Critical Success Factors to Effective Project Execution

To be successful, a project must have:

Agreement among the project stakeholders – the team, customer, and management – on the goals of the project.
A plan that demonstrates what is possible, shows an overall path and clear responsibilities, contains the details for estimating the people, money, time, equipment, and materials necessary to get the job done, and will be used to measure progress during the project and act as an early warning system.
Constant, effective communication among everyone involved in the project in order to coordinate action, recognize and solve problems, and react to changes.
A controlled scope, or "stakeholder expectations management," to ensure that everyone involved understands exactly what can be accomplished within a given time frame and budget; a systematic method for establishing realistic goals for deliverables, cost, schedule, and quality, as well as techniques for keeping the goals consistent throughout the project.
Upper management support, "managing upward," guiding the upper managers toward timely decisions that keep the project moving – to supply people and other resources, make policy decisions, or remove organizational obstacles.