Critical success factors in software projects

Software projects are still late, over budget, and unpredictable. Sometimes the entire project fails before ever delivering an application. The article presents a clear, commonsense review of fundamental project management techniques which reminds us that we still have a long way to go. It presents five essential factors to managing a successful software project: (1) start on the right foot; (2) maintain momentum; (3) track progress; (4) make smart decisions; (5) institutionalize post-mortem analyses.