ization strategy, integrate with business imperatives, and focus on the objectives (the
projects).
Traditional project management tended to focus primarily on the processes of
managing projects to successful completion. To manage projects from their inception
through to actual delivery of the business-enabling objectives, a different project
management approach is needed. Project management needs to become part of the busi-
ness and, in order to achieve that, organizations need to come to terms with the business
of project management.
The struggle of many organizations to implement and apply project management has
demonstrated that the classical, highly structured, engineering/construction approach
does not meet the project management needs of business projects. Projects in the field of
social and culture change, business redesign and service improvement create manage-
ment challenges that require a more flexible and organic approach.
As organizations need to convert their strategies into reality through programmes and
projects, they have to ensure that projects are efficiently delivered and effectively inte-
grated into the business. A sound understanding of how an organization’s portfolio of
business programmes and projects is managed through prioritization and selection is
required, but there must also be an understanding of the more detailed aspects of project
implementation.
A business project management approach can bridge this gap between strategy and
detailed action plans. Project management must be equally at home in the boardroom,
where projects are often initiated to deliver strategy, as it is at the coal face, where the
work is done to realize strategic and business objectives.
This book addresses the concepts and issues of business project management. It aims
to assist organizations in making the shift from a narrow, strong, technical focus on
project management to a broader, more business-oriented focus. The authors introduce
the reader to three important concepts and components that underpin the philosophy of
the business of project management. These components are briefly introduced in the
following sections and developed throughout the book. They combine to form an
approach that allows projects to make things happen, and to be the ‘engines of growth’
for organizations.
BUSINESS FOCUSED PROJECT MANAGEMENT
This is a very simple business. When we complicate it, we really mess things
up.
Roberto Goizueta, Chairman, The Coca-Cola Company
The first of the components, Business Focused Project Management (BFPM™), is an
overall approach developed in response to the need for managing business projects.
BFPM takes an organization-wide view of project management by focusing on the needs
of project owners, while integrating closely with the requirements of executives, upper
managers and the project management environment.
2 ❚ The practice of project management