Deliverables and Outcomes are Well Defined
by R. David Hofferberth, Service Performance Insight

In my last post, I explained that businesses are starting to think more and more in terms of “projects” instead of just “work.” The first key benefit of this approach is that when deliverables and outcomes are better known, the ROI on “work” is much better understood.

Prior to project approval and initiation, executives must have all of the information necessary to determine whether a project should be considered and funded.  At a minimum each project in consideration must provide:

• Strategic and/or tactical importance of the project
• People and skills required to complete the work
• Project schedules with delivery dates
• Costs with pre-determined budgets and specific times of fund allocations
• Potential risks to the project and their associated impact
• The probable project benefits (qualitative and quantitative)
• A project return on investment (ROI)

This detail will help establish the framework by which projects should be considered. Executives will now be able to consider each project as part of a portfolio of work, and thus determine which projects can be funded and their associated priority and anticipated delivery date.

This information highlights gaps in staffing, financial resources, and strategy, which can then be addressed by the executive team.

In my next post, we will go into more detail about the strategic benefits of the project-centric approach.