2.4 Translating Business Strategies

Project Definition

Defining the project is the first critical step in the process of creating a project strategy from corporate strategy. According to Turner (1999, p. 82), project definition is achieved by:

• setting the project objectives, scope definition through a strategic or milestone plan,
• setting functional strategies for assessing technical risk, careful management of the design process, and
• managing resources.

As a consequence of the project definition process, we are able to create and define the project vision and its purpose. We also ensure that project plans are well-aligned with the corporate business plans and consensus for the basis of cooperation from among the project participants is achieved.

Scope Management

This process verifies that the project was initiated as a result of market demand or a business need and company's strategic plan is the input to this process. The output of this process is the project scope statement that contains elements such as the project justification, the product, deliverables, and project objectives. All of these are key elements of project strategy that are directly linked to overall corporate strategy.

Requirements Management

Through requirements management, the technical requirements of the project specified by the customer are explicitly defined, providing the platform for building the system requirements for the project. This is yet another critical management process as the technical requirements of a project have a significant impact on project strategy.