management plan mostly about, in a group PM, three things Cost duration now time we break time into two area duration and completion date. So with that, that is typically defined with the project management plan. Now there might be other factors that we consider in the project management plan, but right now let me leave it just as the cost and time related measures or parameter.

Speaker 1: 16:05

Now again, here it's easier. Now this is more easily, it's more readily quantifiable because we can say, for example, you must come below budget, right? So if you are 100 and 0, 1% over budget, that means you fail. You can do that if you want. However, usually you should leave some parameters, typically plus or minus, 5% or 10% or something like this, whatever suits you. Again, we're not deciding what we're selling. What we are trying to advocate here is you should measure that success. How you measure it is up to you. We have recommendations. You can accept them or you can choose your own. So we define the project management plan that become the official project management baseline and then usually, when we are finishing the project or completing the project during the PLC closure stage before gate nine we would be able to do to assess that performance. So, those two they mentioned one and they mentioned two they are already built into the Oro platform because they happened during the life cycle. So you can see, while we are still in the life cycle, which means the project manager and maybe some team member are still on board.

Speaker 1: 17:21

However, the challenge comes that okay, and I'm sure many organizations do this. So the question when we see online posts on talk about project success, what are we talking about? Are we talking about project management success, technical success or something else? For us there are two more, something else. Okay, so let's see the first one here. The first one is at gate two after just maybe, maybe it's good to give you some reference here.

Speaker 1: 17:55

In the concept stage, we typically develop the what and why and where of the project. So that's, the business case is at the concept stage and then in the feasibility stage, where we conduct a detailed feasibility assessment to determine whether it's the project is feasible and we should continue to go, proceed with it. And notice we separate the business case from feasibility. A business case that means about there is a need for the project. Feasibility is okay, we know there is a need, we have proven that right Now can we deliver it successfully and if we can't we should cancel the project. So in a way, the feasibility study is the first kind of risk assessment exercise we do on the project. Overall, however, let's say we go so usually with the feasibility study.

Speaker 1: 18:42

If it's done and here where references like the POMBAC guide and ISO and others, they say we issue a project charter, we call it the project authorization document at gate two. So typically that first part, which we call the discovery phase, in most of these literature it doesn't exist. For us it does exist. So here, what we are saying, here we have the sponsor or the project owner, the owner representative, let's put it that way is basically publish a project authorization to authorize the project team to go add and do the project, and usually they put some criteria and specific what need to be done. So in this case we have already decided we have a product, a solution that we want to work on, and that's what we call it the product delivery success.

Speaker 1: 19:32

Now, when can we measure this? Well, obviously, at gate nine in this model we would know whether we have achieved B1 and D2. So, on some project achieving B1 and D2, that may be all what we need. We can say D3 is already achieved. However, in some situations that may not be the case and we might not be able to decide on success on this one until a short period after the completion of the project. So it depends on what you include in this measure. It could be measured at gate nine or slightly after or sometime in the future, weeks or months after completion of the project. Again, it all depends on what you include and the type of the nature of the project. The most important dimension from an owner organization perspective is the SLAST.

Speaker 1: 20:32

1. Is what we call objective success. Notice, we shifted the project, now the starting point, instead of being the charter or the project authorization, because the project authorization is how the sponsor visualize the product that need to be done, whereas in the concept include the business case and the objective and the business objective of the project. That is what we document. We call it project brief. That is the ultimate objective. Why are we launching the project? What are we expecting to achieve? What are the benefits that we anticipate to realize?

Speaker 1: 21:13

All of these things are defined usually in the business case, in the project brief, and again something like this for sure we will not be able to assess in most cases at project closure. Most of this have to be some time and maybe even years in the future. And this is why we believe now I don't have any empirical evidence to prove it where we believe many organizations do not do this, they might indirectly do it. Why? Because obviously the project team is gone and it might be months or a year after the project is complete. People had forgotten and we are operating already. We might not be able to do it. They may not be specific exercise that the organization does to determine, because it may become part of the operational aspect of the organization and the operational profitability. In this case. This is the most critical for a project owner and it's about value. At the end of the day, this is a value delivery model.

