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Project success and critical success factors of construction projects: project practitioners’ perspectives

Virender Kumar
Virender Kumar
, 
Amrendra Pandey
Amrendra Pandey
 and 
Rahul Singh
Rahul Singh
   | May 30, 2023
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Article Category: Research Paper
Published Online: May 30, 2023
Page range: 1 - 22
Received: Oct 09, 2022
Accepted: Apr 16, 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/otmcj-2023-0001
Keywords
© 2023 Virender Kumar et al., published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Respondents’ profiles, including geography and projects handled.

S. No. Item Respondent 1 (PD) Respondent 2 (PM) Respondent 3 (PD)
1 Qualification Masters in science Degree in engineering Masters in geology
2 Total experience (years) 15 15 33
3 Present project
3.1 Project type Airport Nuclear Road, building
3.2 Project location Saudi Arabia France Algeria
3.3 Role in project PD PM PD
3.4 Project cost (tentative) Project 1 – US$ 9 billion (construction cost)Project 2 – US$ 100–200 million (construction cost) € 35 billion (construction cost) Project 1 – € 110 million (consulting fee)Project 2 – € 40 million (consulting fee)Project 3 – € 8 million (consulting fee)
3.5 Present progress Construction stage Construction stage Project 1 – closure stageProject 2 – ongoingProject 3 – closure stage

Top five CSFs for construction project success – respondents’ reactions.

S. No. Respondent Example quotes
1 Respondent 1 ‘Fifth one … uh … you can say …’
2 Respondent 2 ‘Fifth one … a … what can I say …’
3 Respondent 5 ‘I don’t have any idea for the fifth one. But if I have one, if it comes in the interview later, I will tell you’
4 Respondent 6 ‘Fifth one is … I can’t think of anymore.’
5 Respondent 7 ‘... and in five what I would say is, during execution phase, I think we have to get very good relationships with the contractors.’
6 Respondent 8 ‘And, I guess, …’

CSFs identified in previous studies.

