Project Management Practices: The Criteria for Success or Failure

Often, software managers have to monitor and manage many projects concurrently. Unfortunately, some projects were completed successfully but some were not completed on time, over budget or being cancelled. Some of the reasons of this project failure are: lack of user involvement, lack of planning, incomplete requirements, lack of resources, incorrect cost estimation, just to name a few. There are many project planning and scheduling techniques to manage and help to ensure project success. Some of these techniques, however, may not be suitable for specific types of projects and thus, cause projects to fail. This paper discusses the issues involved in project success and failure, and presents the feedback of 50 undergraduate students who undertook a team project of the project management course.