Project Management
Chapter 2. Strategy, Objectives, and
Project Selection
,2.0 Learning Objectives and Overview
Learning Objectives
1. Define the business strategy and goals that constitute the basis of business cases and
projects in an organization, and describe the strategy cycle.
2. Create SMART objectives that can be used in business cases, project charters, and
project management plans.
3. Outline the content of a business case that would lead to the selection of projects.
4. Employ a variety of selection models to select projects.
Overview
Projects don’t start from out of anywhere. Before the organization’s project selection committee and/or
executive management decides on which projects the organization can go with, the reasons to start a
project must be delineated in a pre-project stage. This stage often consists of the preparation of a
business case accompanied by a needs assessment and a benefits realization management plan. A
business case is a document that helps an organization decide whether the project will have a positive
economic, financial, and/or social impact. Business analysts, systems analysts, or product managers, or
a team composed of them and relevant stakeholders can prepare a business case. In many cases which
are not rare, project managers can be assigned with the task to create a business case during the
initiation of a project if the project’s feasibility hasn’t been assessed before. Organizations produce
plenty of business cases in which the organizational needs are detailed. However, due to the scarcity of
resources, time, and budget, and also taking into consideration the boundaries determined by the
organizational priorities and strategic objectives, organizations choose only some of the business cases
and their solutions as projects to develop. Project managers may not participate in this process.
Nevertheless, it is of utmost importance for the project managers and teams to be familiar with the
process since business cases constitute the basis of projects and they include fundamental information
about the projects. Business cases are used as input to conceptualize a project and lead directly to the
preparation of a project charter through which project managers can receive the authorization to start
the project.
39
, Project Management
2.1 Business Strategy and Goals
Organizations exist to fulfill a purpose. These purposes are analyzed through a process and ultimately
expressed in an organization’s vision and mission statements. Vision statements are often very broad
and they describe what the organizational leaders want the organization to accomplish. Mission
statements are more specific: they describe how the organization is going to fulfill its vision. Recently,
on many organizations’ websites, mission and vision statements have not been explained separately, but
as one statement named “mission statement”. Organizations may also elaborate on their principles,
values, culture, and goals to explicate their missions. Some examples of vision and mission statements
as well as other information such as principles, values, and culture are provided below:
LinkedIn:
Vision: Create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce.
Mission: The mission of LinkedIn is simple: connect the world’s professionals to make them more
productive and successful.
Facebook:
Mission: Give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together.
Culture: At Facebook, we are constantly iterating, solving problems, and working together to
connect people all over the world. That’s why it’s important that our workforce reflects the
diversity of the people we serve. Hiring people with different backgrounds and points of view
helps us make better decisions, build better products and create better experiences for everyone.
Ikea:
Vision: Our vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people – for customers, but also
for our co-workers and the people who work at our suppliers.
Business idea: While our vision tells us why we exist, our business idea tells us what we want to
achieve. And for everyone that has visited IKEA, our business idea is pretty obvious – “to offer a
wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low, that as many
people as possible will be able to afford them.”
Microsoft:
Mission: Our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve
more.
40
Chapter 2. Strategy, Objectives, and
Project Selection
,2.0 Learning Objectives and Overview
Learning Objectives
1. Define the business strategy and goals that constitute the basis of business cases and
projects in an organization, and describe the strategy cycle.
2. Create SMART objectives that can be used in business cases, project charters, and
project management plans.
3. Outline the content of a business case that would lead to the selection of projects.
4. Employ a variety of selection models to select projects.
Overview
Projects don’t start from out of anywhere. Before the organization’s project selection committee and/or
executive management decides on which projects the organization can go with, the reasons to start a
project must be delineated in a pre-project stage. This stage often consists of the preparation of a
business case accompanied by a needs assessment and a benefits realization management plan. A
business case is a document that helps an organization decide whether the project will have a positive
economic, financial, and/or social impact. Business analysts, systems analysts, or product managers, or
a team composed of them and relevant stakeholders can prepare a business case. In many cases which
are not rare, project managers can be assigned with the task to create a business case during the
initiation of a project if the project’s feasibility hasn’t been assessed before. Organizations produce
plenty of business cases in which the organizational needs are detailed. However, due to the scarcity of
resources, time, and budget, and also taking into consideration the boundaries determined by the
organizational priorities and strategic objectives, organizations choose only some of the business cases
and their solutions as projects to develop. Project managers may not participate in this process.
Nevertheless, it is of utmost importance for the project managers and teams to be familiar with the
process since business cases constitute the basis of projects and they include fundamental information
about the projects. Business cases are used as input to conceptualize a project and lead directly to the
preparation of a project charter through which project managers can receive the authorization to start
the project.
39
, Project Management
2.1 Business Strategy and Goals
Organizations exist to fulfill a purpose. These purposes are analyzed through a process and ultimately
expressed in an organization’s vision and mission statements. Vision statements are often very broad
and they describe what the organizational leaders want the organization to accomplish. Mission
statements are more specific: they describe how the organization is going to fulfill its vision. Recently,
on many organizations’ websites, mission and vision statements have not been explained separately, but
as one statement named “mission statement”. Organizations may also elaborate on their principles,
values, culture, and goals to explicate their missions. Some examples of vision and mission statements
as well as other information such as principles, values, and culture are provided below:
LinkedIn:
Vision: Create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce.
Mission: The mission of LinkedIn is simple: connect the world’s professionals to make them more
productive and successful.
Facebook:
Mission: Give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together.
Culture: At Facebook, we are constantly iterating, solving problems, and working together to
connect people all over the world. That’s why it’s important that our workforce reflects the
diversity of the people we serve. Hiring people with different backgrounds and points of view
helps us make better decisions, build better products and create better experiences for everyone.
Ikea:
Vision: Our vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people – for customers, but also
for our co-workers and the people who work at our suppliers.
Business idea: While our vision tells us why we exist, our business idea tells us what we want to
achieve. And for everyone that has visited IKEA, our business idea is pretty obvious – “to offer a
wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low, that as many
people as possible will be able to afford them.”
Microsoft:
Mission: Our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve
more.
40
