Elements of a Successful Project

I started reading a new project management book by Rechenthin titled Project Intelligence.  In the first chapter of the book the author established several concepts of projects and project management.  One of these concepts is what the the author refers to as The Elements of a Successful Project.  These ten elements may not be a complete listing of important project characteristics but all ten appear to have an influence on the outcome of a project.  I thought this was a valuable list so I thought I would share them with you.

Here is my paraphrased summary of the ten elements a project should have in order to expect a successful outcome:

1. Defined Objectives: The team must be able to understand and clearly communicate the project scope to all stakeholders
2. Work Breakdowns Structure (WBS): A project's scope is broken down into the individual work packages needed to produce the deliverables and each work package has assigned responsibilities
3. Defined Risks: Risks associated with each work package of the WBS is identified and understood
4. Project Plan: Project planning takes place and is scaled to fit the size and complexity of the project
5. Committed and Co-located Team: The team is located together and are committed to the project success or the team may be distributed but communication channels exist that sufficiently support effective collaboration
6. Team Building: An intentional team building process is applied to create a motivated and effective team
7. Communications:  Communications are developed, organized, and planned across all stakeholders
8. Representation: Recipients of the project deliverables have input on the project objectives
9. Applying Past Experience: The team learns from past project experiences and applies these learnings
10. Training: Targeted training opportunities are employed to build the team's experience and knowledge

Reference

Rechenthin, D. (2013). Project intelligence. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.