CSF dimension/scale item Identified scientific contributions
Project management factors dimension
Development of a good project plan Chan et al. 2004; Toor and Ogunlana 2010; Gudienė et al. 2013a; Ihuah et al. 2014; Maghsoodi and Khalilzadeh 2017; Altarawneh and Samadi 2019
Adequate use of communication among project participants/communication Pinto and Slevin 1987; Sanvido et al. 1992; Cheng et al. 2000; Nguyen et al. 2004; Phua and Rowlinson 2004; Fortune and White 2006; Andersen et al. 2006; Espinosa et al. 2006; Yu et al. 2006; Jha and Iyer 2007; Toor and Ogunlana 2008; Tabish and Jha 2012; Cserháti and Szabo 2014; Cheong and Mustaffa 2017; Langston et al. 2018; Sinesilassie et al. 2019; Altarawneh and Samadi 2019; Moradi et al. 2020
Clarity of project goal to the project team Ashley et al. 1987; Pinto and Slevin 1987; Chan et al. 2004; Dvir et al. 2006; Yu et al. 2006; Toor and Ogunlana 2008; Cserháti and Szabó 2014; Langston et al. 2018; Altarawneh and Samadi 2019; Jitpaiboon et al. 2019
Effective project monitoring and control system/monitoring and feedback Ashley et al. 1987; Pinto and Slevin 1987; Chua et al. 1999; Chan et al. 2004; Iyer and Jha 2006; Jha and Iyer 2007; Toor and Ogunlana 2008; Jha and Chockalingam 2011; Tabish and Jha 2011; Gudienė et al. 2013a; Hwang and Lim 2013; Cserháti and Szabó 2014; Ihuah et al. 2014; Maghsoodi and Khalilzadeh 2017; Langston et al. 2018; Sinesilassie et al. 2019; Altarawneh and Samadi 2019; Moradi et al. 2020
Project team-motivation Chua et al. 1999; Hwang and Lim 2013; Kog and Loh 2012; Inayat et al. 2012; Gudienė et al. 2013b; Hwang and Lim 2013; Altarawneh and Samadi 2019
Effective partnering among project participants/working relationship among stakeholders/maintaining good relationships between parties Nicolini 2002; Chua et al. 2003; Chan et al. 2004; Nguyen et al. 2004; Jha and Iyer 2006; Toor and Ogunlana 2008; Nguyen et al. 2004; Tabish and Jha 2011; Meng 2012; Cheong and Mustaffa 2017; Sinesilassie et al. 2019; Negash and Hassan, 2020
Awareness of and compliance with rules and regulations Belassi and Tukel 1996; Cheung et al. 2012; Tabish and Jha 2011
Clear project aims and objectives Morris and Hugh 1986; Pinto and Slevin 1987; Pinto and Prescott 1988; Belassi and Tukel 1996; Dvir et al. 1998; Clarke 1999; Qiao et al. 2001; Westerveld 2003; Nguyen et al. 2004; Fortune and White 2006; Toor and Ogunlana 2008
Clear objectives and scope Chan et al. 2001; Nguyen et al. 2004; Yu et al. 2006; Toor and Ogunlana 2008; Elwakil et al. 2009; Inayat et al. 2015; Kog and Loh 2012; Hwang and Lim 2013; Asgari et al. 2018; Sinesilassie et al. 2019; Moradi et al. 2020
Continuing involvement of stakeholders in the project/stakeholder involvement Nguyen et al. 2004; Bourne and Walker 2008; Andersen et al. 2006; Aaltonen et al. 2008; Chinyio and Akintoye 2008; Frodell et al. 2008; Olander and Landin 2008; Ward and Chapman 2008; Gudiene et al. 2013; Maghsoodi and Khalilzadeh 2017; Langston et al. 2018; Hasan and Jha 2019; Jitpaiboon et al. 2019; Moradi et al. 2020; Negash and Hassan, 2020; Anilkumar and Banerji 2021
Planning/carefully planning and scheduling project implementation Ashley et al. 1987; Barry and Randholph 1988; Sanvido et al. 1992; Belassi and Tukel 1996; Clarke 1999; Tam 1999; Levy 2002; Dvir et al. 2003; Chan et al. 2004; Nguyen et al. 2004; Yang 2006; Toor and Ogunlana 2008; Inayat et al. 2015; Kog and Loh 2012; Hwang and Lim 2013; Langston et al. 2018; Moradi et al. 2020; Negash and Hassan, 2020
