Project Management is not just for Builders!

Project management is generally associated with property development, building and construction but, in reality the approach and disciplines of project management should be applied to a wide range, if not all defined tasks or projects - including consultancy projects - and across all industry sectors.

Most successful companies and consultancy firms utilise some form of project management approach for each project or consultancy assignment.  In essence this approach can be summarised as define the project / assignment, analyse it, evaluate it and develop the conclusion / recommendation.

The basic disciplines of project management in the non-construction sector can be enhanced by drawing on the experience of the property development industry and building these disciplines into the overall project management process.

One of the processes that developers use to maximise returns and builders use to minimise costs of construction is best described as an ‘iterative’ process and this is as applicable to a consulting assignment or even a business review as it is to these projects.

This is the way to achieve the optimum result.

The ‘Iterative’ Project Management Approach

The iterative project management approach means that the project manager needs to continually review and assess potential options and outcomes of all the elements of the project or assignment throughout the project definition and evaluation stages until they are satisfied that they have achieved the optimal outcome.

Only after all these options have been explored and evaluated is the ultimate conclusion or recommendation made. 

This means that the most complex, disruptive and expensive part of every project or assignment – implementation – is only undertaken after all options have been thoroughly evaluated.

If we presented this approach diagrammatically it would look like the following:

The iterative or circular process in the centre of the diagram might go through 2 or 10 cycles before the final, optimal project outcome is generated via 'deployment'.

*(The Oxford Dictionary defines ‘Iteration’ as “the repetition of a process ……… or computational procedure applied to the result of a previous application typically as a means of obtaining successively closer approximations to the solution of a problem”)

A second, non-mainstream supplement to the project management approach is Strategic Project Management which will help to sort out or prioritise projects or assignments when there is more than one under consideration.

Strategic Project Management

Every industry needs a strategy and a plan for the future and strives to achieve an edge over their competitors.  Most corporate Strategic Plans end up with between four and six key objectives that need to be prioritised and implemented.  

Sorting out the most important project(s) is what Strategic Project Management is all about.

Strategic Project Management (SPM) involves the identification, prioritization and selection of critically important projects that enable an organization to capture and sustain competitive edge.

SPM is distinctly different from process-driven project management which, whilst important, focuses on procedures, records, tracking, implementation and final delivery.

Competitive edge is defined as being an outcome that:

1. Adds value to customers
2. Is not easily imitated
3. Provides pathways for new possibilities in the future.

SPM is poorly explained in most project management literature because it is often and incorrectly reduced down to simple financial analysis.

However SPM actually provides a different way of prioritizing projects than just profit or returns. 

This is because while some projects may not be as profitable as others, if they deliver a competitive edge relative to others they should probably be pursued in preference to those other projects.

For example:  If a company’s competitive edge is ‘first-to-market’ (say, pharmaceuticals) then the projects that enable them to get their product more quickly to market are going to be the most critical ones, even if in their own terms they do not have higher profitability than other potential projects.

There are no limitations to the use of SPM.  The principles of SPM apply to any industry including service industries.

They are certainly used by all successful property developers, construction companies and all the major mining companies.

Most organisations need some external input at the strategic level to identify and define projects that will give them this competitive edge as internal resources tend to have pre-conceived ideas that prevent them from seeing the wider picture.

This is accomplished by a consultant developing a true understanding of an organisation’s business and objectives so that they can evaluate and demonstrate why a particular project should have a higher priority than another.

Another important aspect that should be included in all strategic evaluation of projects is adding Innovation into the Strategic Project Management process.

Innovation and Project Management

Axtrim group has demonstrated through past performance that we can enhance the outcomes of projects by looking at them from a range of different angles and in many cases we have also conceived / originated new concepts or projects to meet an organisation’s strategic objective(s).

Again, this is the true value of consultants to any organisation.  Consultants deliver an external perspective on the clients business.

Even though the value of consultants is often decried on the basis that they just re-iterate what they are told by staff and executives during their review a good consultant will sort out, prioritise and report the good or most valid ideas and concepts put forward by others in a way that makes them easy to understand and implement.

Axtrim Group always maintains a strong financial focus throughout the development of every project brief but does not limit itself to just the dollars.

It is in fact through the innovation that a good consultant will bring to the table solutions that create real value.