The critical success factors are the high level goals that need to be achieved to make the project a success.

Imagine the project is finished - you’re discussing how it went. What are the main things that will tell you that it was a success?

Examples might be creating a new toolset that delivers against a specific user story, or involving a diverse team, or shared learning in a particular field of research.

By defining these at the beginning of the project, we set the course for the project to make sure that the work is going in the right direction.

We aim for 3 to 5 critical success factors - any more dilutes the effect.