Projects at Work

Know Thy Organization

A situational assessment of your project’s surrounding environment — not just the project itself — is a critical step in deciding the best way to proceed. You need to understand the true nature of the organization in which your project will live — not a textbook ideal — in order for it to thrive. Here are three key elements of such an assessment.


Following “Know Thy Project” (June 26, 2008), this is the second article in a two-part series on situational assessment of project methods and environments
 
All project management methods carry tacit and explicit assumptions about the organization in which the project will exist. But too many project methods carry hidden assumptions about the organization's ability to make timely, purely rational (or financially motivated) decisions, provide key resources at key points of the project, and deal with politics and hidden agendas. Often, it is assumed that a strong sponsor or champion will cut through conflicting interests, mandate compliance, and clear the way …


Please login or register below to read the rest of the article

Subscribers login here:

Not a subscriber yet? Sign up here:

    You must have JavaScript and cookies enabled to use this website. Please enable javascript and refresh this page.
    How do I enable JavaScript in my browser? | How do I enable cookies in my browser?
  • First Name
    Last Name
  • Choose a password (at least 4 characters)
    Confirm your password
  • ProjectsAtWork is accredited under Return Path's Sender Score Certified™ Program. The Sender Score Certified Program helps to increase successful email delivery by requiring senders to adhere to a set of specific email standards. For more information, please see www.senderscorecertified.com.
  • please enter the text below:
  • You must have JavaScript and cookies enabled to use this website. Please enable javascript and refresh this page.
    How do I enable JavaScript in my browser? | How do I enable cookies in my browser?

ADVERTISEMENT

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH:


SPONSORS

EVENTS

Vincent M: "EVM requires a baseline plan to measure progress against. For Scrum you could ge…" on Agile + Earned Value
February 3, 2012

Chris W: "This is a very interesting topic especially since I am in the trenches of tradit…" on Agile + Earned Value
February 3, 2012

Andreea T: "Very interesting article that presents the essence of complex adaptive systems! …" on Mastering the Unpredictable
February 3, 2012

haresh t: "Nice article .. Its all about knowing the team members, their roles and more imp…" on The No-Drama PM
February 3, 2012

 

TOP CONTRIBUTORS

John D'Entremont

Project Manager, PMP
John D’Entremont, PMP, is a project manager in the financial industry, w…

Glen Alleman

VP Program Controls, Lewis & Fowler
As VP, Program Controls, Glen brings his 30 years experience in program …

Andy Jordan

President, Roffensian Consulting Inc.
Andy Jordan is a well known author and speaker on project management and…

Tom Mochal

President, TenStep Inc
Tom Mochal, PgMP, PMP, TSPM is the president of TenStep, Inc. (www.TenSt…

Janis Rizzuto

Contributing Editor, ProjectsAtWork
Janis has been writing for ProjectsAtWork for more than a decade, starti…

Aaron Smith

Editor, ProjectsAtWork.com
Aaron has been the editor of ProjectsAtWork since 2001, leading its evol…

BLOGS

TOOLS & TRAINING

     

Changepoint helps businesses gain competitive advantage and increase profitability through complete portfolio visibility, planning insight, process automation, and improved resource utilization throughout a customer’s lifecycle.

     

EPM Lives WorkEngine provides easy to use Microsoft SharePoint Project and Work Management applications for everyone in an organization, from teams that want to work within individual workgroups, to organizations that want to utilize enterprise tools

     

With Genius Project, leading project and portfolio management software, an organization can easily manage project in a collaborative way. Turn around time is quick, and as a result, project visibility and execution are enhanced.

ADVERTISEMENTS

Gaining Control Over Your Business Portfolio - February 15 at 8am PT / 11am ET Webcast. Join Forrester Research's Margo Visitacion and Sr. VP Lori Ellsworth as they discuss how a growing number of companies are turning to PSA and PPM tools to empower services, IT, sales, NPD and teams through a single integrated solution.
Go beyond PMP Certification with the new UC Irvine Extension Advanced Project Management Specialized Studies Program. Courses are available online and on-campus - earn PDUs and establish expertise while learning from a leader in PM studies.