What Business Need does the project/initiative address?
Business Needs is the first business fundamental and for good reason. Whether it is an IT, HR project or anything else: Business Needs Must Come First!
Use the insights, checklists and tools on this page to explore the Business Need for your project or initiative.
The solution is to adopt a ‘Business First’ perspective – putting the needs the business ahead of the project plan. It requires ongoing strategic conversations about the project to ensure that it stays connected to what matters to the C-suite. Find out more here
Is there a direct link between the objectives/scope of the project and the needs of the business? Use the panel on the ‘project chassis’ one pager to explore: What underlying business need(s) does the project address? Specifically:
The ‘Business First Test’ checks for signs of ‘Project Myopia’ (i.e. where a project looses sign of business needs) the level of clarity and alignment with respect to Business Needs:
Ask key stakeholders, sponsors and project team members to describe the business need that the project / Initiative addresses/must address.
Of course, you could simply tell people what the business need is, however to effective engage stakeholders it is better to ask, rather than simply to tell.
Delivering a project on time and to budget is no longer enough. The real measure of success is the extent to which a project or initiative addresses business needs and priorities. Explore this topic here:
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