CSF Process Model for Program Management

Dobbins, James
Ph.D. in the Management of Science, Technology, and Innovation from George Washington University in Washington DC. Bachelor of Science in Physics, Master of Science in Information Technology. Former Professor of Program Management at the Defense Acquisition University. Associate Dean for Research and Consulting.

This is the first publication of the CSF Process Model which any manager can use to identify his or her Critical Success Factors (CSF), their dependencies, and their measures. This CSF Process Model was developed during the Author's research at George Washington University in Washington DC. A manager using this CSF Process Model can identify their own personal CSF while avoiding many or all of the problems previously reported in the literature by those trying to identify a list of CSF for general use. Identifying a list of CSF was the focus of the research. Since it is the attainment of a list of CSF which is the desired final product of the research; the prior research approaches can thus be described as product focused. In contrast, in this monograph, a process focused approach is used to identify CSF which are activities, are measurable, and are directly usable. The difference between product and process focus is fundamental. It is the process that is generalizable and usable by the manager in any context, not a list of CSF produced by someone other than the manager.