Dr. Jana Jagodick Polytechnic of Namibia, 2012 Project Management Chapter 3 Project Management for Strategic Goal Achievement

Dr. Jana JagodickPolytechnic of Namibia, 2012

Project Management

Chapter 3

Project Management for Strategic Goal Achievement


Introduction• Projects deliver most benefit when

focused on achieving the strategic

objectives of the organisation


Project Management in Context

Process management

Performance management

Issuesmanagement

Project management

Strategic management

Strategic objectives

5 broad knowledge areas of management in an organisation:

– Strategic management

– Process Management

– Project Management– Performance

Management– Issues Management


Match the term?

1. How people will be managed to achieve the strategic objectives

2. How to recognise and address performance gaps to ensure strategic objectives are obtained

3. What needs to improve or be implemented to deliver the strategic objectives

4. How projects should be delivered to meet the strategic objectives

5. Where the organisation wants to be


Strategic Management

• The strategic plan develops the mission and states the objectives and desired outcomes necessary for success.

• The relationship between the organisation and its environment is defined by making using tools such as SWOT analysis.


Strategic Management Process

Consists of the following steps:– environmental scanning

– vision and mission statement

– strategy formulation

– strategy implementation

– strategy evaluation and control


Project Management

This involves the initiation, planning and execution of projects integrated into the business, by a project manager and his team.


Process Management

The aim here is to improve current organisational processes and to design improved processes.


Performance Management

All staff must know what management’s expectations are and must be trained and equipped to do their jobs well.

– A balanced scorecard helps as a performance measurement framework to clarify expectations for the people involved.


Issues Management

• used for situation assessments, decision making and problem solving.


Strategic Alignment of Projects

Strategic Alignment and

Systems Integration


Strategic Alignment of Projects

• Projects often seem to be implemented on an ad hoc basis across the organisation without– clarifying the link to the organisation’s strategy– Understanding the number and scope of projects being

undertaken

• Staff often feel that they are working on unnecessary projects, some of which are in conflict with other areas of the business

• By giving projects a strategic focus, these concerns can be resolved


What is needed for effective alignment & integration ?

• effective communication

• workable business practices

• cultivating a PM structure and culture

• project management training

• implementing project management practices


Examples

To organize the world's information and make it universally accessible – whose vision statement?

What kinds of projects would be aligned to this?

What kinds of projects would not be aligned?


Examples

Types of projects aligned – implementing technology that will help them to organise information better, developing infrastructure to allow people in developing countries access to information

Type of projects not aligned – developing hardware for people to be able to access the internet


Approaches to ensure this happens

• Managing by Projects

• Balanced scorecard

• Business Process Focused Project Management


Managing by Projects

• This management approach has become increasingly popular due to the increased interest in process redesign.

• Organisations begin to view all changes to their organisational processes as ‘project-oriented.’

• This philosophy often categorises all activities as: ‘projects of change’, or ‘operational projects’.


Managing by Projects

• Organisations using such an approach treat all tasks as projects

• Establishment of a project office becomes very important

• Managing by projects involves the entire organisation


Setting up Project Offices (PO or PMO)Needed for a ‘managing by projects’ approach

Main functions are:• project initiation and planning• capturing and analysing historical data• risk assessment and issue management• maintaining and enhancing corporate PM techniques• supporting users of PM systems• PM training• quality assurance and quality control


Advantages of Having a Project Office

• Organisational structures are aligned with cross functional change

• Allows a global view of resources• Skills are focused on strategic goals• Clear ownership/accountability for project

responsibility• Performance measurements are dynamic,

predictive forward looking


The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) The balanced scorecard (BSC) is a technique that helps to align strategies with objectives, measure the implementation and progress in attempts to meet these objectives.

