For a number of valid reasons, project success is usually measured by a combination of on-time, on-budget, and to-specification metrics but is this really enough? I agree, all three of these areas should be apart of how project success is measured but it is only one part of the equation. All of these metrics measure how well the project performed but does include any measurements in regards to realized benefits for the customer (I’ll use the word customer to include both internal and external users of the solution). You may have build the greatest solution ever built within your given budget but if no one is using the solution, there are no benefits to your customer.
Add operational measurements to measure success
At the end of the day, the only thing that matters to your customer is how well the solution works in operations. Therefore, you need to include metrics that measure this. Start with looking at the original business case used to justify the project and identify the benefits listed. These could be operational efficiencies or increased sales etc. You then need to figure out how you will measure these benefits, i.e. what exact metrics do you need to collect and any calculations you need to perform. For example, if one of the benefits is operational efficiencies, identify exactly what tasks that will be made more efficient and how you will measure the improvements. Note that you may have to start collecting data before you implement the new solution in order to be able to measure any improvements unless this has already been done as part of building the business case.
You now have a balanced scorecard
By including both project and operational metrics you have created a balanced scorecard that will not only measure how well the project team performed but also how well the benefits are actually realized. This will not only allow you to measure success afterwards but will also help ensuring that the project keep operational issues in mind throughout the project, including ensuring a high degree of adoption.
Have you used balanced scorecards to measure project success? What kind of metrics did you include?
