Tab. 1:
Respondents’ profiles, including geography and projects handled.
| S. No. | Item | Respondent 1 (PD) | Respondent 2 (PM) | Respondent 3 (PD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Qualification | Masters in science | Degree in engineering | Masters in geology |
| 2 | Total experience (years) | 15 | 15 | 33 |
| 3 | Present project | |||
| 3.1 | Project type | Airport | Nuclear | Road, building |
| 3.2 | Project location | Saudi Arabia | France | Algeria |
| 3.3 | Role in project | PD | PM | PD |
| 3.4 | Project cost (tentative) | Project 1 – US$ 9 billion (construction cost) Project 2 – US$ 100–200 million (construction cost) | € 35 billion (construction cost) | Project 1 – € 110 million (consulting fee) Project 2 – € 40 million (consulting fee) Project 3 – € 8 million (consulting fee) |
| 3.5 | Present progress | Construction stage | Construction stage | Project 1 – closure stage Project 2 – ongoing Project 3 – closure stage |
| S. No. | Item | Respondent 4 (PD) | Respondent 5 (PM) | Respondent 6 (OM) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Qualification | Graduate engineer, MBA | Masters in engineering | High school |
| 2 | Total experience (years) | 23 | 11 | 15 |
| 3 | Present project | |||
| 3.1 | Project type | Mining | Light rail | Road (O&M) |
| 3.2 | Project location | Africa | France | UK |
| 3.3 | Role in project | PD | PM | O&M manager |
| 3.4 | Project cost (tentative) | € 2 billion (construction cost) | € 80 million (construction cost) | £ 300 million consulting fee for a 30 year O&M contract |
| 3.5 | Present progress | Recently completed | Construction stage | O&M |
| S. No. | Item | Respondent 7 (DPD) | Respondent 8 (PM) | Respondent 9 (PM) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Qualification | Masters in research, master’s in engineering | Engineering, business administration | Graduate engineer |
| 2 | Total experience (years) | 15 | 14 | 25 |
| 3 | Present project | |||
| 3.1 | Project Type | Road | Green Network | Road |
| 3.2 | Project location | French island | France | India |
| 3.3 | Role in project | DPD | PM | PM |
| 3.4 | Project cost (tentative) | € 5 billion – construction cost | € 60 million – construction cost | ≥ ₹ 5 billion – construction cost |
| 3.5 | Present progress | Construction stage | Construction stage | Recently completed |
Tab. 2:
Theme and sub-themes.
| Theme | Sub-themes |
|---|---|
| Theme 1 CSFs | (1a) Top five CSFs |
| Theme 2 Project success | (2a) Define project success. |
| (2b) What makes a project successful? | |
| (2c) Project success and Iron Triangle | |
| (2d) Complexity/complex construction project |
Tab. 3:
Top five CSFs – interviewee results.
| Respondent | CSF1 | CSF2 | CSF3 | CSF4 | CSF5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Respondent 1 | Planning | Skilled resources | Procurement strategy | Good communication | Cost-control and contract |
| Respondent 2 | Human factor/common goal | Planning | Convincing stakeholders | Access to IT technology | Flexibility in contract |
| Respondent 3 | Good proposal | Good organisation | PM | Team composition | Partner relationship with the client |
| Respondent 4 | Capacity/infrastructure | Time schedule (planning) | Budget | Functionality | Environmental issues |
| Respondent 5 | Common objective | Efficiency in taking decisions | Good relationships within and outside team | Stakeholder involvement | - |
| Respondent 6 | Planning | Project team | Project equipment | Software | Communication |
| Respondent 7 | Cost (budget) | Planning | Resources | Good relations with client | Good relations with contractors |
| Respondent 8 | Client satisfaction | Partner relationship with client | Technical expertise | Project margins | Team competence and pleasure |
| Respondent 9 | Identification of right resources (manpower) | Planning | Good relations with client | Good relations with contractors | Timely and contractual resolution of issues |
Tab. 4:
Recent studies documenting a large number of success factors (SFs).