Conflict was resolved quickly by project participants/conflict resolution Cheng et al. 2000; Yang et al. 2009; Yang et al. 2006; Tabish and Jha 2011; Zuo et al. 2018
Goal setting Pinto and Slevin 1988; Songer and Molenaar 1997; Lim and Mohamed 1999; Nicolini 2002; Nguyen et al. 2004; Fortune and White 2006; Toor and Ogunlana 2010; Cheong and Mustaffa 2017
Supervision level Langston et al. 2018; Negash and Hassan, 2020
Project management practices/methodologies/methods/tools Jugdev et al. 2013; Joslin and Müller 2015; Langston et al. 2018; Jitpaiboon et al. 2019; Langston et al. 2018
Client responsiveness Ghanbaripour et al. 2018
Human factors dimension
PM’s competency/PM’s technical and administrative competency Pinto and Slevin 1987; Barry and Randolph 1988; Sanvido et al. 1992; Belassi and Tukel 1996; Munns and Bjeirmi 1996; Dvir et al. 1998; Chua et al. 1999; Lim and Mohamed 1999; Qiao et al. 2001; Kog and Loh 2012; Chua et al. 2003; Westerveld 2003; Chan et al. 2004; Nguyen et al. 2004; Fortune and White 2006; Jha and Iyer 2006; Iyer and Jha 2006; Yang 2006; Yu et al. 2006; Toor and Ogunlana 2008; Toor and Ogunlana 2010; Inayat et al. 2015; Kog and Loh 2012; Tabish and Jha 2012; Gudienė et al. 2013a; Hwang and Lim 2013; Cserháti and Szabó 2014; Davis 2014; Ihuah et al. 2014; Mavi and Standing, 2018; Rolstades et al. 2014; Taherdoost and Keshvarzsaleh 2016; Maghsoodi and Khalilzadeh 2017; Misic and Radujkovic 2017; Tsiga et al. 2017; Asgari et al. 2018; Langston et al. 2018; Mavi and Standing 2018; Sinesilassie et al. 2019; Altarawneh and Samadi 2019; Moradi et al. 2020; Negash and Hassan, 2020
Project team members’ competency Pinto and Slevin 1987; Sanvido et al. 1992; Belassi and Tukel 1996; Chua et al. 1999; Nicolini 2002; Belout and Gauvreau 2004; Chan et al. 2004; Nguyen et al. 2004; Fortune and White 2006; Toor and Ogunlana 2008; Toor and Ogunlana 2010; Gudienė et al. 2013a; Ihuah et al. 2014; Moradi et al. 2020
PM’s leadership Fortune and White 2006; Hyväri 2006; Müller and Turner 2007; Müller and Turner 2010; Ahadzie et al. 2008; Cserháti and Szabó 2014; Ihuah et al. 2014; Andersen et al. 2006; Langston et al. 2018; Altarawneh and Samadi 2019; Ahmed et al. 2021
Project participants’ commitments in meeting the project goal Iyer and Jha 2006; Yu et al. 2006; Jha and Iyer 2007; Tabish and Jha 2012; Hwang and Lim 2013; Cserháti and Szabó 2014; Langston et al. 2018; Altarawneh and Samadi 2019; Jitpaiboon et al. 2019
Troubleshooting Pinto and Slevin 1987; Toor and Ogunlana 2010; Gudienė et al. 2013b; Ihuah et al. 2014; Altarawneh and Samadi 2019
Good coordination between project participants/coordination Belassi and Tukel 1996; Chan et al. 2004; Jha and Iyer 2007; Tabish and Jha 2012; Gudienė et al. 2013a; Cserháti and Szabó 2014; Ihuah et al. 2014; Asgari et al. 2018; Langston et al. 2018; Sinesilassie et al. 2019; Altarawneh and Samadi 2019; Moradi et al. 2020; Negash and Hassan, 2020
Top management support Nguyen et al. 2004; Belassi and Tukel 1996; Iyer and Jha 2006; Jha and Iyer 2007; Tabish and Jha 2012; Cserháti and Szabó 2014; Gudienė et al. 2014; Ihuah et al. 2014; Asgari et al. 2018; Langston et al. 2018; Sinesilassie et al. 2019; Altarawneh and Samadi 2019; Jitpaiboon et al. 2019; Moradi et al. 2020; Negash and Hassan, 2020
Decision making effectiveness Fortune and White 2006; Iyer and Jha 2006; Gudienė et al. 2014; Altarawneh and Samadi 2019; Jitpaiboon et al. 2019
Procurement factors dimension
