Maximizing Project Value: Defining, Managing, and Measuring for Optimal Return - Softcover

Berman, Jeff

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0814473822 ISBN 13: 9780814473825

Verlag: AMACOM, 2006

Inhaltsangabe

"What good is a project that's on time...on budget...and ends up providing your organization with no bottom-line results whatsoever? Whether it falls short of expectations, fails to ultimately be embraced by the people in the company meant to be using it, or simply lands with a thud in the marketplace, a project that doesn't truly deliver value is worthless at best. It's great to be on time and under budget, but to achieve positive results, project managers have to embrace an all-new philosophy of what it is they do for their organizations. Maximizing Project Value shows you how to put the emphasis on value when managing a project, from the project's initial inception, all the way through its completion, and even farther down the road to determine whether it's of continuous worth to the company. This valuable guide offers a step-by-step plan you can use to establish the value of a project, identify value drivers and key performance metrics and then track and report them, organize a team for accountability, and much more. You'll get the tools and information you need to: * Generate accurate value estimates in the proposal stage. * Create a clear plan that identifies measurable and ongoing value. * Establish buy-in from key players in your organization. * Develop and use a process for managing the people responsible for implementing the plan. * Adapt your project to meet changing business objectives. Far too many projects lose sight of their original purpose due to shifting resources, changing organizational objectives, and other unexpected developments. Maximizing Project Value provides a clear, immediately usable blueprint for ensuring the kind of project success that truly provides value to your organization."

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Jeff Berman is Vice President of PM tec, Inc., a leading project management consulting firm. For more than 20 years, Jeff has helped Fortune 500 companies including Gillette, Johnson Johnson, FMC, CertainTeed, and Cytec deliver measurable value from project investments. He holds an M.B.A. and a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Northeastern University. His keynote speaking events have included: Project Management Institute, American Production Inventory Control Society, New England Summit of Project Management, Mid Atlantic Project Summit, as well as many Fortune 500 client conferences. Jeff lives in Phoenix with his wife and daughter. He can be contacted at projectvalue@pmtec.com or www.pmtec.com.

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MAXIMIZING PROJECT VALUE

DEFINING, MANAGING, AND MEASURING FOR OPTIMAL RETURNBy Jeff Berman

AMACOM

Copyright © 2007 Jeff Berman
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-8144-7382-5

Contents

Introduction: Beyond "On Time and On Budget"............................................................1Chapter 1 Defining the Project Business Case and Getting Buy-In from Top Management.....................9Chapter 2 Executing a Project with a Business Value Mindset.............................................67Chapter 3 Achieving Project Value Through Stakeholder Management........................................87Chapter 4 Creating Organizational Alignment and Accountability..........................................137Chapter 5 Establishing an Ongoing Project Performance Tracking Process..................................148Chapter 6 Conclusion....................................................................................160Appendix A Project Business Case Exercises..............................................................163Appendix B Stakeholder Management Exercises.............................................................177Key Terms...............................................................................................191Index...................................................................................................195About the Author........................................................................................200

Chapter One

DEFINING THE PROJECT BUSINESS CASE AND GETTING BUY-IN FROM TOP MANAGEMENT

The first step in the Project Speed2Value™ Road Map is to develop a project business case. In doing so, you as project manager will begin to lay the foundation for achieving project success by obtaining buy-in from top management and getting your project approved. This means getting the powers at large to give you the required funding, resources, and time to execute the project. Sound simple? It is not by a long shot. With chief executives mandating tighter control over spending, financial support for projects comes at a premium. Resources are limited at best, and there is not enough time to do all things necessary to keep the business running smoothly. If you are like the rest of us, I am sure you have put in your fair share of working more than eight hours in a day, weekends, and holidays on occasion. Am I right?

With that said, I am sure that you are not the only one in your company with limited time or a good idea for a project. It is a given that every proposed project out there is in competition for the same resources, limited funding, and time to be spent for implementation. Therefore, it is up to you to justify that your project is better than the rest of the proposed projects so that you are one of the few winners for getting the limited resources, funding, and time commitments from the powers that be.

The key to getting your project approved is your ability to prove that your project, among all others, will deliver business value to the company. This means that you must be able to articulate "how" your project will deliver one or more of the main business drivers: cost reduction, business growth, maintaining operations (e.g., regulatory compliance), and increasing speed and efficiency. Keep in mind that these business drivers are why projects are executed. These are the drivers that keep your company profitable and keep your company competitive, and you must demonstrate how one or more of these business drivers can be achieved by your project in order for it to get approved. This is the premise for putting together what is called a project business case.

In simple terms, a project business case is a project justification document that outlines a project proposal and plan for authorized funding, resources, and implementation. It is a plan for execution and more importantly a plan for achieving project business value. The objective of a project business case is to justify:

What benefit and cost the project brings to the business

Why the project is important and should be funded

Where the project needs to be implemented

When the project can be implemented

Who is required to implement the project

How the project can be implemented with success

A business case is typically mandated by organizational policies and management preferences. The key is that the business case is used to approve a project as well as to serve as a baseline for determining project success. Think of the business case as your first benchmark for your plan of action as well as a measure for success. If all goes right and your project is approved, you will be on your way toward laying the foundation for building a project success plan of action.

Like a blueprint for building a house, a business case is the blueprint for achieving project success. Would you want your house built without a plan? If you are going to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars, I'm sure you would want to know what the plan is:

What type of house is it (3 bedrooms or 4)?

Why does it cost so much?

Where is it going to be located (facing north or south)?

When will it be built?

Who is building it (are they reputable)?

How will the house serve me and my family for the future to come?

Wouldn't you agree that you would have to know the answers to these questions before deciding whether to spend your hard-earned money on building the house? It's the same with the business case for a project, but instead of it being your hard-earned money, it is your company's. Instead of you and your family living in the house for the future to come, it is your company and all of its employees who will be affected by the project you are proposing. As such, the business case is the blueprint for success; it is the plan for a project that will best serve company employees and help make your company more profitable and better off by its implementation. It is therefore up to you to articulate the case why your project will serve the company best and how you plan to make it happen.

A business case can look different from organization to organization; however, the key components remain the same. All of the basic questions must be answered (who, what, when, where, why, and how). I frequently get asked, "Do all projects require a business case?" The quick answer is yes, although some business cases are more formal than others. For instance, a small project, such as deploying six new laptops for the marketing group, may only require a purchase order and an e-mail committing resources from the Information Technology department.

However, the thought process for approving the small project is the same as for approving a larger project. Who needs the laptops (everyone or just a few people in the department)? What types of laptops are required (as you know there are many to choose from)? When do the laptops need to be purchased and to be in the hands of the marketing people? Where will the laptops be used? Why are laptops even needed? Why can't they use desktop computers like everyone else? How will the laptops be deployed? I am sure you get the picture. The point is that no matter how small the project, the thought process is the same as long as funding, resources, and time are involved. More than likely this will be the case most of the time.

Most projects, however, require a more formal type of business case, because...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: AMACOM
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2006
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0814473822
• ISBN 13: 9780814473825
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 208
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: HarperCollins; https://harpercollins.co.uk; ; "The News Building 1 London Bridge Street,"; London; SE1 9GF; Vereinigtes Königreich
• Verantwortliche Person: gpsr@libri.de; gpsr@libri.de; ; Europaallee 1; Bad Hersfeld; 36244; Deutschland