Key Success Factors and Their Impact on the Performance of Construction Projects: Case in Qatar

The success of a construction project depends on different factors, the knowledge of the project managers, and the type of project being developed. In this paper, based on a review of the literature, 23 factors are identified as critical and they are grouped into top-management support, project manager's skills, project team skills, and stakeholder-management knowledge. A framework with 23 hypotheses is developed to assess the relation between these factors and project performance. The analysis of the framework is conducted based on the responses obtained from a survey of 266 engineers working on construction projects in Qatar. The results show a positive relationship between critical success factors and project performance. The highest positive perception is shown for stakeholder engagement by the top management (mean = 5.589 +/- 0.582) and the lowest positive perception for the need to predict stakeholder influence (mean = 3.939 +/- 0.852). The analysis of the relative importance of these factors shows that the top-management support category is ranked highest for the success of a project. Although the perceptions are based on Qatar's study, the success factors, their relationship with project success criteria, and project performance are global; therefore, the framework could be tailored and applied in different project contexts.

Automated summary

The success of a construction project is dependent on various factors such as the knowledge of project managers and the project type. This study identifies 23 critical factors based on a literature review, which are categorized into top-management support, project manager's skills, project team skills, and stakeholder-management knowledge. A framework with 23 hypotheses is developed to assess the relationship between these factors and project performance. The analysis of this framework is conducted using survey responses from 266 engineers working on construction projects in Qatar. The results demonstrate a positive correlation between critical success factors and project performance, with top-management support being ranked as the most important factor.