The purpose of this paper is to model the critical success factors of construction project
management (CPM). Despite the emergence of construction project management as an academic
discipline, existing instrument found in literature were for measuring the importance of
Construction Managers and Project Managers skills or attributes yet the combined dual role of
Construction Project Management as a discipline or profession remains under researched. After
collecting 58 empirical observations from within the South African construction related
organisations, the paper tests the theoretical relationships by using the structural equation
modelling (SEM) technique. The research identifies six factors which are critical for the
effectiveness of CPM. The study also highlights the benefits of modelling the factors using
tradition methods such as bivariate correlation and multiple regression analysis techniques to
extract factors of CPM. The results indicate that correlation between the "hard" and "soft" skills
is necessary for the effective implementation of Construction Project Management. The
proposed theoretical model not only has the potential to enhance competitive success but can act
as a valuable diagnostic tool in addressing the effectiveness of construction project management.