2.1 DEFINE THE PROJECT STRATEGY
The project is a vehicle for the execution of strategy both
organization and individual. This implies that a high level
consideration of the role of projects is appropriate, particularly to
demonstrate how they should fit with other activities being
undertaken all together. Within the project themselves, there is
also a requirement for the consideration of strategy, as priorities
will need to be managed as part of the ongoing decision making
processes of management.
This strategic consideration has been missing from the subject
of project management in the past, leaving to focus of attention
on detail issues. While these do need to be addressed, they
should follow the priorities and issues raised by the process of
strategy. Although increasing the number of issued to be
considered by the Project Manager at the outset of the project,
this has been found to be improtant at the high levels of
performance both to organization or individual.
2.2 WHY WE NEED THE STRATEGY?
Projects routinely fails or facing some defects and appear to
be likely to continue doing so, unless something
fundamental is changed about the way we manage them.
This simply means that the Project Managers throwing up
their hands and saying that the failures were not their fault.
In many cases they would be right but this does not remove
responsibility for doing something constructive about the
situation. The issue here is to gain the recognition of the
problems caused by lack of decisions made at a high level
in our organizations.
So, with the projects in general, what are the strategic issues
that contribute to the failures of a project? What are the
issues?
i) organizational strategy does not include role of project in
delivery of organizational objectives.
ii) project management not viewed as a strategic capability.
iii) the organization lacks a coordination mechanism for
resources.
iv) project goals not in line with organizational goals.
The information above shows the linking through the causes
of why the project failures.
2.3 Reasoning on the linking through the causes of
failure analysis:
a) Organisational strategy does not include role of projects in
delivery of organisational objectives.
Projects are increasingly recognised by organisations as the
means by which a significant proportion of their activities are
carried out. The recognition is important. It has been shown
that by many world class organisations that considering
organisational strategy as a linked series of project is most
effective and there is now significant evidence to support this.
The linkage between the projects and the organisational goal,
and between the project themselves, requires a significant
coordination effort on the part of management-especially for
large organisations.
b) Project Management is not viewed as a strategic capability.
There are many levels at which the Project Manager can
influence an organisation. For too long, the subject of project
management has focused on the tactical/operational level, some
ignoring its role in the development and deployment of
strategy. This has resulted in projects being carried out in a
reactive mode with many of the problems that the project will
face being already built into the work. And the project
managers are being brought into the process too late to prevent
problems or use their knowledge of operational capability to
maximise effectiveness of the project.
c) The organisations lacks coordination mechanism for resources.
Many organisations are unable to provide a list of all projects that are being
undertaken and their resources requirements. That results there is a fundamental over
optimism about what they can be achieved. And no rational basis for dealing with
decisions such as should we undertake these projects?. Secondly, resource conflicts
where limited resources are the subject contention between the project managers.
d) Project goals not in line with organisational goals.
Here the requirement is for coherence or linking between the goals of the
organisation and those of the project. The project manager will need a rational basis
for making decisions about priorities and trade-offs.
The nature of project management has changed and he is the person who can
understand the strategy process and who can make a major step towards
improvements of the project performance.
2.4 The Role and Strategy
The vision of where an organisation is going.
Implies to the organisation’s current position and where we want to be a
point /direction in the future.
‘Our mission is to be the best producer or organisation with high technology
for our customers’
Our objectives are:
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Quality improvements,
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Cost effective/reduction where possible,
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Delivery by reducing time constraints.
The role of senior management in providing the vision include to setting up
objectives for the organisation. The strategy is concerned with providing a
path for it to progress towards those objectives. Good strategy is considered
as central to success in any organisation, providing the means to achieve the
vision.
2.5 The Strategy Process
The strategy is the outcome of a strategy process. Traditionally, strategy was
considered a one-way process. The traditional approach is normally with a
little guidance given to the project managers. Alternatively, the strategic
approach where the projects contribute in two ways to the organisational
strategy.
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So,the strategic approach has a number of important differentiating
features. This include the strong link between strategy and activities at the
project level. Strategy formulation is still carried out by senior management
in the organisation, but importantly, there are inputs from the project level.
The concern are:
progress on existing work,
current workload and capacities,
Limitations of existing capabilities and potential new capabilities,
Ideas as to how new opportunities that have come from the project activities
can be developed.
2.6 Project Management as a Strategic Capability
During a recent study of new product development practices in a wide range
of firms, one of the issues was ‘tell me how you manage project’.
So, here what would it mean to have a strategic capability in a project
management? There are two aspects for the organisations:
— The ability to deliver excellent results through projects i.e in earning
revenue or income and later making profits.
— The competitive advantage can be gained through it.
It might be as a direct result of the capability, or indirectly, through being
able to change the organisation to meet the emerging needs.
2.7 The Aggregate Project Plan
This type of plan is essential to keep control of the projects that the organisation
is undertaking. Firms have a high level of visibility and it is generally easy to
see what is happening with them. But, projects on the other hand are less visible
and require some overall picture to be maintained of precisely what is going on
in the organisation.
So, all project avtivities is the objective of the aggregate project plan as follows:
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Assess the contribution of each projectto the organisation strategy,
Determines using objective criteria what projects are to be undertaken,
Rank the relative importance of the projects being carried out,
Sets the timing of those projects,
Assess the capability, resource and logic requirements of each project.
Without this step, it can be found that firms:
— Take too many projects, resulting in overstretched resources and less
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attention paid to the really important projects,
Fail to limit the scope of project, allowing non-benefit generating activities
to carry out unchecked,
Tend to expend resources which refers to the ‘investment in managerial
ego’, this project has little returns but has an emotional attachment for the
manager or director promoting them,
Have project goals that are out of line with organisational objectives,
Ignore key issues concerning projects until it is too late,
Lack balance between short-term and long term goals.
2.8 Strategy and Direct Revenue-Earning Projects
The strategic input here is organisational objectives. Meaning to say: ‘we are
in business must always be fastest or the best to run and complete the
projects. The key criteria is involving with time, cost and quality. We may
consider the element of flexibility to give beneficial. Therefore, the Project
Manager must make sure the project is successed.
The measurement of reliability is required for the project system is known
as conformance, expressed as:
— Can the project be guaranteed to deliver on time?
— Will the project finish within the budget?
— Will the project meet the specified level of quality?
Today, in many business many projects has to be excellence and defined in
term of real performance such as:
— What is the shortest possible project duration?
— What is the lowest cost?
— What is the highest level of quality that can be achieved?
So, whatever is the reasoning, we have to choose the most important
objectives and thereby comes up with the project objectives. We need to
understand the nature of the trade-off s that exist in all project development.
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