| S. No. | Paper | Journal | Author name | Year | Total No. of SFs listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Can artificial intelligence be a critical success factor of construction projects?: Project practitioners’ perspectives | Technology Innovation Management Review | Kumar et al. | 2021 | 64 |
| 2 | The competence of project team members and success factors with open innovation | Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity | Oh and Choi | 2020 | 31 |
| 3 | Factors influencing the performance of architects in construction projects | Construction and Economics Building | Marisa and Yusof | 2020 | 23 |
| 4 | Critical success factors for sustainable construction project management | Sustainability | Gunduz and Almuajebh | 2020 | 40 |
| 5 | Critical success factors for large building construction projects – perception of consultants and contractors | Built Environment Project and Asset Management | Mathar et al. | 2020 | 91 |
| 6 | PLS-SEM approach for predicting the success of public–private partnerships in construction projects: Indian context | Iranian Journal of Science and Technology, Transactions of Civil Engineering | Chidambaram and Tamilmaran | 2020 | 57 |
| 7 | The relationship between critical success factors and success criteria in construction projects in the United Arab Emirates | International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences | Altarawneh and Samadi | 2019 | 33 |
| 8 | Critical success factors for project manufacturing environments | Project Management Journal | Pacagnella et al. | 2019 | 38 |
| 9 | Critical success factors for different components of construction projects | Journal of Construction Engineering and Management | Kog and Loh | 2012 | 67 |
Tab. 5:
Top five CSFs for construction project success – respondents’ reactions.
| S. No. | Respondent | Example quotes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Respondent 1 | ‘Fifth one … uh … you can say …’ |
| 2 | Respondent 2 | ‘Fifth one … a … what can I say …’ |
| 3 | Respondent 5 | ‘I don’t have any idea for the fifth one. But if I have one, if it comes in the interview later, I will tell you’ |
| 4 | Respondent 6 | ‘Fifth one is … I can’t think of anymore.’ |
| 5 | Respondent 7 | ‘... and in five what I would say is, during execution phase, I think we have to get very good relationships with the contractors.’ |
| 6 | Respondent 8 | ‘And, I guess, …’ |
Tab. 6:
Project success – interviewee results.
| Sub-theme | PD | DPD | PM | OM | Sub-sub-theme | Example quotes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Define project success | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | ‘Project success is when you complete it on budget and on time, I think … and also the client satisfaction’ ‘Success project for me is the success of the project and you win (the) trust of the client and award (a) new contract with him’ ‘I guess the success is a project deliverable is a way to satisfy the project and the client’, | |
| What makes a project successful | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | ‘The people’, ‘when there is a good environment and the people have compromise and have the enthusiasm’ ‘ … to understand the cultural difference so that you can communicate properly to make the success of the project’ ‘The project manager personality and his relationship intelligence, organization on the project, the way you search or place positions in place’ ‘if (the) client is satisfied by our work by the way the project is managed’ ‘It’s if after the end of the project the clients come back to us and ask us to … repeat to another, another project for him and this is (the) proof (that) we reached (achieved) the success with the previous project, yes’ | |
| Project success and Iron Triangle | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | Sufficiency | ‘You need more parameters’ ‘with the more parameters that you take in the equation to have the better approach’ ‘It’s not sufficient’ ‘It’s efficient I don’t think so’ ‘I think they are still the core of the success in a project.’ ‘... in a very simple project in which you can use just the three …’ |
| Project success and Iron Triangle | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | Extra perimeters required | ‘You need to add risk on that because (the) risk is a factor (that) will make you able to choose between the three factors’ ‘Environmental issues or you can say exterior issues’ ‘Ten-knowledge areas, focus areas need to be considered in the assessment of the success of the project’ ‘Ten knowledge areas (scope, time, cost, resources, stakeholders, quality, risk, procurement, communication and integration) So, all these must be, in my opinion, be taken into consideration, evaluation, and assessment of the success’ ‘you need all of these soft skills and leadership and stakeholder management’ ‘… I think in a very complex project then potentially yes, you would need to add in more factors …’ |
| Complexity/complex construction project | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | ‘Complexity is not only linked to the technique, aspects, technical aspects but also to (the) uncertainty of the project’ ‘I think complexity is totally split with the technical issues, it’s not technical issues that makes a complex project, it’s much more, how you manage your project’ ‘What is more complex for the project manager and complex project it’s more that you have to manage all these people for same working together to achieve (the) same goal’ ‘A complex project for me something that involves many different elements including many different stakeholders or many different finances, how is it in terms of finance, many different elements of the project itself’ ‘so an overall complex project for me is something that involves many different elements which don’t all work together and you got to try to make them fit together to get the end results’ |
Tab. A1:
CSFs identified in previous studies.
1 Source: Kumar et al. (2021) and authors’ compilation.