An Investigation of Project Success for Engineering and Technology-Based Projects in Developing Countries

Abstract

The success or failure of engineering and technology-based development projects is studied in this paper. A sample of one hundred and thirty three (133) completed projects funded by the World Bank are investigated to determine their level of success based on bank criteria and assessments. The assessments mainly focus on the following criteria: relevance of objectives, efficacy, efficiency, sustainability, institutional development impact, outcome, bank performance, and borrower performance. One other dimension that has been downplayed by these assessments is project management success as represented by project schedule and cost. In the current study, the level of project success is evaluated on the basis of bank criteria and performance in project management. A composite project performance index is then derived, planned schedules are compared with final closeout, and budgets are compared with final costs to determine the overall success of these projects. Finally, the effects of project sector, regional location of projects, and project size, on success are investigated. The results show that only about half (50%) of the World Bank projects are successful in achieving their goals. The results also show that the sector of a project, its geographical region, or size have no effect on project success