Strategic project management: Do not ever forget it!

Strategic Project Management is a management approach that involves planning, organizing, and executing projects in a way that aligns with an organization's strategic goals and objectives. It is a discipline that combines traditional project management techniques with strategic thinking to ensure that projects are carried out with a clear understanding of how they contribute to the overall success of the organization.

The Strategy project management process involves the development of a project management strategy that considers the organization's mission, vision, and objectives. It also involves the identification of key stakeholders and the development of a plan to engage them throughout the project lifecycle.

One of the primary objectives of project management strategy is to ensure that the project is completed on time, within budget, and to the desired level of quality. This requires careful planning, risk management, and effective communication.

Effective project management strategy also involves continuous monitoring and evaluation to ensure that the project is on track and that any necessary adjustments are made to ensure that it remains aligned with the organization's strategic goals.

Overall, project management strategic is an essential discipline for organizations looking to ensure that their projects are aligned with their strategic goals and objectives, and that they are executed in a way that maximizes their impact on the organization's success.

The significance of Strategic Project Management can be supported by the following survey findings: 

• Businesses that have good project management skills and practices can save 28% by successfully completing their project initiatives and reducing waste. 
• A lack of clear goal setting accounts for 37% of project failures. 
• In the IT sector, 75% of respondents lack confidence in their project’s success. 
• A lack of alignment between business and project objectives is responsible for 44% of project failures. 

These statistics demonstrate the importance of project management strategy. The major benefits include:

• Alignment with the organization's strategy: Project management strategic ensures that projects are aligned with the organization's overall strategy. This helps to ensure that the projects are contributing to the achievement of the organization's strategic goals.
• Improved decision-making: Project management strategy provides a framework for making decisions about project objectives, timelines, risks, and resources. This helps to ensure that decisions are based on the organization's strategy and priorities, leading to better outcomes.
• Improved resource allocation: Project management strategy ensures that resources are allocated to projects that have the greatest potential to contribute to the organization's strategic goals. This helps to ensure that resources are used efficiently and effectively.
• Enhanced risk management: Project management strategy provides a framework for identifying, assessing, and managing risks associated with projects. This helps to minimize the impact of risks on the organization's strategic goals.
  
  Increased stakeholder engagement: Project management strategy involves engaging stakeholders throughout the project lifecycle. This helps to ensure that their needs and expectations are considered, leading to greater stakeholder satisfaction and support.
• Greater accountability: It provides a framework for tracking project progress and outcomes. This helps to ensure that project managers and team members are held accountable for their performance and that the projects are completed on time, within budget, and to the desired level of quality.

The main difference between Strategic Project Management and Project Management is that the former is focused on aligning projects with the overall strategy and goals of the organization, while the latter is focused on the successful completion of individual projects.

Project management strategy involves a more comprehensive approach to managing projects. It considers the broader context in which the project is taking place and aims to ensure that the project is contributing to the achievement of the organization's strategic goals. It involves aligning project objectives with the organization's mission, vision, and values, and developing a project management strategy that is closely linked to the organization's overall strategy. Strategic Project Management is focused on achieving long-term success and maximizing the benefits that the project can bring to the organization.

Project Management, on the other hand, is focused on the successful completion of individual projects. It involves planning, executing, and controlling projects to ensure that they are delivered on time, within budget, and to the desired level of quality. Project Management is focused on achieving short-term success and delivering the project to meet its specific objectives.

In summary, while Project Management is focused on delivering individual projects successfully, Strategic Project Management is focused on aligning projects with the overall strategy and goals of the organization to ensure long-term success.

Developing a Strategic Project Management approach involves several key steps:

To develop a Strategic Project Management approach, it is important to first understand the organization's mission, vision, and objectives. The mission statement outlines the purpose of the organization and its reason for existence. The vision statement describes the desired future state that the organization aims to achieve. The objectives are the specific goals that the organization intends to accomplish to achieve its vision.

Understanding the organization's strategy involves analyzing and interpreting these statements to gain insight into the organization's priorities, values, and goals. This information provides the context for developing project objectives and aligning them with the organization's overall strategy.

