A WALK THROUGH A PROJECT
‘How narrow is the line which separates an adventure from an ordeal.’
HAROLD NICHOLSON
In this part I will explain the management framework for a single project, taking it from being an idea through the various life cycle stages until benefits start being realised in your organisation:
- Make sure that your projects are driven by benefits which support your strategy.
- Manage your projects within a staged framework.
- Place high emphasis on the early stages.
- Treat gates as ‘entry’ points to stages, not ‘exit’ points.
- Address and revalidate the business aspects of the project throughout its life.
How to use Part Two
Chapters 3 and 4 are for you to read and understand. The workouts are designed to help you place the project framework in the context of the projects you undertake in your organisation.
Chapters 5 to 11 comprise a skeleton project management framework. In these chapters, I explain what happens during each stage of a project and who is accountable. You can use these directly or adopt and adapt them to meet the particular needs and language for your organisation. Each chapter describes a set of ‘control documents’ for that stage: the content for these is given on the CD-ROM. Each chapter concludes with a project workout in order to review any projects you currently have: choose the workout which matches most closely the life cycle stage of your project. Appendix B contains some ideas of how to construct your processes in practice.
In the final chapters (12 and 13) I take this basic framework and show how you can apply the principles of the staged approach to match diverse business situations.