Comprehensive contract documentation Sanvido et al. 1992; Chua et al. 1999; Nguyen et al. 2004; Toor and Ogunlana 2010; Alzahrani and Emsley 2013; Cserháti and Szabó 2014; Maghsoodi and Khalilzadeh 2017; Langston et al. 2018; Altarawneh and Samadi 2019
Competitive procurement process Chan et al. 2004; Li et al. 2005; Cheung et al. 2012; Altarawneh and Samadi 2019; Negash and Hassan, 2020
Transparency in procurement process Chan et al. 2004; Li et al. 2005; Gudienė et al. 2013a, b; Altarawneh and Samadi 2019; Negash et al. 2019
Appropriate risk allocation and risk sharing Li et al. 2005; Kog and Loh 2012; Gudienė et al. 2013b; Hwang and Lim 2013; Ihuah et al. 2014; Maghsoodi and Khalilzadeh 2017; Altarawneh and Samadi 2019
Awarding bids to the right designer/contractor Nguyen et al. 2004; Toor and Ogunlana 2008; Maghsoodi and Khalilzadeh 2017; Sinesilassie et al. 2018
Project characteristics factors dimension
Project size and value Cannon 1994; Belassi and Tukel 1996; Chua et al. 1999; Dissanayaka and Kumaraswamy 1999; Chan and Chan 2004; Chan et al. 2004; Andersen et al. 2006; Dvir et al. 2006; Fortune and White 2006; Hyväri 2006; Ademiluyi 2010; Inayat et al. 2015; Kog and Loh 2012; Alzahrani and Emsley 2013; Gudienė et al. 2013a; Carvalho et al. 2015; Li et al. 2005; Maghsoodi and Khalilzadeh 2017; Tsiga et al. 2017; Langston et al. 2018; Altarawneh and Samadi 2019; Moradi et al. 2020; Negash and Hassan, 2020
Complexity and uniqueness of project activities
The type of project (new, existing, maintenance)
The urgency of project outcome
Density of a project
Project environmental factors dimension
Physical environment/natural climates Chan et al. 2004; Phua and Rowlinson 2004; Park 2009; Tabish and Jha 2012; Gudienė et al. 2013a; Amade et al. 2015; Tsiga et al. 2017; Gunduz and Yahya 2018; Altarawneh and Samadi 2019
Project environment Taherdoost and Keshvarzsaleh 2016; Rodriguez-Segura et al. 2016
Economic and/or financial problems such as price, local currency value/economic and financial situation Qiao et al. 2001; Iyer and Jha 2005; Li et al. 2005; Chan et al. 2010; Yong and Mustaffa 2013; Alzara et al. 2016; Ameyaw and Chan 2016; Duryev et al. 2017; Maghsoodi and Khalilzadeh 2017; Langston et al. 2018; Altarawneh and Samadi 2019; Negash and Hassan, 2020
Bureaucratic interference Nguyen et al. 2004; Phua 2004; Altarawneh and Samadi 2019
Unexpected geological condition, unexpected prices raise for labour and material Chan et al. 2004; Gunduz and Yahya 2018; Altarawneh and Samadi 2019
Late delivery of materials and equipment Doloi et al. 2011; Akogbe et al. 2013; Aziz and Abdel-Hakam 2016; Altarawneh and Samadi 2019.
Shortage of labour Ugwu and Kumaraswamy 2007; Ogwueleka 2011; Alzahrani and Emsley 2013; Altarawneh and Samadi 2019
Project funding factors dimension
Adequate funding throughout the project/adequacy of funding Nguyen et al. 2004; Phua and Rowlinson 2004; Fortune and White 2006; Inayat et al. 2015; Kog and Loh 2012; Gupta et al. 2013; Hwang and Lim 2013; Liu et al. 2016; Maghsoodi and Khalilzadeh 2017; Asgari et al. 2018; Langston et al. 2018; Maqbool and Sudong 2018; Moradi et al. 2020; Negash and Hassan, 2020
Other factors
Proper emphasis on past experience Sanvido et al. 1992; Nguyen et al. 2004; Alzahrani and Emsley 2013; Langston et al. 2018
National culture, demographic profile of the respondents Park 2009; Al-Tmeemy et al. 2011; Martens et al. 2018; Chidambaram & Tamilmaram, 2020
