Understand The Situational Context Of Projects

Question 1

Project environment

Answer 1

Project, programme and portfolio management

Question 2

Explain tools and techniques used to determine factors which influence and impact projects ( pestle, swot and vuca)

Answer 2

PESTLE: used to generate the specific options that should be considered
SWOT: used to do a comparative analysis of these options
VUCA: environment, culture and capability of the project organisation

Question 3

Explain the impact of the legal and regulatory environment on the projects (impacts on working conditions, risk management, governance and sustainability)

Answer 3

Project is an expert on the project management domain - hold a solid appreciation of legal and regulatory environment relating to the project being delivered - assurance will ensure that stakeholders remain committed to the project throughout the lifecycle

Question 4

Differentiate between projects and business as usual (BAU)

Answer 4

BAU: is the legal entity, provides the financial management, Human Resources such as recruitment and payroll, marketing = why projects are delivered in the first place. + legal structure, which pays taxes and ensures regulatory compliance

Question 5

Differentiate between project management, portfolio management and programme management

Answer 5

Portfolio - contains 1 or more programme that supports the strategic vision and intent of the organisation
Programme - broken down into constituent projects (all undertaken in addition to BAU)

Question 6

Outline be relationship between programmes, projects and strategic change

Answer 6

Projects = deliver outputs
Programmes = deliver outcomes 
Portfolios = make sure that everything is delivered is delivered in the most efficient way and priorities the relation to the strategic objectives of the whole organisation 

Programmes deliver strategic benefits but can only do so each project within the programme yields the benefits as stated in the business case

Without coordination = bau struggles to deliver all projects at same time = delays in projects reaching operating levels, lack of synergies in delivery of projects, lower level of benefits realisation than expected, poor return on investment and higher operating costs

Question 7

Describe a situation where the use of programme management may be appropriate

Answer 7

Programmes = group of related projects and BAU activities that together achieve beneficial change for an organisation

Programme management = ensured that the delay ion of projects and other work in BAU is structured in a way that ensures benefits can be delivered incrementally over time.

Delivering projects in the most efficient way possible

Programme managers may : slow down projects, speed others up or stop projects completely

Question 8

Describe a situation where the use of portfolio management may be appropriate

Answer 8

Portfolios are groupings of projects and programmes managed at an organisational or functional level in order to select, prioritise and control deployment in line with strategic objectives and the capacity to deliver.

• balance change initiatives and BAU while optimising return on investment
• portfolios exist as coordinating structure to support deployment by ensuring the optimal prioritisation of resources to align with strategic intent and achieve best value

Delivers organisation strategy - relies on the deployment of programmes and projects in multiple functions and business units