Strategic Project Management Nuances - Essay Example

INTRODUCTION Strategic project management as defined by Sebastian Green is, “the management of those projects which are critical importance to enable organization as a whole to have competitive advantage” (cited in Naughton, 2006). The term competitive advantage is linked to core competencies that speak about the attributes that a project must contained. The focused is all about the customers, the strategies and the possibilities in the future that will hold competition in favor of the organization. If the implementation of the project produced a result that is far better than the others, then the competitive advantage is attainable. Matured experience and a broader knowledge in handling project management are necessities in order to secure a favorable result. However, the reality that not all of the proposed projects are being selected and prioritized had made the process complicated; complicated in the sense that the organizations are forced to choose the project that will yield a competitive advantage. On the other hand, strategic alignment of the project must be given due consideration so that project management will be fruitfully implemented. The main thrust of this paper is to present the inherent problems and alignment of strategic project management. A project must be aligned with the visionary situation, strategies, and objectives of the organizations (Robinson & Laube, 2003, p.327). STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT OF PROJECTS Strategic project management is “really nothing more than picking the right projects for the organization to ensure optimal returns” (Brown, 2006). In literature view, strategic alignment has adopted variety of definitions, like integration that talks about the changes in the environment and customers that will definitely align information technology and business strategy (Weill & Broadbent, 1998, p.40). Strategic alignment is actually a challenge to the organization because identifying and aligning strategy elements that involved strategic objectives are not always easy but it is a great responsibility (Schmidt, 2009). In doing a project management, it is important that the firsthand knowledge assumed by the project team is all aligned with the organizations corporate strategy and financial goals. This is a systematic problem of alignment which is often cited as the problematic area of implementation. To ensure that the visionary situation or strategic objectives of the organization are aligned, all of the assumed projects must meet the criteria furnished by the organization’s planning and project team that involved the internal and external aspect of the organization. The Call for Formal Coordination The call for formal coordination is one of the reasons why strategic projects are being aligned. All of the project’s actions must move in an arrow like fashion to ensure that there is an alignment from the organization’s perspective (Dinsmore, 1999, p.43). Furthermore, when there is strategic alignment of projects, old “grenade over the wall” approach will be avoided. The unpleasant relationship between the planning staff and the project management team will be replaced with a harmonious and coordinated call. After the project has been identified and characterized by the planning staff, it must be properly relayed to the project management team with all the necessary information. On the other hand, strategic alignment of projects is basically done in a step by step process. Creation of Strategic Objectives. This is the starting point in strategic alignment which has been arrived through the conventional strategic planning of the organization (Dinsmore, 1999, p.33). The strategic planning will look at the different areas in the organization that need specific attention such as an amendment of the vision-mission, intense competition, opportunities and risks, analysis of the economic stability and many more. These areas are well documented in the strategy literature so that the formulation and implementation of strategy can be done in a short period of time. Every area must be considered in identifying the specific strategic projects in order to have a successful strategic project alignment. General Project Alignment. This is one of the two contexts in alignment with regard to the creation of a successful alliance (Scott, 2001, p.44). The identified visionary situation will serve as an established connection between the project and specific setting required (Dinsmore, 1999, p.33). This will provide a goal for the organization especially in the monitoring of the process, progress and performance in order to be competitive. “All of the newly initiated projects are aligned with the strategy throughout the life cycle of the project” (Jeston & Nelis, 2008, p.182). Specific Project Alignment. The chosen strategic choices must be clearly specified and communicated especially if changes are made during the process execution and management. The different features of each major group of projects such as product -- and market-related projects, capital expansion projects and operational projects must be managed with a high-level of coordination (Dinsmore, 1999, p.33). The reality that strategic alignment is a critical task of the executive level is often set aside because there are still several organizations that are not matured enough when it comes to this process (Jeston & Nelis, 2008, p.183). Implementation of Project. More or less the completion of the project is based on the specific project alignment because the project plans are already in detailed. Throughout