Critical Success Factors are defined in direct association with the organization’s vision and strategy; without knowing what they are or being able to accomplish them, the organization would not succeed in reaching its strategic goals. Once the mission and strategic goals of the organization or project have been defined, it is necessary to identify the Critical Success Factors – the activities or business objectives that are absolutely necessary to achieve each goal. Making a list of potential Critical Success Factors will allow you to narrow down the vital few, usually no more than 3 to 8. These factors should have a clear and significant effect on the performance and sustainability of the organization as a whole, or of the particular project in question. After they have been established, the next step is to identify what the key performance indicators are for each Critical Success Factor so the organization can monitor is progress against achieving them. Communicating the Critical Success Factors across the organization helps align and mobilize staff to work towards the same overall objectives and minimizes inessential outputs.

Strategy teams and leaders who want to drive success within their businesses should look to the new online Critical Success Factors Template from Praxie. There is not one standard format which is right or wrong, but the Critical Success Factors Template should provide teams with a way of characterizing and ranking which actions connect to long-term strategic goals, and which actions need to be taken to complete those goals quickly and efficiently. Get started with our Critical Success Factors template. 

How to use it: 

1. List what you see as your critical success factors.  
2. Write a description for each.  
3. Score success factors based on their relative Importance and Urgency.  
4. Based on the overall score, identify your priority success factors, and create actions plans to address them. 

Unlike most traditional Critical Success Factors techniques, Praxie’s online Critical Success Factors tools allow any team or organization to instantly begin working with our web templates and input forms. Our digital platform goes far beyond other software tools by including progress dashboards, data integration from existing documents or other SaaS software, elegant intuitive designs, and full access on any desktop or mobile device.