Navigating Project Selection and Execution for Competitive Advantage: A Guide to Evaluating Prospective Projects at the Idea Stage

by John Triantis

Overview

For many organizations, the way in which processes and projects are selected and executed is a fundamental factor in how well they can prosper in today’s marketplace. By improving efficiency, driving productivity and reducing costs, organizations can increase throughput, improve service and bring new products to market faster. The aim of this book is to show how to assess chances of project success at the idea stage in order to direct resources to promising projects and conserve resources. In doing that, it presents effective project execution processes, practices, and experiences that help to select the right projects and do them right. This is a mindset changing book from project speed and cost cutting to discipline, execution excellence, and competitive advantage. It is about effective business development using a practical approach to select the right projects and do them successfully. It describes how to evaluate and predict the likelihood of project success at the idea stage before resources are expended to develop projects. Each chapter describes how to evaluate planned project development and implementation, rate its performance, and identify gaps to be filled to achieve project execution excellence. The book is designed to guide the assessment of each project stage to uncover areas in need of improvement with focus on prediction of project success. Hence, each chapter stands on its own and assesses key elements of project stages to determine how well they are executed. The journey of project execution described is based on predicting project success at the idea stage and begins with understanding differences in large project requirements and their effects on the way they should be done. The evaluation of the idea’s origin and reasons for pursuing a project is done with help from an experienced facilitator/moderator. The reason for it is that this individual is engaged to assess likelihood of success from an external, independent, critical, and objective perspective before the project begins.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780367775445
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	06/29/2021
Pages:	454
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

John E. Triantis is a retired business consulting economist, strategic planner, international business development leader, and former forecasting expert. He has a track record of introducing effective processes and practices to develop successful projects. He is an experienced and a trusted new business development advisor in large projects, international infrastructure, financing, licensing, and organizational restructuring projects. His passion is helping clients minimize decision uncertainty and project risk. He integrates sound processes, best practices, and sound analytics with strategic planning and business development principles to maximize project value. His unique methods create world-class organizations, introduce value realization processes, and apply best practices to create successful projects. To address needs and fill gaps in client understanding, he authored numerous position papers and published the books Creating Successful Acquisition and Joint Venture Projects: A Process and Team Approach; Navigating Strategic Decisions: The Power of Sound Analysis and Forecasting; and Project Finance for Business Development as well as articles in professional domestic and international journals and books. He is currently working on a manuscript for the book Ethics in Large Project Development Decisions. John holds a Ph.D. in macro and international economics and a master’s degree in statistics and econometrics from the University of New Hampshire. His bachelor’s degree is in economics and mathematics from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Table of Contents

