Factors Affecting the Successful Application of PERT/CPM Systems in a Government Organization

PERT/CPM in project management scheduling systems is applied and used less frequently than the literature would seem to suggest. Eighteen almost-identical government units were studied to document a situation that appears to be ideally suited to PERT/CPM but where the success ratio was 4 out of 18 cases. We then identify some factors to explain why or why not the PERT/CPM techniques were not successful. Of nine factors identified, the two important factors turned out to be (1) the level of person making the introduction and (2) the stated purpose of the introduction. Suggestions for improving acceptance then conclude the paper.