Organisation structure Belassi and Tukel 1996; Chua et al. 1999; Andersen et al. 2006; Chileshe et al. 2005; Young and Samon 2008; Gupta et al. 2013; Misic and Radujkovic 2017; Tsiga et al. 2017; Moradi et al. 2020
Qualified and experienced project management Maghsoodi and Khalilzadeh 2017
Ongoing consultation with the project employer Maghsoodi and Khalilzadeh 2017
Regulations and political or economic and social issues Maghsoodi and Khalilzadeh 2017; Negash and Hassan, 2020
Pre-project planning and clarity in scope Tabish and Jha 2011; Sinesilassie et al. 2019; Jitpaiboon et al. 2019
Good quality control Pinto and Slevin 1987; Chan and Kumaraswamy 1996; Lim and Mohamed 1999; Love et al. 2000; Qiao et al. 2001; Chua et al. 2003; Chan et al. 2004; Nguyen et al. 2004; Yang 2006; Alaghbari et al. 2007; Toor and Ogunlana 2008; Nguyen et al. 2009; Keng and Hamzah 2011; Tabish and Jha 2011
Up-to-date technology utilisation/advanced technologies/use of IT tools Chan et al. 2004; Nguyen et al. 2004; Toor and Ogunlana 2008; Gupta et al. 2013; Kang et al. 2013; Cheong and Mustaffa 2017; Negash and Hassan, 2020; Cheng et al. 2021
Approved technology used Chua et al. 2003; Westerveld 2003; Yang 2006; Le-Hoai et al. 2008; Toor and Ogunlana 2008; Nguyen et al. 2004
Owner’s competence Iyer and Jha 2006; Asgari et al. 2018
Favourable working conditions Iyer and Jha 2006; Langston et al. 2018; Negash and Hassan, 2020
Contractor’s company characteristics, technical and professional ability/competence and experience Alzahrani and Emsley 2013; Asgari et al. 2018; Langston et al. 2018; Negash and Hassan, 2020
Design expertise design efforts/variations in designs and drawings Sanvido et al. 1992; Chan et al. 2001; Chua et al. 2003; Le et al. 2008; Langston et al. 2018; Moradi et al. 2020; Negash and Hassan, 2020
Identifying and analysing possible conflicts and coalitions among stakeholders Cheng et al. 2000; Chan and Chan 2004; Yang et al. 2009
Fast and effective problem solving Pinto and Prescott 1988; Sanvido et al. 1992; Belassi and Tukel 1996; Cheng et al. 2000; Chan et al. 2001; Chan et al. 2002; Levy 2002; Chua et al. 2003; Chan et al. 2004; Chan and Chan 2004; Yang 2006; Le et al. 2008; Toor and Ogunlana 2008; Nguyen et al. 2009
Availability of resources Nguyen et al. 2004; Alzahrani and Emsley 2013; Maghsoodi and Khalilzadeh 2017; Sinesilassie et al. 2019; Negash and Hassan, 2020
Education and training Negash and Hassan, 2020
Formal dispute resolution process Toor and Ogunlana 2008; Inayat et al. 2012; Kog and Loh 2012
Legal environment/legal expertise Langston et al. 2018; Negash and Hassan, 2020
Material and equipment Negash and Hassan, 2020
Mutual trust among project stakeholders Langston et al. 2018
No major changes in scope of work during construction Bajari and Tadelis 2001; Broome and Perry 1995; Sinesilassie et al. 2019
Project cultural fit Langston et al. 2018
Regular quality control and quality assurance systems Langston et al. 2018; Sinesilassie et al. 2019
Issues on project (client/customer specific, cost/quality, personal, industry related, etc.) and resolution mechanism Jha and Iyer 2006; Gudienė et al. 2013a; Davis 2016; Hasan and Jha 2019; Ahmed et al. 2021
Flexibility Shahu et al. 2012; Langston et al. 2018
Teamwork Moradi et al. 2020
Political environment Chan et al. 2004; Phua and Rowlinson 2004; Andersen et al. 2006; Fortune and White 2006; Tsiga et al. 2017; Maqbool and Sudong 2018; Moradi et al. 2020
Accurate and reliable estimates of project costs Maghsoodi and Khalilzadeh 2017
Skilled workers Langston et al. 2018; Negash and Hassan, 2020

