Good PM6 – What value does your project add?
Posted: May 20th, 2009 | Tags: business benefit, Business case, communication, Project Management, Project Manager skills | No Comments »
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A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.
Henry Ford
Continuing on my series of what makes a “good” PM – “Articulate the project’s benefit in a very clear and concise way to business”
It is crucial that you keep the end in mind. By this I mean, how will the outcome of this project improve things for the stakeholders? I have often seen a lot of objectives in project charters that leave me with the thought “Yes and then?”. Can you explain to your stakeholders in their language what benefit you will add for them. On big projects you would find a business case that mathematically calculate if a projects is “worth doing”. However, can you as the project manager turn this into a clear message that would keep your stakeholders interested in your project. A good project manager should be able to explain the business benefit of the project’s solution in a clear and concise way. This implies at the appropriate level as well. Not all people want to know the ROI.
For most people the real question they ask when asking about the value of the project is: 1. What is in it for me? 2. What is in it for my organization? and 3. What is in it for you (and your organization)?
Can you sell your project? Can you keep on selling your project when things get tough?
This keeps on coming back to the basic principle of communication skills. I believe that this is one of the skills that must be taught to new project managers and needs to be developed with existing project managers. Most people can talk but few can communicate effectively! In most cases I have found my project sponsors to be good teachers of communication skills. Most project sponsors become senior in their organization because they have mastered the art of communication (at least those that last a while!).
What also ties in with this topic is the concept of value tracking. Do you know how the value of your project will be measured? It is important that you have a clear definition of how this value is measured at the start of the project. You then need to establish a clear method of measuring the effect by creating an initial baseline and then periodically comparing the current state against the initial state. What is also important is the agreement up front on how long this will be measured for. Will the value realize in year 1 or 5? Also make sure that there is a process in place to keep on measuring even after the project team has been released from the project. Most project end before the final benefit is realized.
