Often, a good program manager using effective leadership and program management practices is the main reason for a program's success. By examining successful programs and relevant literature on program management and defense acquisition, critical success factors can be identified and explained. Critical success factors for DoD program managers were identified through factor analysis of the body of acquisition literature. The factor analysis technique developed by MacFarland was used.
Factor analysis measures the occurrence of key factors in a survey of relevant literature.
The occurrence of a key factor in each article is noted. In a representative sample of literature, a determination can be made as to the relative importance of each key factor to the subject by noting and comparing the number of occurrences.