In the end we have to determine whether or not our simulated project was successful. The dynamics of the entire product life cycle are critical because they provide the yardstick by which decisions and tradeoffs are measured. We measure success based on the overall project value. Overall project value is the ongoing value to end users, less the ongoing costs of delivering that value, less the original project costs to create the value.

The demands of the sponsor and the users are givens in our model. All of these demands and ideas are discoverable by the team over the course of the project. This dynamic is represented in the scope change dynamics on the preceding pages. The degree to which the final product that the team delivers meets these user and sponsor criteria, the overall error density and the adherence to schedule will determine the value that the users and sponsors get from the project. In a market type project, like new product development, this can translate directly into sales and revenues. In a non-market project, like an internal IT project, it can translate into user satisfaction, cost savings or some other measure of direct project success.

The attributes of the end product will also determine the organization's ongoing cost with the end-product. The cost to manufacture, the cost to maintain and/or the cost to operate will depend on the error density and tradeoffs made in the scope.

The cost of the project is determined by how the project is run and what scope the teams decides to deliver.

Given these dynamics, teams must weigh long term versus short term issues when making scope tradeoffs. In most cases, participants will see that there is typically more leverage in the long term impacts. And there are times when the long-term answer actually provides a better short term answer as well. This can then lead to interesting discussions and ideas about how to think about, measure and reward true project success.