No matter how great a project idea may be, it’ll not begin unless it gets approved. To take approval for projects , what is important ? Saving Changes...
James ShieldsIS Director - Portfolio Solutions| City and County of San Francisco, SFPDSan Francisco, Ca, United States
Three points that must be addressed in leading-up to soliciting approval:
1. A Business Case, which is a justification for undertaking a project, written preferably by the Project Sponsor. It should be specific to what type of change it is addressing. For example -- competition-related, meeting market needs, meeting a legal requirement or new law, etc.
2. Benefits analysis which should have a clear connection on how the project aligns to the organization's strategy and what value to the organization and customer it will deliver.
3. High-level cost and time estimates.
Also, in preparing to meet these 3 points, there should be on-going discussions with key Stakeholders to get their support, if possible. Saving Changes...
From experience you need to know who is actually making the decision regarding Yes/No to proceed with the project and make sure that the project is pitched exactly to their requirements, specifications and taste. In many case people are led to believe that person XYZ has the "Final Say" but in reality there are merely the middle person used to relay information to those in senior management of a organisations responsible for making project approval and allocation decisions. Also see what project have previously been approved by this person/people and approach the project manager responsible for the project and ask what tools/techniques/templates they used, questions they were asked, additional information they were asked for, timeline to the making of the decision and any other relevant information that they may have that would making approval for you project easier. Saving Changes...
Mikel SteadmanPMO Leader| Development Dimensions InternationalTroy, Nh, United States
Does this solve a problem?
Does this give us a differentiator?
Does this align to our strategy?
Does the project sponsor believe in it enough to proactively support?
All of the above (and more) should be captured and reviewed in the Business Case and Charter. Saving Changes...
