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D'ailleurs, le collègue dont le projet a réussi est productif.

D'ailleurs, le collègue dont le projet a réussi est productif.
Moreover, the colleague whose project succeeded is productive.
From Lesson 205:Emphasis and addition markers (en effet, d'ailleurs)·French

Questions & Answers about D'ailleurs, le collègue dont le projet a réussi est productif.

How does d'ailleurs change the feel of the sentence compared to just using aussi?
D'ailleurs adds an extra, reinforcing piece of information, much like 'moreover', 'besides', or 'by the way' in English. While aussi simply means 'also', using d'ailleurs shows you are building on a previous point to make a stronger argument.
Why do we use dont instead of qui or que in this sentence?
Dont is a relative pronoun that replaces a phrase introduced by de. Because possession in French is expressed with de (the project of the colleague), dont is the perfect word here. In this context, it translates exactly to 'whose'.
If dont means 'whose', why is there a le before projet?
In English, we drop the article after 'whose' and just say 'whose project'. In French, you must always keep the definite article (le, la, or les) before the noun that follows dont. It is always dont le projet, never just dont projet.
Why does a réussi use avoir as its auxiliary verb? Shouldn't a change of state like succeeding use être?
That is a great instinct, but réussir is not on the strict list of verbs (often memorized as Dr. Mrs. Vandertramp) that use être in the passé composé. Like the vast majority of French verbs, it simply takes avoir.

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