Last week, I posted about a CA Clarity TM presentation on how “Project and Program Management Key to IT Efficiency”. One of the main points in the first presentation is that executives can look at the list of projects to see how well they align with company strategy. The need is to work on the right things.
The Project Management Institute (PMI) Information Systems Special Interest Group (ISSIG) has also posted a webinar on “Strategic Project Management”. If you are a member of ISSIG, then viewing the webinar is free. Otherwise, you will need to purchase access.
Project management is often used as a tactical tool. It isn’t normally viewed by businesses as a strategic tool. Don J Wessels argues that 60% of the projects should be strategically aligned. Strategic project management is a new process that comes between strategic planning and project execution.
Similar to the Clarity presentation, Wessels goes out of his way to note that executive championship is key to successful project-program management. While Clarity mentioned that CIOs should sit on governance boards, Wessels’ angle points out that executive championship underlies the real challenge to many organizations in regards to project management and now strategic project management. Attrition of executive champions has taken its toll on project management in general.
Wessels has a slide on “Without Strategic Emphasis” that lists symptoms of an organization that doesn’t have strategic project emphasis. Boy! Have I been in this organization!
This webinar is worth 1 PDU.
Random Acts of IT Project Management 