Where do projects come from?

2 – PROJECT ORIGINATION

This topic explores the project lifecycle in more detail.  It considers why a project is the best way to achieve successful change.  It looks at the project portfolio of an organisation and how that portfolio will evolve over time.  And it looks at how an organisation should balance and manage the project portfolio. It answers the question: Where do projects come from?

This topic also considers project success.  It looks at simple models of project success, but also looks at a more comprehensive model of project success.  It examines how projects begin, where the idea for a project comes from, and how it is developed into a project proposal.  In particular, it looks at how challenging a project will be.

The projects an organisation starts and runs (where do projects come from?)

2.1 – Managing the portfolio

To stand any chance of success, a project must go through a disciplined process of definition.  Learn how to build support and produce a project brief that is the basis for formal design.  These activities were fundamental to the creation of the Eden Project in Cornwall, UK, seen in the video titles.

A project will face many challenges. Find out how tools like PESTEL help to identify them, and discover a new tool which introduces a more comprehensive model of project challenges.

You will learn:

• How the cost of a project is shared out across the life cycle.
• What is a project programme.
• What is a project portfolio.
• What is the typical shape of an organisation’s project portfolio.
• How project portfolios can be badly managed.
• How the project portfolio evolves over time.
• How to balance the project portfolio between different types of project.
• What are breakthrough, platform and derivative projects.
• What is the difference between a voluntary and an involuntary project.

Working towards the desired outcome

2.2 – Aiming for success

See various ways to judge the success of a project, including how sustainability must be a consideration today.  That was not a concern of the 1957/58 Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition.  The story of this adventure brings a lot of the ideas in this topic to life.

Consider factors for success that help explain why the British High Speed Train did so well, yet the contemporary Advanced Passenger Train was an undoubted failure.

You will learn:

• What is the traditional view of project success.
• What is the traditional way to measure project success.
• What is the iron triangle or triple constraint.
• What is a comprehensive view of project success.
• How we should think about benefits when we look at project success.
• What is a “Wow!” project.
• How projects go wrong and why they go wrong.
• What are the factors for project success.
• How to avoid project failure.
• Why project failure is sometimes necessary.

Understanding project challenges

2.3 – Project initiation

A project will face many challenges. Find out how tools like PESTEL help to identify them, and discover a new tool which introduces a more comprehensive model of project challenges.

The story of Shakespeare’s Globe in London contains an almost overwhelming array of challenges that had to be overcome.

You will learn:

• How projects originate.
• Where new projects come from.
• What is a project outline.
• What is the process to take a project from an idea to a project brief.
• What makes a project challenging.
• What are the challenges in project management.
• What are ways to assess project challenges.
• What is the PESTEL model.
• What is a better project challenges model.
• How to measure project challenges.
• What aspects must be considered in project design.

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