Recent studies documenting a large number of success factors (SFs).

S. No. Paper Journal Author name Year Total No. of SFs listed
1 Can artificial intelligence be a critical success factor of construction projects?: Project practitioners’ perspectives Technology Innovation Management Review Kumar et al. 2021 64
2 The competence of project team members and success factors with open innovation Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity Oh and Choi 2020 31
3 Factors influencing the performance of architects in construction projects Construction and Economics Building Marisa and Yusof 2020 23
4 Critical success factors for sustainable construction project management Sustainability Gunduz and Almuajebh 2020 40
5 Critical success factors for large building construction projects – perception of consultants and contractors Built Environment Project and Asset Management Mathar et al. 2020 91
6 PLS-SEM approach for predicting the success of public–private partnerships in construction projects: Indian context Iranian Journal of Science and Technology, Transactions of Civil Engineering Chidambaram and Tamilmaran 2020 57
7 The relationship between critical success factors and success criteria in construction projects in the United Arab Emirates International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences Altarawneh and Samadi 2019 33
8 Critical success factors for project manufacturing environments Project Management Journal Pacagnella et al. 2019 38
9 Critical success factors for different components of construction projects Journal of Construction Engineering and Management Kog and Loh 2012 67

Theme and sub-themes.

Theme Sub-themes
Theme 1CSFs (1a) Top five CSFs
Theme 2Project success (2a) Define project success.
(2b) What makes a project successful?
(2c) Project success and Iron Triangle
(2d) Complexity/complex construction project

Top five CSFs – interviewee results.

Respondent CSF1 CSF2 CSF3 CSF4 CSF5
Respondent 1 Planning Skilled resources Procurement strategy Good communication Cost-control and contract
Respondent 2 Human factor/common goal Planning Convincing stakeholders Access to IT technology Flexibility in contract
Respondent 3 Good proposal Good organisation PM Team composition Partner relationship with the client
Respondent 4 Capacity/infrastructure Time schedule (planning) Budget Functionality Environmental issues
Respondent 5 Common objective Efficiency in taking decisions Good relationships within and outside team Stakeholder involvement -
Respondent 6 Planning Project team Project equipment Software Communication
Respondent 7 Cost (budget) Planning Resources Good relations with client Good relations with contractors
Respondent 8 Client satisfaction Partner relationship with client Technical expertise Project margins Team competence and pleasure
Respondent 9 Identification of right resources (manpower) Planning Good relations with client Good relations with contractors Timely and contractual resolution of issues

Project success – interviewee results.

Sub-theme PD DPD PM OM Sub-sub-theme Example quotes
Define project success 3 1 4 1 ‘Project success is when you complete it on budget and on time, I think … and also the client satisfaction’‘Success project for me is the success of the project and you win (the) trust of the client and award (a) new contract with him’‘I guess the success is a project deliverable is a way to satisfy the project and the client’,
What makes a project successful 3 1 4 1 ‘The people’, ‘when there is a good environment and the people have compromise and have the enthusiasm’‘ … to understand the cultural difference so that you can communicate properly to make the success of the project’‘The project manager personality and his relationship intelligence, organization on the project, the way you search or place positions in place’‘if (the) client is satisfied by our work by the way the project is managed’‘It’s if after the end of the project the clients come back to us and ask us to … repeat to another, another project for him and this is (the) proof (that) we reached (achieved) the success with the previous project, yes’
Project success and Iron Triangle 3 1 4 1 Sufficiency ‘You need more parameters’‘with the more parameters that you take in the equation to have the better approach’‘It’s not sufficient’‘It’s efficient I don’t think so’‘I think they are still the core of the success in a project.’‘... in a very simple project in which you can use just the three …’
Project success and Iron Triangle 3 1 4 1 Extra perimeters required ‘You need to add risk on that because (the) risk is a factor (that) will make you able to choose between the three factors’‘Environmental issues or you can say exterior issues’‘Ten-knowledge areas, focus areas need to be considered in the assessment of the success of the project’‘Ten knowledge areas (scope, time, cost, resources, stakeholders, quality, risk, procurement, communication and integration) So, all these must be, in my opinion, be taken into consideration, evaluation, and assessment of the success’‘you need all of these soft skills and leadership and stakeholder management’‘… I think in a very complex project then potentially yes, you would need to add in more factors …’
Complexity/complex construction project 3 1 4 1 ‘Complexity is not only linked to the technique, aspects, technical aspects but also to (the) uncertainty of the project’‘I think complexity is totally split with the technical issues, it’s not technical issues that makes a complex project, it’s much more, how you manage your project’‘What is more complex for the project manager and complex project it’s more that you have to manage all these people for same working together to achieve (the) same goal’‘A complex project for me something that involves many different elements including many different stakeholders or many different finances, how is it in terms of finance, many different elements of the project itself’‘so an overall complex project for me is something that involves many different elements which don’t all work together and you got to try to make them fit together to get the end results’
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