By aligning project objectives with the organization's overall strategy, the projects become more meaningful and impactful, contributing to the organization's success. This ensures that resources, including time, money, and personnel, are used efficiently to achieve the organization's strategic goals. Ultimately, understanding the organization's strategy is a critical first step in developing a Project management strategy approach that delivers successful outcomes.

Identifying key stakeholders is a crucial aspect of Strategic Project Management. Stakeholders are individuals or groups who have an interest in the project and can be affected by its outcomes. These stakeholders can include internal stakeholders such as senior management, project team members, and employees, as well as external stakeholders such as customers, suppliers, partners, and regulatory bodies.

In order to effectively engage stakeholders, it is important to first identify them and understand their interests, expectations, and concerns. This can be done through stakeholder analysis, which involves identifying and prioritizing stakeholders based on their level of influence and interest in the project.

Once key stakeholders have been identified, it is important to engage them throughout the project lifecycle. This involves communicating with them regularly, providing updates on the project's progress, and seeking their feedback and input. Engaging stakeholders in this way can help to build trust, secure their support, and ensure that their needs and expectations are considered throughout the project.

In addition, engaging stakeholders can help to identify potential risks and opportunities associated with the project. For example, stakeholders may provide valuable insights into customer needs and preferences, which can help to shape project objectives and deliverables. By engaging stakeholders in this way, Strategic Project Management can help to ensure that the project is aligned with the organization's overall strategy and meets the needs of key stakeholders.

Developing a Project Management Strategy is a critical step in implementing Strategic Project Management. The Project Management Strategy should be based on the organization's overall strategy and the needs of key stakeholders. This includes project scope management, understanding the budget, timelines, risks, and resources, as well as the roles and responsibilities of the project team members.

It should also include a project management plan for how the project will be monitored and evaluated to ensure that it remains aligned with the organization's strategy. This includes establishing key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics to measure the project's progress and success. The KPIs should be aligned with the organization's overall goals and objectives, and should be regularly monitored and evaluated to ensure that the project is on track and meeting its targets.

Another important aspect of the Project Management Strategy is risk management. The strategy should include a plan for identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks throughout the project lifecycle. This includes developing contingency plans to address potential risks and establishing protocols for how risks will be managed and communicated to stakeholders.

In addition, the Project Management Strategy should outline how communication and collaboration will be facilitated among project team members and stakeholders. This includes establishing communication protocols, defining roles and responsibilities, and identifying tools and technologies that will be used to support communication and collaboration.

Overall, developing a Project Management Strategy is a critical step in implementing Strategic Project Management. By aligning the project with the organization's overall strategy and the needs of key stakeholders, the Project Management Strategy can help to ensure that the project is successful and contributes to the organization's overall goals and objectives.

Clear communication is a critical component of Strategic Project Management. Once the Project Management Strategy has been developed, it is important to communicate it effectively to all stakeholders. This involves providing a clear and concise explanation of the project's goals, objectives, timelines, risks, and expected outcomes.

Regular communication with stakeholders is also essential to ensure that everyone is aware of the progress of the project and any changes that may impact its alignment with the organization's strategy. This can be achieved through regular status updates, progress reports, and meetings.

Effective communication ensures that stakeholders are informed and engaged throughout the project lifecycle, which helps to build trust and support for the project. It also provides an opportunity to gather feedback and make any necessary adjustments to the Project Management Strategy to ensure that it remains aligned with the organization's overall strategy.

To further expand on monitoring and evaluating the project, it is important to establish clear metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the success of the project. These metrics and KPIs should be aligned with the organization's overall strategy and objectives.

Regular reporting and communication with stakeholders on the project's progress and status is also important. This helps to keep stakeholders informed and engaged, and provides an opportunity to address any concerns or issues that may arise.

If necessary, the Project Management Strategy should be adjusted based on the results of monitoring and evaluation. This may involve revising project objectives, timelines, resources, or other factors to ensure that the project remains aligned with the organization's overall strategy and goals.

To adopt a strategic project management approach, it's important to shift your mindset from viewing the project and its tasks as separate entities, and instead consider the overall value that the project will bring to the organization's strategy. The role of a strategic manager requires an emphasis on achieving outcomes, prioritizing the end result over the process.