Chapter 6. Success of Projects Is Often Judged by the Processes They Incubate

In many cases, if not most, processes are born of successful projects. As such, many companies determine project success as a function of processes they create. This is particularly accurate in industrial, manufacturing, and construction settings.

Typically listed as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), these metrics were based on several factors. For organizations engaged in information technology (IT) projects, these metrics typically involved personnel utilization rates. Many companies implementing large software and hardware conversions tracked personnel utilization because of the large amount of consultants involved. Utilization rates are usually expressed in terms of how much it costs in total to employ a single person per hour. By combining utilization data against schedule and cost metrics, a company can determine whether it is easier to use internal staff or consultants. Tracking this information is extremely important to determining the cost of project management and subsequent value.