the literature of process management and business improvement, project execution and process execution are relevant components of implementation (Jeston & Nelis, 2008, p.100). The alignment of the project with project execution and process execution must be monitored by the governance as well as the strategy. Strategic alignment process must be maintained during the entire duration and completion of project implementation. The project team must have a clear strategic focus that conformed to the organization’s strategic objectives. This will serve as a guide to the team in coming up with an appropriate behavior in accomplishing the objectives of the project (Milosevic, et al., 2006, pp.16-15). Also, an assessment of strategic alignment must be performed in order to be aligned with the rapidly changing environment (Willcocks & Graeser, 2001, p.54). INHERENT PROBLEMS OF STRATEGIC PROJECT MANAGEMENT Problems in strategic project management must be carefully diagnosed to the extent of converting it into an objective for it will form into a range of alternative solutions (Schmidt, 2009). Yielding a competitive advantage is the nature of project management; however, it is also one of the appointed problems (Naughton, 2006). The problem will start at the stage of decision making wherein the project team is required to select and prioritize a project whose profitability cannot be determined at the first place. Selecting a project that will merit a competitive advantage is not easy for it involves a lot of understanding in the environmental issues. The issues like strategic, cultural and risks will turn into a challenge that need an appropriate organization structure (Prikladnicki, et al., 2004, p.519). Another cited problem is on the implementation or the project management. This is an illustrative problem wherein the output of the project must be aligned with the organization’s strategic objectives. Literature says that a good project management dealt with a proper project management procedures, and has a formal coordination of its people in terms of training (Naughton, 2006). Today’s organization does not belong to a static environment but to a constantly changing setting that is why organizational strategies every now and then are being modified. The constant change of strategies affects the allocation of resources, and this is another challenging problem that modern organizations need to face (Swift, 2009). CONCLUSION Picking up the right project that will contribute a higher return to the organization is the nature of strategic project management. This simple definition is sometimes placed unattended after the process and the problems have been identified. The task is not that quite simple particularly in the aligning of projects with corporate strategy because as the environment changes, the corporate strategies also need to be modified and so with the project. The alignment of strategic project must be done in a periodic basis with review and refinement because the environmental setting is constantly changing. Project implementation will not be a problem if the business planning people and the project management team are well coordinated especially in the communication of information. As inherent problems remained to be part of the process, the organization must be ready at all times. References Brown, E. D., 2006. Strategic project management. [Online] Available at: http://ericbrown.com/strategic-project-management.htm [Accessed 15 October 2010]. Dinsmore, P. C., 1999. Winning in business with enterprise project management. New York, NY: AMACON. Jeston, J. & Nelis, J., 2008. Management by process: a roadmap to sustainable business process management. UK: Butterworth-Heinemann. Milosevic, D. Ozbay, A. & Srivannaboon, S., 2006. Success factors in virtual global software projects. In: D. I. Cleland & R. Gareis, eds. 2006. Global project management handbook: planning, organizing, and controlling international projects. New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Ch.16. Naughton, E., 2006. Strategic project management - a competitive advantage. [Online] Available at: http://www.webpronews.com/expertarticles/2006/05/25/strategic-pro ject-management-a-competitive-advantage [Accessed 15 October 2010]. Prikladnicki, R. Yamaguti, M. H. & Antunes, D. C., 2004. Risk management in distributed software development: a process integration proposal. In: L. M. Camarinba-Matos, ed. 2004. Virtual enterprises and collaborative networks: IFIP 18th world computer congress. USA: Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp.517-523. Robinson, E. V. & Laube, D. R., 2003. How do you choose one technology project over another? In: D. R. Laube & R. F. Zammuto, eds. 2003. Business-driven information technology: answers to 100 critical questions for every manager. Standford, California: Stanford University Press, pp.326-331. Schmidt, T., 2009. Strategic project management made simple: practical tools for leaders and teams. New Jersey, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Scott, B., 2001. Partnering in Europe: incentive based alliancing for projects. London: Thomas Telford Publishing. Swift, C. C., 2009. Strategic project management. [Online] Available at: http://www.suite101.com/content/strategic-project-management-a111840 [Accessed 15 October 2010]. Weill, P. & Broadbent, M., 1998. Leveraging the new infrastructure: how market leaders capitalize on information technology. Boston: Harvard Business School. Willcocks, L. & Graeser, V., 2001. Delivering IT and e-business value. Woburn, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann. Read More