A recent survey (2007) found that 62% of companies in the western world were using a balanced scorecard to track performance (Thompson, Strickland and Gamble)

Ref: www.balancedscorecard.org


BSC

– BSC not concerned with control over specific actions to reach the objective, but with the objective itself

– It focuses on the inter-relationship between:

• financial issues• the client or customer• internal processes• Learning and growth

To achieve strategic goals


Business Process Focused Project Management (BFPM)

• Developed by Comninos in 1990s• Organisation-wide view of PM• Bring together projects and operations• Provides overview of strategic linkage between projects

and organisation strategy

• The two major components of BFPM are:– Wrappers Model– Objective-directed PM (ODPM)

• These two components embrace each other to provide philosophies, processes, concepts and tools used in BFPM


Business Process Focused PM (BFPM)

• The two major elements are:– Wrappers Model– Objective-directed PM (ODPM)

• These two components embrace each other to provide philosophies, processes, concepts and tools used in BFPM


Wrappers Model • Integrates various management

levels.• At the core of the model is the

objective-directed project management (ODPM) process, wrapped by the following levels/ layers of wrappers which can be peeled off or added as required:– the strategic wrapper– the business wrapper– the project wrapper

• Not all the wrappers apply to all projects

strateODPM


ODPM

• This process is at the heart of the Wrappers Model• Outputs (deliverables) from this process are handed

over to the project layer and they move outwards from there

• Through ODPM an environment is created where everybody understands what he/she must deliver and how performance will be measured

• It defines cross-functional authority and performance accountability, and consists of a series of inter-related steps, tools and techniques to manage projects


Main Characteristics of BFPM• Driven by results and objectives• Fosters commitment and ownership• Uses sound principles of management• Makes use of practical tools• Allows ‘fuzzy’ projects • Allows for understanding and participation by

all players• Ensures that authority & accountability are

adhered to• Aligns projects with business objectives• Allows creative thinking by all


Multiple Projects

• Most organisations, regardless of the approach they use for managing projects, will be managing multiple projects at the same time


Managing Multiple Projects

• Interactions often occur between the different projects

• Managers review the different projects progress individually but there is no mechanism to report problems caused by the interaction of one project with another, or resource shortages across projects

• In scenarios like this, managers should assign tasks to resources and not the traditional way of resources to tasks.


Setting up Project Offices (PO or PMO)Needed for a ‘managing by projects’ approach

Main functions are:• project initiation and planning• capturing and analysing historical data• risk assessment and issue management• maintaining and enhancing corporate PM techniques• supporting users of PM systems• PM training• quality assurance and quality control


How to manage multiple projects

• Implementation checklists are useful • During the roll-out/implementation phase good

communication is critical – clarify the purpose of the projects

– authorities of the project teams

• Good leadership is vital• Pilot new processes or technology in a controlled

environment• Don’t allow project overload – in any area or with

any group of people


In class Mock test1. What are the main knowledge areas that need to

be considered in an organisation in the context of project management?

2. Describe each of these areas3. What issues do organisations face with Strategic

Alignment and Systems Integration?4. What approaches are taken to ensure better

alignment and integration (explain each one)?5. What is the role of a Project Office?


In class Mock test1. Knowledge areas that need to be considered in the context of project

management:– Strategic management– Process Management– Project Management– Performance Management– Issues Management

2. Strategic management – where the organisation wants to be • Process Management – what needs to improve or be implemented to deliver the

strategic objectives• Project Management – how projects should be delivered to meet the strategic

objectives• Performance Management – how people will be managed to achieve the

strategic objectives• Issues Management – how to recognise and address performance gaps to

ensure strategic objectives are obtained


In class Mock test

3. Issues organisations face with Strategic Alignment and Systems Integration?

• Projects often implemented on an ad hoc basis across the organisation without – Clarifying the link to the organisation’s strategy– Understanding the number and scope of projects being undertake

• Staff often feel that they are working on unnecessary projects, some of which are in conflict with other areas of the business


In class Mock test4. What approaches are taken to ensure better alignment and

integration (explain each one)?– Managing by Projects– Balanced scorecard– Business Process Focused Project Management

5. What is the Role of a Project Office?– project initiation and planning– capturing and analysing historical data– risk assessment and issue management– maintaining and enhancing corporate PM techniques– supporting users of PM systems– PM training– quality assurance and quality control

Documents

Dr. Jana Jagodick Polytechnic of Namibia, 2012 Project Management Chapter 3 Project Management for Strategic Goal Achievement