The current literature on project management is luxuriant, treating similar topics in different approaches. For instance, the topic of critical success factors in project management has been approached from a qualitative data collection perspective in Aliaz, Zawawi, Yusof and Aris’ (2014) article “Determining Critical Success Factors of Project Management Practice: A Conceptual Framework”. The same topic has been approached with a quantitative data collection model in Denni-Fiberesima and Rani’s (2011) article “An Evaluation of Critical Success Factors in Oil and Gas Project Portfolio in Nigeria”.
Aliaz et al (2014) indicate that their data is comprised of critical success factors (CSF), as they are perceived by project managers, architects, engineers and builders working in design, construction and building. The article presents five CSF (“project management actions, project procedures, human related factors, project related factors, external environment”) that are highlighted into a conceptual framework (Aliaz et al., 2014, p. 67). The other article also describes the data and highlights them in tables, focusing on two aspects: the respondents’ demographics and 13 CSF and their impact upon project management strategy, project budget and project schedule, as perceived by the subjects of the research (Denni-Fiberesima & Rani, 2011). The second article indicates that the respondents were allowed to express their opinions freely, which indicates that the collected data could have also been interpreted in a qualitative manner. On the other hand, Aliaz et al.’s (2014) article does not allow another interpretation, because the nature of the study is conceptual. However, other variables from previous literature, such as project team motivation or adequate communication channels could have enhanced the value of the study (Aliaz et al., 2014). In the second case, 13 CSF already imply an overwhelming description of key factors in project management and more CSF would cumber the analysis.
While the argumentation is sound for both articles, the analysis on the African context is less convincing due to the fact that the methodology is less clear, because it comprises four variables (CSF being one of them), applied on the 13 CSF, which makes the findings and argumentation somehow ambiguous and redundant. On the other hand, both articles refer to the limitations of their study, which mainly refer to the fact that the research is localized and could not be generalized, and they also integrate the research in a larger context, recommending further research directions. Denni-Fiberesima and Rani (2011) indicate that their study will add value for petroleum companies in Nigeria, while Aliaz et al. (2014) express their hope that their conceptual framework will be useful for project management practitioners in construction to reach specific performance level.
References
Alias, Z., Zawawi, E. M. A., Yusof, K., & Aris, N. M. (2014). Determining critical success factors of project management practice: A conceptual framework.Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 153, 61-69. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.10.041
Denni-Fiberesima, D. & Rani, N.S.A. (2011) An evaluation of critical success factors in oil and gas Project portfolio in Nigeria. African Journal of Business Management. 5(6): 2378-2395.
