Project-Led Strategic Management by James Marion & John Lewis & Tracey Richardson

Author:James Marion & John Lewis & Tracey Richardson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Business Expert Press

EVM and KPIs?

How exactly do earned value metrics align with KPIs? Typically, a KPI will be linked to many underlying work packages. Therefore, each KPI will be flagged as “Red-Yellow-Green” accordingly, depending upon the collective EV metrics of the underlying work packages (Figure 24).

Figure 24 Earned value and KPIs

5. Strategic Initiative Governance Milestones

Like other projects, strategic initiatives are managed in phases according to business decision points. The purpose of business decision points in project implementation is not only to gauge progress but to periodically reconfirm assumptions and validity of the initiative. For example, once a strategic initiative is chartered, its next step is to create a project plan. The plan requires resources, but not nearly as many resources as the plan implementation. It is the implementation of the plan that requires significant commitment of resources and budget. It is for this reason that a typical initial governance milestone occurs upon completion of the project plan. The plan is reviewed by the governing body so as to thoroughly vet the plan, its underlying assumptions, and its continued link to the overall strategy of the company. A successful business decision point leads to approval for the project to proceed to execution of the plan. Should questions arise regarding the plan that requires additional work, the strategic implementation team is redirected to carry out the additional analysis and return for an additional business decision point to confirm and approve the revised plan. It is possible that the charter of the team is no longer valid given the macroenvironment and the internal situation of the firm. In such a case, the project is terminated.

Governance milestones may also be called for an on ad hoc basis in the event that the project team encounters one or more possible situations:

a. The team requires major changes to previously agreed upon scope, schedule, and/or budget.

b. The team or governing body of the firm recognizes that the project as originally conceived is no longer feasible.

c. Obvious significant shifts in the internal and external macroenvironment have occurred.

d. Significant change requests have been put forward by stakeholders.

e. If none of the above conditions apply, the team continues to carry out the chartered project work until the previously agreed upon budget, scope, and schedule milestones have been reached.

6. Strategic Initiative Closure

The project closure process as outlined in the PMBOK applies to strategic initiative projects in the same way that it applies to any other project. Project closure is all about good housekeeping in that resources employed by the project are returned, contracts are terminated, and lessons learned are captured. There are no “loose ends” left hanging once the project ends when project closure is performed correctly. There are some key differences, however. The deliverables of a strategic initiative or implementation project contribute something lasting to the strategic profile of the company. This may involve new processes and procedures, the creation of plans, the implementation of a new organization structure, or some other tangible artifact to be included in the ongoing operation. This puts a stronger emphasis on the handover of the deliverables to the ongoing operation.

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