This paper reports the key criteria in ensuring project management success and the creation of an emergent model following the guidelines associated with grounded theory. It is based on findings obtained from depth interviews with project managers over a two-year period. These findings offer important insights and novel viewpoints in the area of project management based on the experience of senior personnel and are provided both in general and strategic ways. The project managers were responsible for a wide range of projects. Findings include the identification of key success and failure factors (KSF and KFF) and the importance of vulnerabilities within projects. It is the first article to differentiate between risks and vulnerabilities, an instrumental distinction affecting how managerial problems are addressed. It is also the first time, we believe, that a clear difference is made between KSF and KFF, proving that one is not merely the opposite of the other. We summarize our findings by presenting, in line with the grounded theory methodology, an emergent model that highlights key elements of our findings in a managerial format.