Product Operations Program ManagerBarcelona, Cataluña, Spain
Often strategic has been used as a synonym of long term. Tregoe and Zimmerman defined strategy as the framework which guides those choices that determine the nature and direction of an organization. Those choices relate to the scope of an organization's products and services, markets, key capabilities, growth, return and allocation of resources.
In your view, which boxes must a project tick off to be categorized as strategic? Saving Changes...
Strategy doesn't imply duration - one could have near-term, medium-term and long-term strategic plans and a project might align with one or more of those.
The main characteristic for me is whether there is a direct link between an objective which is within a strategic plan and the project.
I think the answer depends...on the strategy itself...for example in technology we usually differentiate projects in run, growth and transform and we tend to see growth and transform as strategic projects. But what if the company strategy aims at gaining operational excellence? Then run projects are also strategic Saving Changes...
Anonymous
I have to agree with Kiron that having a strategy doesn't necessarily have anything to do with duration. Call me a cynic but I actually doubt that the term "strategic" is anything other than code for "we are spending a lot of money so we need to make it sound important". Saving Changes...
I look at strategy like stratosphere. Strata is a layer. Strategy is the over arching layer of planning for how we wish to achieve some end goal.
It fits into a pyramid of strategy at the top of what our goals are and our general approaches. Then comes tactics, which are the working level methodologies to achieve our higher level goals. At the bottom is execution. This is where we try to achieve the strategy by following the tactics, and adjusting as necessary. Saving Changes...
Luis BrancoCEO| Business Insight, Consultores de Gestão, LdªCarcavelos, Lisboa, Portugal
Dear Eduard
Interesting your question
Thanks for sharing
Projects must be aligned with the strategy
They are a means to achieve organizational objectives
From January 2021, this topic will be important for the PMP certification exam. Saving Changes...
Thomas WalentaGlobal Project Economy ExpertHackenheim, Germany
Strategic projects are often a contradiction.
Strategy in business teaching and consulting is mainly about planning and projects are all about implementation. (Strategy in military and politics is different as there is less separation of planning and implementation).
If projects are labeled as strategic, they often are meant to implement a (part of a) strategy. Implementation of a strategy sometimes is called a transformation and transformations are rather programs than mere projects.
Some projects are labeled so they appear to be implementing a strategic goal but are not. Implementing strategic planning fails widely in business (some authors suggest 70%).
The term strategy is itself not commonly defined and agreed to. Some companies have what is called an emerging strategy (aka no plan), and a change in strategy is called pivoting. Think startups and agile organizations.
Project durations can be longer than strategies are relevant, hence strategy alignment (of projects or programs) are required and means to respond to pivots or other changes in strategy.
The best an organization can have is not one strategy but a bundle of strategic options, to be able to respond to changes and be more resilient (redundant, modular and diversified). Do not put all your marbles into one bucket.
What is the strategy of a fire department? To be prepared. How do they prepare? By risk management, developing scenarios and automating action thru exercise. Should be the same for disease control, but was not everywhere (it was in Asia and Africa). Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
Organizations are open (interact with the environment) and adaptable (change - transform itself when the environment change) systems. The way they interact and adapt is the strategy. Needs of interactions and changes create problem situations to solve. Solutions to those problems are composed by "the thing" to be create plus "the way" (project) to create it. So, that´s all an organization must understand to be successful. Indeed organizations can make some categorization of the solutions, but the solution as a whole (product plus project). In fact, I am working in that way from long time ago. The big mistake some organizations made from years (and I think the PMI contributed to that) is to split both components of the solution and think about them in isolation. Saving Changes...
Thomas WalentaGlobal Project Economy ExpertHackenheim, Germany
Sergio,
interesting view on strategy as the way how organizations behave in their ecosystem. Thanks for sharing.
And I agree that product and project, what and how have to be considered together to be a solution to problems (regardless where they are from, even if they are not strategic as you define it).
The understanding is that products are different from the view of industry, purpose or people involved, yet there seems to be a common denominator in the how. That is why the original idea by PMI and others arose to look at this part of reality, the how, and see if there can be something valuable for any types of products.
And they came up with the idea of project management (for strategic problems or not).
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1 reply by Sergio Luis Conte
Nov 17, 2020 6:26 AM
Sergio Luis Conte
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It is not a view or my view. Is the approach that has sense from Bertalanfy (1976) up to date. Organizations which did not understand that are in trouble mainly today when "magic buzzwords" explode like Agile. The how has no sense if it is not understand as a part of the solution. The how is the solution too. PMI has fail on that and from some time ago they are trying to fix it creating or trying to take ownership of concepts which are outside there from long time ago, like "project economy".
Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
Nov 17, 2020 2:35 AM
Replying to Thomas Walenta
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Sergio,
interesting view on strategy as the way how organizations behave in their ecosystem. Thanks for sharing.
And I agree that product and project, what and how have to be considered together to be a solution to problems (regardless where they are from, even if they are not strategic as you define it).
The understanding is that products are different from the view of industry, purpose or people involved, yet there seems to be a common denominator in the how. That is why the original idea by PMI and others arose to look at this part of reality, the how, and see if there can be something valuable for any types of products.
And they came up with the idea of project management (for strategic problems or not).
It is not a view or my view. Is the approach that has sense from Bertalanfy (1976) up to date. Organizations which did not understand that are in trouble mainly today when "magic buzzwords" explode like Agile. The how has no sense if it is not understand as a part of the solution. The how is the solution too. PMI has fail on that and from some time ago they are trying to fix it creating or trying to take ownership of concepts which are outside there from long time ago, like "project economy". Saving Changes...
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