Understanding Critical

Success Factor Analysis

Daniel Austin
W. W. Grainger, Inc.
W3C / WSAWG Spring 2002

Overview of CSF Analysis

CSF analysis is:

A method developed at MITs Sloan school

by John Rockart to guide businesses in
creating and measuring success
Widely used for technology and architectural
planning in enterprise I/T
A top-down methodology that is especially
suitable for designing systems as opposed
to applications
A reductionist method for going from an
abstract vision to concrete requirements

Spring 2002

Understanding CSF

What Is a Critical Success

Factor?
A key area where satisfactory

performance is required for the

organization to achieve its goals
A means of identifying the tasks and
requirements needed for success
At the lowest level, CSFs become
concrete requirements
A means to prioritize requirements

Spring 2002

Understanding CSF

The CSF Method

Start with a vision: mission statement
Develop 5-6 high level goals
Develop hierarchy of goals and their
success factors

Leads to concrete requirements at the

lowest level of decomposition (a single,
implementable idea)
Along the way, identify the problems being
solved and the assumptions being made

Cross-reference usage scenarios and

problems with requirements

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Understanding CSF

Results of the Analysis

Mission statement
Hierarchy of goals and CSFs
Lists of requirements, problems, and
assumptions
Analysis matrices

Problems vs. Requirements matrix

Usage scenarios vs. Requirements matrix

Solid usage scenarios

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Understanding CSF

Relationship to Usage
Scenarios
Usage

scenarios or use cases

provide a means of determining:
Are

the requirements aligned and

self-consistent?
Are the needs of the user being met
as well as those of the enterprise?
Are the requirements complete?

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Understanding CSF

Example: From Goal to

Requirements
Put a man on the moon in 10 years
Invent orbital
rocket

Create landing
module

Invent re-entry
vehicle

Invent space
suit
(more CSFs
here)
Mug for
camera
Spring 2002

Recite heroic
speech

Plant plastic flag

w/support wire

Understanding CSF

Things to Think About

Brainstorming: if we do all of these
things, will we succeed?
Refactoring and rearranging the
hierarchy are part of the process (the
hierarchy itself is important information)
Leave no stone unturned: every idea is
a good one
Different levels of abstraction require
careful navigation!

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Understanding CSF

Conclusion
CSF analysis:
Produces results that express the needs
of the enterprise clearly and (hopefully)
completely
Allows us to measure success and
prioritize goals in a sensible way
When used together with traditional
usage scenarios, ensures that the needs
of both the user and the enterprise are
being met

Spring 2002

Understanding CSF