Three key factors for successful project

An ICT project must have three key factors in place in order to have chances for success. The factors are: communication, a competent project manager with project experience and knowledge about the organization‟s
core business, and top management support. Change management is an important part of the general project  management but it is not enough alone if the project manager is otherwise not competent enough or other key factors for a successful project are not in place.

Source:  Master's thesis: Change management as a part of successful ICT project management
Antti Pasanen, 2009
Department of Marketing and Management
HELSINGIN KAUPPAKORKEAKOULU

This theses supports my personal experience in project management:
Communication
A competent project manager with project experience and knowledge about the organization‟s core business
Top management support
Communication - today's work is plenty of communication and I am not talking about the amount of communication but the quality of the communication - right message to right people right time and feedback loop that the message got through in a right way.

A competent project manager - what can I say in same areas you can still see thinking that project management is something anybody can do. It is mainly a mandatory thing that must be  in place and hopefully he/she does not cause lots of extra cost or hassle. However, I think just like in any other area experience is something that will ease things. Also project management must be treated as an own competence and developed systematically to reach higher standards.

Top management support - In case you don't have a killer application to roll-out you will face challenges when trying to change something. It is crucial to have management to deliver clear message supporting your activities at the same time as you need to work bottom up to clarify what's in it for me. And when the shouting gets louder it is good that you have managed your top stakeholders well and ensured their commitment. This may carry you over the hard times in the project even though pure top management support alone does not guarantee anything - at least my experience in most of the corporate cultures I have worked.

This is supported nicely by this article by sixdisciplines.com: http://www.sixdisciplines.com/_blog/The_Six_Disciplines_Blog/post/Change_Is_Inevitable_Failure_Is_Optional/