Unit I Project

MGT 6302, Project Management Strategy and Tactics 1

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1. Examine the relationship between project management and accomplishing organizational strategic objectives. 1.1 Establish the difference between a project and a task. 1.2 Explain how projects are used to meet organizational goals.

5. Analyze the key tasks in the various phases of project management. 5.1 Determine the five phases of project management. 5.2 Discuss the key tasks that take place within a project and those responsible for the tasks.

Course/Unit Learning Outcomes

Learning Activity

1.1

Unit Lesson Part 1: Chapter 1 Part 1: Chapter 3 Article: “Modeling Organizational Project Management” Unit I Project

1.2

Unit Lesson Part 1: Chapter 1 Part 1: Chapter 3 Article: “Modeling Organizational Project Management” Unit I Project

5.1

Unit Lesson Part 1: Chapter 1 Part 1: Chapter 3 Article: “Modeling Organizational Project Management” Unit I Project

5.2

Unit Lesson Part 1: Chapter 1 Part 1: Chapter 3 Article: “Modeling Organizational Project Management” Unit I Project

Required Unit Resources

Part 1: Chapter 1: Introduction

Part 1: Chapter 3: The Role of the Project Manager

In order to access the following resource, click the link below.

Müller, R., Drouin, N., & Sankaran, S. (2019). Modeling organizational project management. Project Management Journal, 50(4), 499–513. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?dire ct=true&db=bsu&AN=137619703&site=ehost-live&scope=site

UNIT I STUDY GUIDE Project Management and Strategic Objectives

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Unit Lesson

Introduction

Welcome to Unit I. This unit introduces project management and how project management is used to achieve the organization’s strategic objectives and goals. Project management is not new and has been around for hundreds of years. However, in recent years, project management has become more defined and focused on specific principles, processes, tools, and techniques. All of these areas became known as the body of knowledge (BOK), which is now used for project management. These traditional practices, along with new and innovative practices, have taken project management to new levels in terms of what the BOK is able to produce for the organization. Before tackling how project management can be used to meet the organization’s goals, it is important to understand the difference between projects and tasks. Let’s get started.

Projects and Value Creation

Before any type of activity is started, it is essential for the organization to identify the activity as either a project or a task. According to the Project Management Institute (PMI, 2017), a project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. In using this definition, we can classify most activities as tasks because they are not temporary. For example, an accountant processing payroll would not be a project because this is task that is completed every week and is not unique to the organization. Since projects are used to produce deliverables, the project sponsors need to be concerned with what is going to be produced and what type of result the project will have on the organization. The end deliverable of a project is a unique product, service, or result, so in other words, this is something that the organization has not had before. The purpose could be to make the organization more effective, to introduce a new product to the company’s produce line, or to enhance an existing process. For any project to be approved, the project needs to have a clear purpose. Putting together a team for the sake of having a team is a waste of everyone’s time and energy. Project management techniques are used because they provide value to the organization and help the organization reach its strategic goals.

Projects can be undertaken at all organizational levels. Projects do not have to be senior level to be considered important and value-adding to the organization. Below is a list of examples of projects that may take place within today’s organizations.

• Developing a new product to capture a new target market • Improving the hiring process to ensure new hires receive the training that they need to be successful • Modifying the payroll software to add more security measures • Constructing a new building

These are just a few examples of projects that take place within our organizations. These projects are undertaken to help the organization create some type of value. One important note is the use of the term temporary. Projects must be temporary in term when they have a defined start and end date; however, this does not mean that the results of the project will be temporary. It is the hope of the project sponsors that the project will continue to add value to the organization for some time, and it is one of the reasons they are approved. Projects should be approved that can create value for the organization.

The PMI (2017) defines business value as the net quantifiable benefit derived from a business endeavor. The benefits can be intangible, tangible, or possibly both—but the results should be measurable by the metrics that were used to determine if the project was necessary for the organization. For businesses, the benefit would be measured in the return on the investment or the return on the project. The company leaders and the project sponsors are going to want to see the return on their project investment and how the project has helped the company reach its quantifiable goal. Of course, all projects are different, so what this quantifiable

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goal is will depend on the type of project that has been undertaken. Below are some examples of how the benefits are measured (PMI, 2017).

• Monetary assets • Market share • Strategic alignment • Stockholder equity • Brand recognition

In reviewing these benefits, whether tangible or intangible, they would all have an impact on the company’s bottom line and the potential profits that would be increased once the project is completed. Projects will be initiated as a response to various factors taking place within the organization. The projects will be in response to these factors and the hopes of keeping the organization viable, profitable, and growing in the future. These factors and the projects are aligned with the organizational goals.

Projects and Organizational Goals

As stated above, projects are initiatives to create business value, so it is not surprising that projects are aligned with organizational and strategic goals. The organization's strategy is a blueprint of goals for where the company hopes to get to in the future. If projects were funded and completed without being tied to a strategic goal, what would happen to the project? In most cases, these would become obsolete, as they would have no value in the company achieving its strategic goals. Disconnect happens often in organizations, so taking the time to review the project and determine how the project fits into the strategic goals will help the organizational leaders avoid spending thousands of dollars on projects that will never be used and never create value.

Strategic planning and project management are not the same thing, but they do go together. Strategic planning is completed on a macro level for the organization. Project management is considered micro level since project management is used for individual and specific projects throughout the organization. Not every project will serve the entire organization, but every project should be tied to some aspect of the strategic plan. Project management can be used as a part of the implementation phase of the strategic plan.