Speaker 1: 22:24

Now, looking at all four together, remember we have technical success, project management success, product delivery success and objective success. Now again, I remind you, I'm not getting into the actual determination of success, the criteria we use, because that is totally dependent on the vector, sector, domain, industry, thumb, organization, preferences of an organization. So we cannot really get into those areas. So there are three things when we talk about project success, the other four dimensions that we included here there is a criteria which we cannot talk about because that's highly sensitive, and there is a grading measure. How do you grade success? How do you determine how or so? Basically, like in college, we have ABC or D or F, right, and here you could do ABC, d or F, or you can do fail success, fs, or you can have, as I said earlier, failure successful and then maybe one or two data points in between criteria. So they are. It really means you think about three things right Again, four dimension criteria and the guide for scoring. So what you can see here, I mean remember, on project by project, that's good to know All these dimensions give us good enough information about how are we doing as a project.

Speaker 1: 23:48

However, as an organization remember, my objective in my business is not only one project, they are multiple project and program. So the value of something like this if we do portfolio management and if we capture the data from all the project, it can tell me if I have a problem in technical success. Maybe every project. Hey, we do something. We have a great project management team. We always finish on time on budget. However, we might be sacrificing quality or sacrificing scope Remember the triple constraints we keep talking about sometime or we might say no, quality and scope is most and, as a result, project management costs and schedules suffer. We need to know that.

Speaker 1: 24:32

If that happened on one project, it's anomaly. It's basically saying that we do. There may be project circumstances have to push us in one direction or another. However, if we are consistently seeing problem with D1 or D2 or D3. Now why D3,? If it is a problem, what does it mean? That mean we as an organization, the team that is working early on in the project, in the discovery phase, stage one and two, they are not doing good job and defining the product that align with the objective Right. I mean the team. They could deliver the project with D1 successful, meaning what they have achieved technical success. They achieve quality success. They achieve D2, project management success. So as an organization, we can have done a great job in delivering the project on time, on budget or within the parameter we set for on time, on budget, on quality, on scope but we delivered the wrong product. Think about that. Let it think in. We could have done a great job in the Liberty project on time, on scope, on quality, on cost, but we deliver the wrong product. That means we misunderstand the market. We don't.

Speaker 1: 25:48

In startup now I'm learning new terminology as a work in startup, we call it product market fit. We are right now as company or Rook, right now we are going exactly through that. Right now that is the part of where we've reached the level where we have built, we think, a great product. We have getting to the point where now we need to verify the vision that the product we built is fit the market needs. Maybe we, when we are in this case, made a mistake, maybe we assumed or we made the wrong mistake. If we don't get the product market fit, maybe we built the product that nobody needs, or it could become a wonderful and everybody would be jumping on a Rook platform and save them a lot of money, millions and billions of dollars. As a community, of course, we believe in that. Otherwise we would not exist.

Speaker 1: 26:48

I gave that as an example, as a personal example, because it's very powerful in my view, because often enough, how do we translate the vision into a product? We might not do it very well. Ideation, innovation, whatever you call the practices we use. At that time we have a vision of achieving certain benefit. That is what the realized benefit we anticipate, which we do with the project brief. However, when we translate that into a specific product, we might not do it very well. As a result, we don't get the product market fit, we don't get the benefit we expect.

Speaker 1: 27:30

In that case, we look at those areas that mean. Again, on project I repeat myself multiple times because I want to emphasize upon on a project by project basis. This is a good information to have the power of this when you use it as a portfolio, part of the portfolio management, because you can start to see if, on average, 50, 60, 70% of your project struggle with D3 or D2, or D1 or D4, that mean that's a major area that hindering your performance in becoming a center of excellence or becoming where project management could be a highly competitive advantage to you as an organization. That allow you to see the gaps that you must pay attention to. Just another way of looking at the four dimension, and with this we say thank you. Please follow us on. You can subscribe to our YouTube channel. You can you subscribe to our blog site. You'll find all that information from our group PM. Thank you and wish you success today, tomorrow and always.