Exploring Project Management Critical Success Factors: Special Reference to Dry Zone Urban Water Supply Projects in Sri Lanka

Abstract

The Dry zone urban water supply projects are special projects of the country to provide adequate drinking water facilities to urban and peri-urban areas. These projects aim to increase the water supply coverage and improve the quality of services to the public. The research problem is that these projects are not meeting the expected level of standards for the public. The study aims to explore project management’s critical success factors that support increased project performance. The study is exploratory in nature and adopted a qualitative method. Primary data was collected through in-depth interviews conducted with ten project staff officers from the dry zone water supply projects. Thematic analysis is applied to explore the themes of the study. The findings of the study are; Project management tools and techniques, detailed project design, contractor competence, clear scope, procurement conditions, quality of bidding procedures, proper site selection, systematic approval procedures, documentation, payment approvals, and proper contractor selection are the critical success factors for dry zone water supply projects. The study contributed theoretically to where the research gap exists in Sri Lankan dry zone water supply projects and empirically contributed to the project policymakers and managers to consider the above critical success factors in planning, executing and effectively closing the projects to improve the quality of service to the public.