For example, if one of the strategic goals is to create a widget that could be used to enter a new target market, a project team would be formed to create the widget. The project team would then be contributing directly to the strategic goal of entering the new market by creating the widget. Not only does the project help the organization to meet its strategic goals, but the project has a direct tie to the goals, and the return on project investment can be quantifiably measured.

Strategy maps are often used to visually realize the benefits of a project. Project management strategy maps focus on the areas described below.

• Business need: This is where you explain what is prompting this project and illustrate the need for action.

• Analysis of the situation: You will identify the organization’s strategies, goals, and objectives that can be met by the project.

• Recommendations: Explain why the project should be undertaken, and offer any project-specific suggestions.

• Evaluation: Describe the plan for measuring the benefits/value the project will deliver (PMI, 2017).

The strategy map is closely related to the balanced scorecard (BSC) that an organization uses to measure the company’s performance from four major perspectives: financial, customer, internal process, and learning and growth. Aligning the project management strategy map to the company’s BSC allows for the organization’s leaders and the project sponsors to see the connection to how the project will be used to help the organization to meet the major goals of the company’s performance.

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Project Management Processes and Key Tasks

To achieve the project’s objectives, the project management processes were created and divided into five process groups. The first process group is the initiating process group. During this process, the project is defined, and approval for the project is secured. The project sponsors will create the value creation guide so organizational leaders and the project manager understand the importance of the project. The second process group is the planning process group. Throughout this process, the project’s scope, objectives, and course of action are defined. This process group can often take a great deal of the project’s time since the scope, time, and budget are all planned during this process. These three areas are known as the triple constraint and are often the areas that the project’s success will be measured upon. The third process group is the executing process group. In this process, the work planned during the planning process begins. The team will work through the various activities, and the project will begin to take form. The fourth process group is the monitoring and controlling process group. Throughout this process, the project manager and the team are responsible for ensuring that the project is being tracked, reviewed, and regulated to ensure that the objectives are being met and the triple constraints are still aligned to the approval of the project sponsors. During this process group, any corrective action will also be taken if any changes to the scope are necessary or if the project has experienced any type of risk in the executing process group. The final process group is the closing process group. The activities have all been completed, and the project will come to an end. The project team will capture the lessons learned, and the project sponsors will be responsible to accept or reject the end deliverables. Since the project is temporary, the project team will return to their normal tasks or move to another project (Gomes et al., 2018).

The project management process groups also drive the project management phases, but they are not the same thing. The project phases are used to describe the life cycle of the project, which will be discussed later during this course. The process groups are created to show the processes that are performed at the various stages of the project throughout the project’s life cycle. As the project team enters each phase of the project life cycle, the project team will begin each of the process groups over again. One key distinction between a phase and process is the timeline (Gomes et al., 2018). For example, as one phase of the project is completed, the next phase would be initiated by the next team member who is responsible for the next step or activity in the project life cycle. However, process groups do not have a clear start and finish time. With the monitoring and controlling process group, the project monitoring would continue throughout the whole project and not just when one phase of the project is complete.

Conclusion

Today’s organizations face more competition, more time and budget constraints, and changing customer wants and needs. Implementing project management strategies allows the organization an opportunity to initiate the strategic plan by creating value through the completed projects. Project teams are focused on the goals of the organization, and teams use the BOK to produce effective projects. Using the project management process groups provides structure for the project, and the team has the ability to control and evaluate the project from start to finish.

References

Gomes, F., Oliveira, M., & Chaves, M. S. (2018). An analysis of the relationship between knowledge sharing and the project management process groups. Knowledge & Process Management, 25(3), 168–179. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?dire ct=true&db=bsu&AN=131074227&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Project Management Institute. (2017). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK® guide) (6th ed.). https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781628253900

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Suggested Unit Resources

In order to access the following resources, click the links below.

Gomes, F., Oliveira, M., & Chaves, M. S. (2018). An analysis of the relationship between knowledge sharing and the project management process groups. Knowledge & Process Management, 25(3), 168–179. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?dire ct=true&db=bsu&AN=131074227&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Tereso, A., Ribeiro, P., Fernandes, G., Loureiro, I., & Ferreira, M. (2019). Project management practices in private organizations. Project Management Journal, 50(1), 6–22. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?dire ct=true&db=bsu&AN=134614102&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Learning Activities (Nongraded)

Nongraded Learning Activities are provided to aid students in their course of study. You do not have to submit them. If you have questions, contact your instructor for further guidance and information.

In Unit I, you were presented with the importance of combining project management and the organization’s business strategies. For this activity, you will apply this concept as you relate it to a situation you are familiar with. This type of activity helps you to take concepts and personalize them for better memory retention.

Using Table 1-1 on page 14 of your eTextbook as a resource, choose one of the specific factors that would lead to the creation of a project and apply this to your current or former organization. Consider that specific factor, and then identify what the project would entail, and to what specific organizational strategy the project would be linked

Visit the website YouTube, and perform a search for each of the following keyword search terms to view a wide variety of resources that offer additional insight into this unit’s topics. Note the channels or authors whose videos you find most helpful, and consider bookmarking or subscribing to them for continued professional development. It is suggested when looking for online resources, you choose those that are most recent, as they will offer the most up-to-date information.

Keyword search terms for this unit are listed below.

• Project management introduction • Organizational project management