“Vision with No Actions is a Dream, but Actions with No Vision is a Nightmare”.
Organizations that are keen on achieving their vision must align their project investments or actions with their vision’s strategic goals. This will enable the organization to monitor and evaluate if the realized benefits from those projects have achieved their set targets. The benefit is the value that is created for the project sponsor or beneficiary as a result of the successful completion of a project.
Using Project Management Information Systems (PMIS) like PMWeb will provide the organization with an integrated platform to manage, monitor, and evaluate their strategy execution and realized benefits. Programs will be created to capture the details of the strategic initiatives that the organization will undertake to achieve its strategy. Details that relate to the program manager, estimated cost, estimated duration, and program theme among others.
Each program or strategic initiative will be detailed into specific projects that the organization will invest in. Those projects could be capital projects, information technology, and business re-engineering among others. For each project, details include project manager, duration, planned start, and finish dates, type, and category among other details.
This will provide the organization with an overall repository of all programs and projects that they need to undertake to achieve their set strategic goals. The report depicted below shows the programs and projects that a government entity has to undertake to achieve their three years strategic vision. The report provides a list of programs, program managers, projects within a program, and project types.
For each project, the assigned project manager needs to prepare a benefits-focused business case that will set out the basis of the project investment. The business case must show the value that the organization will achieve by identifying specific benefits that will be attained. PMWeb custom form builder will be used to create the business case for which in addition to the general details of a business case like the project manager, project sponsor business owner, and statement of problem or opportunity, the form will include the list of benefits that the project needs to achieve. Each benefit measure will be aligned with the relevant strategic goal, unit of measure, and target benefit for each period which could be quarterly, semi-annually, or annually.
Similar to all other PMWeb records, the business could have attachments to support the business case proposal. All those documents will be uploaded and stored on the PMWeb document management repository. In addition, a workflow will be assigned to the business case to ensure the needed reviews and approvals have been secured.
Each project will be initiated, planned, executed, monitored and controlled, and closed out by implementing project management best practices. A work breakdown structure (WBS) will be created to detail the project scope which will become the basis for creating the project’s implementation schedule and budget. In addition, the project quality, resources, and communication plans will be created to be used in managing the project. The risk management plan will be created to identify how to respond to the project’s risks which might require transferring some of those risks for which the procurement plan will address how to manage the outsourced scope of work. In addition, stakeholders who could be affected by the project or influence the project need to be analyzed and managed. All those details will become the basis for the project’s integrated management plan.
At the end of the progress reporting period which could be quarterly, semi-annually, or annually, the actual benefits realized for each project need to be assessed and quantified. Using PMWeb custom form builder, a benefits realization form will be created to capture the actual achievements. The form will have a workflow assigned to formalize the submission, review, and approval process.
The captured actual benefits realization data along with the planned benefits realization asset in the business case will provide the organization with a real-time single version of the truth monitoring and evaluation report of benefits realization for each project being executed. In addition, other reports can be designed to report benefits realization at a program level or across the complete portfolio of programs and projects needed to achieve the organization’s vision.
About the Author
Bassam Samman, PMP, PSP, EVP, GPM is a Senior Project Management Consultant with more than 35-year service record providing project management and controls services to over 100 projects with a total value of over US $5 Billion. Those projects included Commercial, Residential, Education, and Healthcare Buildings and Infrastructure, Entertainment and Shopping Malls, Oil and Gas Plants and Refineries, Telecommunication, and Information Technology projects. He is thoroughly experienced in complete project management including project management control systems, computerized project control software, claims analysis/prevention, risk analysis/management (contingency planning), design, supervision, training, and business development.
Bassam is a frequent speaker on topics relating to Project Management, Strategic Project Management, and Project Management Personal Skills. Over the past 35 years, he has lectured at more than 350 events and courses at different locations in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, and South America. He has written more than 250 articles on project management and project management information systems that were featured in international and regional magazines and newspapers. He is a co-founder of the Project Management Institute- Arabian Gulf Chapter (PMI-AGC) and has served on its board of directors for more than 6 years. He is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) from the Project Management Institute (PMI), a certified Planning and Scheduling Professional (PSP), an Earned Value Professional (EVP) from the American Association of Cost Engineers (AACE), and a Green Project Management (GPM).
Bassam holds a Master’s in Engineering Administration (Construction Management) with Faculty Commendation, from George Washington University, Washington, D.C., USA, Bachelor in Civil Engineering – from Kuwait University, Kuwait, and has attended many executive management programs at Harvard Business School, Boston, USA, and London Business School, London, UK.