Identification of critical success factors (CSFs) for successful project management in manufacturing sector

Purpose This research has been carried out to study the impact of critical success factors (CSFs) on successful project management of projects in the manufacturing sector. These success factors will pave the way for the successful completion of projects for the manufacturing sector. CSFs play a vital role in the timely conclusion of projects in any organization. For the projects to be successful certain essential factors must be taken into account. These essential factors are identified through this research. Design/methodology/approach During this study an adaptive survey of the literature was conducted, after a detailed literature review certain success factors were identified for project management in the manufacturing sector. The number of success factors was reduced to 40 factors based on the level of incidence in the literature. The length of the questionnaire was also given due importance to make the survey more interesting and effective. After that Fuzzy Delphi Method (FDM) was employed to screen the most essential factors. In the end, the Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchical Process (FAHP) was used to rank these factors in order of importance. Findings Project Manager Leadership Skills, Economic Environment, Top Management Support, Project Planning, Clear and realistic Goals, and Financial Support have come out to be the most important CSFs for successful project management in the manufacturing sector. Originality/value This is novel research to identify CSFs for project management in the manufacturing sector. Previously, most of the studies remained focused on construction and software projects.