By Frank Einhorn

When looking at a project management landscape, why do we need to handle business projects differently? And how do we handle them effectively?

Business Projects

First, we need to look at what can be classified as Business Projects. The best way to understand business projects is to contrast them with a typical construction project (where something is being built to an approved design).  There are several aspects:

	Construction Projects	Business Projects
Requirements	The objective is clear.  The main tasks are known and can be estimated by a Quantity Surveyor	The objective is probably understood, but how to get there may not be, making estimating difficult
Change	Once the design for the construction is approved, there is relatively little change	Business projects change all the time, including their priority.  Rolling-wave planning is common
Size	Construction projects are generally larger and there are people assigned to do scheduling and costing. On-time, within-budget is important to avoid penalties or eroded profit	Business projects are smaller, and the PM does most of the schedule and cost tracking.  Nevertheless, business projects may be complex, critical for the organisation, and carry high risk. Business satisfaction with the results is the measure
Benefits	Construction benefits come directly from the deliverable.  One can drive over a bridge as soon as it is built	Realising business benefits may take time and need involvement from many people; the PM has often moved on
Progress	For construction, progress is visible and inspected by people wearing hard-hats.	For business (especially IT) progress can be hard to see and evaluate
Location & resources	Most construction tasks happen in one location with dedicated people	Business projects are often geographically spread, with many part-time team members (Matrix management).
Skills	Construction skills, while important, are fairly interchangeable	For business projects key people may have unique skills; to replace them requires a lengthy learning curve
Management	The construction site PM is in charge and has authority	Business PMs need to lead by persuasion, expertise, influence, and understanding of the prevailing politics

While the project management principles apply equally to construction and business projects, the way that they are applied may be very different.  Documented project techniques simply do not work for some business projects – or need significant adaptation.  Clearly, there is a spectrum with some business projects having construction elements.  Also, construction, engineering, and mining organisations run many business projects.

What are the essentials?

When managing a business project there is no time for all the text-book ‘should dos’.  While the project may be complex, it needs to be managed in the simplest possible way.  The essentials include:

• Have a business sponsor (not necessarily the money provider).  He or she must be a senior person who really needs the project to happen.  Without a sponsor’s support there are many problems that can sink a project.  So, if there is no sponsor, it’s best not to start the project. 
• Produce a Project Definition Document or Project Charter, starting in the first week of the project.  The headings include things like:  executive summary, goals and objectives, scope and deliverables, benefits, costs, risks, resources, roles, and milestones.  Gathering input would involve the stakeholders – business and project team.  Any significant disagreements might need to be resolved by the sponsor.  When done, the expectations of stakeholders should be aligned, and the PM should have an excellent grasp of the project. Planning would then continue after checking that the business case (benefits versus costs and risks) remains sound.
• Have a repository where documents can be kept in a structured way, accessible to all.  Few documents are confidential.
• Flesh out the scope (activities or tasks) and deliverables as best you know it.  Often the activities evolve as more becomes known. Check that the team can cover the important activities.
• Develop and track (monitor and update) a schedule or task list.
• Develop and track a cost budget (where appropriate) – related to work achieved.
• Hold regular, short, minuted, team meetings – track progress.
• Identify and manage project risks (ongoing) – plan response actions to reduce the probability or impact.  Some risks you might consciously accept.  Allow contingency (cost and time).
• Manage project issues (problems that threaten success) and changes (mainly to scope).
• Produce regular reports (1 page is ideal) with a status indicator (e.g. Red, Amber, Green). Doing them regularly, like fortnightly, helps the PM to keep a ‘finger on the pulse’.
• Keep in touch with stakeholders throughout – business and the team.
• Close the project, checking that stakeholder needs are met.  A report, of a few pages, should be produced, with headings like what was achieved, things still to be done, and lessons learned.

Most documents produced do not need to be elegant, but they must give a good understanding. For example, an issue document needs a brief description, alternative solutions, and the resolution – usually all in one page.  The thinking involved is vital.

Business Project variations

How the above items are done might depend on the project.  For an Agile project, a Kanban board might be used instead of a schedule.  Also, who plays the PM role might vary.  It could be done by an experienced PM, a ‘scrum master’ for Agile, or a business person with good people, communication, and problem-solving skills. But, whatever the situation, it is important that the essentials are done consistently and well. 

About the Author

Frank Einhorn has over 40 years of project management experience.  He graduated as an electrical engineer and later completed an MBA at UCT.  He worked with customers in many industries, but mainly banking, insurance, mining, and public sector utilities. 

Frank has been a PMP since 1995. Frank has convened programmes and lectured at Wits Business School since 2011. His PhD was completed at UJ in 2018. 

Recently his book ‘Managing Business Projects: The Essentials’ was published internationally.  It is available in South Africa