Preface xiii

Acknowledgments xvii

About the Author xix

Part I Precursor

1 Introduction 3

1.1 Objectives of the Book 4

1.2 Principle of Assessing Likelihood of Project Success 7

1.3 Challenges of Assessing Project Idea Success 9

1.4 Benefits of the Proposed Approach 11

1.5 Structure of the Book 13

1.6 Use of the Book to Maximize Benefits 16

2 Project Types - How Different Are They? 19

2.1 Types of Major Projects 21

2.2 Sources of Project Type Differences 23

2.3 Impacts of Project Type Differences 25

2.4 Questions to Be Raised, but to What End? 28

3 Project Idea Evaluation - What Is It All About? 31

3.1 Substance of the Idea 33

3.2 Idea Origins and Sponsors 34

3.3 Consistency of the Project Idea 36

3.4 Reasons to Do and Not to Do the Project Idea Transformation 38

3.5 Beneficiaries, Supporters, and Opponents 40

3.6 Qualifications of the External Advisor 42

3.7 Evaluating and Rating the Project Idea 44

4 Project Rationale - Why Are We Doing This? 47

4.1 Background of the Project Idea 49

4.2 Project Highlights 50

4.3 Project Sponsor Interests and Commitment 51

4.4 Project Fit Assessments 56

4.5 Evidence Supporting Project Rationale 59

4.6 Required Resources, Capabilities, and Experiences 61

4.7 Initial Cost-Benefit Estimates 64

4.8 Rating Project Rationale 67

Part II Analytics and Assessments

5 Organizational Factors - Political Support Is a Must 71

5.1 Corporate Management Structure 74

5.2 Corporate Culture and Mindset 75

5.3 Senior Management Engagement and Commitment 79

5.4 Corporate Risk Management Culture 80

5.5 Project Governance Structure 81

5.6 Project Decision-Making and Approvals 85

5.7 State of 4Cs Assessment 87

5.8 Rating Project Political Support 88

6 Internal Assessment - Resources and Capabilities 91

6.1 Analyses to be Performed 95

6.2 Approach and Methods Used 97

6.3 Situational Analysis 101

6.4 Project Strategic Fit 103

6.5 Organizational Risk Management Culture 107

6.6 Participants, Skills, and Competencies 109

6.7 Entity Conducting Internal Analyses 111

6.8 Stakeholder Buy-In 114

6.9 Rating of the Internal Environment Assessment 116

7 External Assessment - Uncertainty Management 119

7.1 Megatrends and Subtrends 122

7.2 PESTLED Trends 126

7.3 Industry and Market Trend Analysis 128

7.4 Customer and Project Impacting Trends 130

7.5 Trend Management 134

7.6 Rating of External Environment Assessment 136

Part III Main Areas of Attention

8 Project Development - The Basis of Value Creation 141

8.1 Project Scope and Objectives 142

8.2 Project Team and Stakeholders 145

8.3 Project Team Skills and Competencies 147

8.4 Project Development Processes and Tools 148

8.5 Technical Assessment 152

8.6 Risk Management, Due Diligence, and Project Financial Model 154

8.7 Business Plan and Business Case 154

8.8 Project Marketing and Approvals 156

8.9 Project Implementation 158

8.10 Rating the Project Development Stage 161

9 Risk and Mitigation - Priority with Idea Potential 163

9.1 Corporate Risk Culture 165

9.2 Types and Sources of Risks 168

9.3 Risk Identification and Assessment 171

9.4 Risk Management Processes and Practices 174

9.5 Risk Mitigation Challenges 179

9.6 Risk Mitigation Lessons Learned 182

9.7 Rating Risk Mitigation and Uncertainty Management 184

10 Project Management - Driving Project Ideas Forward 187

10.1 Project Management Phases and Processes 188

10.2 Project Management Approaches 191

10.3 Importance of Project Management 193

10.4 Project Management Roles and Responsibilities 195

10.5 Project Management Skills and Manager Traits 197

10.6 Project Management Tools and Implements 198

10.7 Project Management Challenges 201

10.8 Results of Poor Project Management 202

10.9 Rating of Project Management Capabilities 204

11 Idea and Project Marketing - "Selling the Project" 207

11.1 Project Audiences and Issues 209

11.2 Project Attractiveness to the Market 212

11.3 Evaluation of Project Value Creation 214

11.4 Challenging and Distracting Factors 218

11.5 Project Team Marketing Skills 220

11.6 Project Information Memorandum 221

11.7 Rating of Project Marketing 223

Part IV Validations and Verifications

12 Project Modeling - Determining if It Is for Real 227

12.1 Importance of the Project Financial Model 228

12.2 Model Ownership, Roles, and Responsibilities 232

12.3 Project Model Inputs and Outputs 234

12.4 Project Model Validations 236

12.5 Need for Good Models and Proper Use 239

12.6 Prerequisites, Skills Needed, and Limitations 242

12.7 Project Financial Model Rating 243

13 Project Contractual Basis - Negotiations Are Key 245

13.1 Types of Project Contracts 246

13.2 Drafting Project Contracts 249

13.3 Contract Enforceability 253

13.4 Contract Negotiations 254

13.5 Contract Negotiation Challenges and Costs 257

13.6 Rating of Contract and Negotiations Management 259

14 Project Due Diligence - An Interim Project Appraisal 261

14.1 The Need for Due Diligence and Interim Assessment 263

14.2 Areas of Due Diligence and Interim Project Appraisal 268

14.3 Means of Interim Project Assessments 273

14.4 Due Diligence and Interim Assessment Participants 275

14.5 Synthesis of Due Diligence and Interim Assessments 277

14.6 Due Diligence and Interim Assessment Challenges 281

14.7 Rating of Due Diligence and Interim Project Appraisal 283

15 Checks, Audits, Tests - Business Case Requirements 285

15.1 Checks for Presence of Positive Cultures 288

15.2 Stakeholder Expectations Management 290

15.3 Business Case Requirements 293

15.4 Management Support and Decision Criteria 295

15.5 Skills and Competencies Checks 298

15.6 Financial Model Checks 299

15.7 Rating Reality, Reasonableness, Reliability, and Sanity Checks 303

Part V From Plans and Evaluations to Action

16 Project Implementation - Driving to Completion 307

16.1 Implementation Purpose and Objectives 309

16.2 Implementation Process Components 310

16.3 Required Skills and Competencies 313

16.4 Successful Implementation Practices 319

16.5 Project Implementation Challenges 321

16.6 Rating of Project Implementation 322

17 Responses to Threats - Value Realization Planning 325

17.1 Performance Monitoring and Reporting 328

17.2 Identifying Performance Limitations 329

17.3 Response to Competitor Reaction to the Project 332

17.4 Addressing Black Swans 335

17.5 Project Value Realization Planning 339

17.6 Challenges to Developing Effective Responses 343

17.7 Rating Project Value Realization Planning 345

18 Project Restructuring - Flexibility Is Required 347

18.1 Revising Assumptions and Scenarios 349

18.2 Corporate Strategy and Project Objective Changes 351

18.3 Management of Stakeholder Expectations 352

18.4 Project Specification Changes 354

18.5 Risk Mitigation and Project Value Realization Planning 355

18.6 Project Governance Changes 359

18.7 Rating Restructuring and Response to Competitor Actions 361

Part VI Performance Evaluation

19 Project Performance Evaluation - Make It Useful 365

19.1 Performance Criteria 366

19.2 Performance Evaluation Areas 369

19.3 Project Performance Assessment 373

19.4 Performance Evaluation Challenges 375

19.5 Post Mortem Analysis 379

19.6 Rating of Project Performance Evaluation 382

20 Project Success Evaluation - Best at the Idea Stage 383

20.1 Determinants of Likelihood of Project Success 384

20.2 Embracing the RBC/VRIO Framework 387

20.3 Why Predict Project Success at the Idea Stage 388

20.4 Methods to Assess and Predict Project Success at the Idea Stage 391

20.5 Rating the Evaluation of Likelihood of Project Success 400

21 Summary and Conclusions 403

21.1 Recurring Themes and Conditions for Successful Projects 405

21.2 Lessons Learned 408

21.3 Conclusions 410

Bibliography and References 415

Index 423