Critical success criteria for mass house building projects in developing countries

Project success is a complex and often illusory construct. Nonetheless, it is crucially contingent towards enabling appropriate and effective allocation of resources in project management practice. Mass house building projects (MHBPs) represent one of the largest and most established project-based sectors of the construction industry in most developing economies. Above all, the management skills required on these projects differ significantly from the one-off projects often encountered in the construction industry. While some success criteria may be common across project types, there is no denying the fact that some determinants of success are likely to be unique to projects of specific characteristics. This research sets out to address what constitutes the determinants of success in MHBPs. A questionnaire survey is used to establish property developers' perception of critical success criteria in MHBPs in Ghana. Data analysis (involving one-sample t-test) reveals some interesting findings in regard to how property developers perceive the importance of the project success criteria. Factors analysis reveals four underlying clusters named in order of their significance as environmental-impact, customer satisfaction, quality and cost and time. This systematic approach towards understanding the taxonomy of the success dimension in MHBPs is important for re-enforcing effective project management practices in this significant sector of the construction industry. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd and IPMA.