CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS

When analyzing or solving a business problem, you cannot possibly understand every detail. You can only identify those functions, or processes, that affect the bottom line. These functions are called critical success factors (CSF).

To identify a CSF, you must ask yourself this simple question: If that function fails, will it affect the overall performance of the business? If your answer is yes, you can then concentrate on fixing or improving that function as opposed to the ones of lesser significance. After identifying CSFs, you also prioritize them when allocating resources. For instance, you give priority to CSFs when allocating time, money, supplies, facilities, and attention.

for Determining Critical Success Factors

• Identify the main goal of your activity.
• Identify the processes or tasks for achieving the goal.
• Rank the processes in descending order according to importance in achieving the goal.
• Determine which processes need improvement, especially the most important ones.
• Implement the improvements.