How Does Defining a Project Relate to Project Planning?

Many people think of “defining a project” as part of the project planning process, and they are correct. It is the first step. However, it is important to make the distinction for several reasons:

• Logistically, before you develop a detailed and complete project plan, you need to know the parameters and boundaries for the project.
• Politically, you need to know the key stakeholders are in agreement with the project mission (project purpose, goals, objectives, and success criteria) before proceeding.
• Practically, the work to properly define a project is often not trivial. In fact, many process-focused and disciplined organizations handle “project definitions” as separate projects. Common examples include business case development, cost-benefit analysis, selection, proof-of-concept models, and assessment projects.
• Historically, people have learned that detailed project planning and general project management are inefficient, and difficult at best, if project definition is not performed.
• Financially, effective execution of the project definition process enables the organization to leverage portfolio project management processes. This enables the organization to better invest its limited resources in initiatives that offer the greatest return.

Portfolio Project Management

Portfolio project management is a management practice that brings rigor and diligence to the project definition process. It is a management practice that enables executives to make better decisions regarding which projects to fund, gives them visibility to all targeted enterprise projects throughout the project life cycle, and applies a consistent set of performance metrics and criteria to better compare project performance. It is a management practice that attempts to bring an end to projects that are not organizationally aligned, not prioritized, not resourced properly, and not monitored closely. Some of the key benefits of this approach to an organization include the following:

• Requires each potential project to be fully defined upfront.
• Engages the executives in the project selection and prioritization process, using a consistent, objective approach.
• Ensures that individual work efforts are prioritized and focused on the most important projects.
• Maintains executive visibility on targeted projects. This helps maintain organizational alignment.
• Enables executives to identify troubled projects earlier. This provides them more options, and it enables them to reallocate valuable resources much quicker.