Ideally, if an objective is clear, you can show it to five people who, after reviewing it, hold a single view about its meaning. An objective or goal lacks clarity if, when shown to five people, it is interpreted in multiple ways. The need for establishing clear project objectives cannot be overstated. The cliché is “I know that’s what I said, but it’s not what I meant.” Figure 7.1 demonstrates the importance of establishing clear objectives. What the customer ordered (or more accurately what they think they ordered) is often not what they get. At the restaurant, the waiter brings us our dinner and we note that the baked potato is filled with sour cream, even though we expressly requested “no sour cream.” Projects are filled with misunderstandings between customers and project staff. For most of us, being misunderstood is a common occurrence, something that happens on a daily basis. One of the best ways to gain approval for a project is to clearly identify the project’s objectives and describe the need or opportunity for which the project will provide a solution. This strategy can create a lot of immediate activity, but it also creates significant chances for waste and mistakes if the wrong need is addressed. Often the pressure to get results encourages people to go right into identifying possible solutions without fully understanding the need or what the project is trying to accomplish. Whenever you consider past experience, your business case is more realistic and whenever you involve other people in the business case’s development, you encourage their commitment to achieving it. The success of your project depends on the clarity and accuracy of your business case and whether people believe they can achieve it. How well the project ultimately addresses that need defines the project’s success or failure. Someone identifies a need or an opportunity and devises a project to address that need. The feasibility study may also show that the project is not worth pursuing and the project is terminated thus the next phase never begins.Īll projects are created for a reason. The completion and approval of the feasibility study triggers the beginning of the planning phase. It is up to the project sponsor to determine if the project is worth undertaking and whether the project will be profitable to the organization. The project sponsor then approves the business case, and the required funding is allocated to proceed with a feasibility study. A summarized plan for implementation that includes a schedule and financial analysis.A description of the preferred solution.An analysis of the business benefits, costs, risks, and issues.A list of the alternative solutions available.A detailed description of the problem or opportunity with headings such as Introduction, Business Objectives, Problem/Opportunity Statement, Assumptions, and Constraints.A business case is created to define the problem or opportunity in detail and identify a preferred solution for implementation. Within the initiation phase, the business problem or opportunity is identified, a solution is defined, a project is formed, and a project team is appointed to build and deliver the solution to the customer. The project initiation phase is the first phase within the project management life cycle, as it involves starting up a new project. Adrienne Watt Merrie Barron and Andrew BarronĬlick play on the following audio player to listen along as you read this section.
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