How to justify a project

3 – PROJECT JUSTIFICATION

Every project needs a sound sequence and an outlook focused on success. So we have to know how to justify a project.

When we know what a project is we can look in more detail at the shape of a project. we can consider how it evolves over the time it exists.  Accordingly, we also need to consider what makes a project a success.

Unfortunately, a lot of project literature seems to focus on why projects fail. Surely it makes more sense to examine notions of success, and design projects in a way that gives them the best chance of being successful in the customer’s eyes.

We should judge a project in terms of the benefits it actually delivers versus what was promised, to really assess how effective it is.

Certainly there needs to be a rigorous process that decides whether or not any project gets the go-ahead.

From a project brief work can proceed to test how robust the initial analysis is. That means starting to consider the project plan, the contracts it may require and most importantly, the business case.  The business case is the essential tool in how to justify a project.

Making the case for the project

3.1 – Building the proposal

Understand why the business case is at the heart of the project. Learn how to create one that justifies why your project is necessary and why it will be the best use of time, money and resources.

For example, building the case for the British Library in London took a great deal of time and effort.

You will learn:

• How to build the case for the project.
• What work is done in the development phase.
• How to screen out weak project ideas.
• What documents are needed to support a project.
• What is a project business case.
• What should the project business case contain.
• How you justify a project.
• What is a two-stage project justification process.
• What is a project brief.
• How to select what is in the project portfolio.
• What is the difference between executive down and individual up candidate proposals.
• What is a project council.
• What is the role of a project council.
• Why to have a robust selection process.

Justifying the project (how to justify a project)

3.2 – Justification techniques

Proving the case for the project cannot be an exact science, but there are tools which can help justify strong candidates and ditch weak ones. Find out how net present value, sensitivity analysis and social rate of return can be used in different ways to bolster the business case.

Learn how to attach a value to benefits to see if proposed benefits stand an acceptable chance of being achieved.

Such thinking was almost certainly at the heart of the decision to favour the Land Rover Discovery over another car project at the BL company.

You will learn:

• What are the issues in project justification.
• What does project scope mean.
• How to conduct a project justification process.
• How to use a checklist in project justification.
• How to use weighted options in project justification.
• What is a project payback period.
• What are the disadvantages of a payback period analysis.
• What is net present value.
• How to use net present value in project justification.
• What is sensitivity analysis.
• How to use sensitivity analysis in project justification.
• Why should numbers used in project justifications not be too precise.

How to justify a project in rational and inspirational ways

3.3 – The power of benefits and bosses

Often projects are approved by senior executives and politicians, even if the business case is weak. They look beyond the cold evidence. Dungeness Power Station on the video titles was a political decision.  See how projects like the Sony Walkman and the Boeing 747 were driven by far sighted business leaders.

You will learn:

• What are project benefits.
• How can benefits be quantified.
• How to use net present value to quantify benefits.
• How to understand the real value of benefits.
• What is social return on investment.
• Why bosses influence project decisions so much.
• Why a boss can insist on a new project.
• Why organisations sometimes bet their entire worth on a new project.
• How to use social rate of return in project justification.

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