Critical success factors for multidisciplinary engineering projects

Project success is an attractive idea but what factors lead to success remains an area of conjecture. In the project management literature the success has often been defined in terms of better control of timescales, budgets and resource planning. Yet these are impoverished terms for conceptualising success, which is both multidimensional and contextual. The study explores the perceptions of critical success factors (CSFs) in a multi-disciplinary engineering practice. Project success is seen to be related to five dimensions of work: individuals, teams, process, project and product. Understanding these elements and their interdependence may enable managers to identify strengths and weaknesses in current work practices. An important insight is that CSFs is a form of knowing, which needs to be articulated and communicated more effectively within the project community, emphasising the role of social capital and social networks.