Strategic project management (SPM) defines how a project may benefit an organization’s efficiency as a whole. A strategic management process establishes ongoing practices to ensure that an organization’s resources and processes support the strategic plan’s objectives, goals, and mission statement.
So, in this article, we’ll guide you on what is strategic project management, the level of strategic plans, why important strategic planning, the process of strategic planning, and the benefits of strategic project management.
Table of Contents
What Is Strategic
Strategies help managers identify special and focused approaches to compile things to do to create an impact (what we need to change). For example, If a company needs to enhance financial revenue into it ( the strategic gap). It may go for a wholly different market ( the strategy). Here, ‘ if and may’ means that a company needs different analyses such as Situational, Innovation, Value chain analysis, Technical innovation, etc.
These analyses help you identify the strategic gap and decide on the strategy to fill it. In short, strategic means the direction scope of a company over a long time to acquire benefits in the changing environment by proper use of resources and competencies.
What Is Strategic Thinking
Strategic thinking is a creative process of scanning options or actions that give you maximum advantages to make an implementable ( practical) cunning plan. On the other hand, project managers can use these elements during the strategic thinking process.
- Creative – Requires thinking outside the box
- Relentless – Requires analysis techniques
- Options – There should be many options to select ( if you haven’t any options, you haven’t any action)
- Actions – You have to act
- Advantages – You should focus on maximizing the results
- Implementable – Strategies may be feasible or practical
- Cunning plan – The ability to beat others ( competitors)
How to Make a Strategy
As a project manager, you should search for the strategic gap ( what we need to change). This would be the gap between organically where we are going and where we need to go ( goal). Then, it can easily identify the actions ( what we need to do ) to go there.
But in strategic management, before identifying action, it aims to formulate strategies ( special and focus approaches) to develop actions to fill the strategic gap.
Strategic gap ( what we need to change)
To make a strategy, it needs to know strategic and organic goals to identify the strategic gap. In short, the goal will provide input to develop strategies. Further, the special and focused approaches ( strategies) will facilitate the identification of what we need to do ( action). Here, ‘facilitate’ means that the strategies enrich ‘action’ in terms of cost-effectiveness, ROI, business value, talent engagement, etc.
What Is Strategic Project Management?
Strategic project management (SPM) defines how a project may benefit an organization’s efficiency as a whole. It is a process of thinking about your projects in light of their connection to your strategic plan. Furthermore, this process combines project management frameworks, methodologies, and business strategies to drive organizational breakthroughs.
In short, strategic project management is a vital process of managing complex projects by linking project management techniques and business strategies to implement the strategy and deliver organizational breakthroughs.
Furthermore, strategic project management isn’t just about managing big because it’s designing and managing your portfolio of projects. So, it helps support your strategy and connects to the big picture. However, to ensure this, you can ask the following questions,
- Is the mix of projects sufficient and appropriate to deliver your project’s strategic objectives?
- Do you have the appropriate resource allocation to meet the project goals?
- Are you flexible enough to adapt quickly if project schedules or resources change?
- Are you prioritizing projects according to how they connect to and impact your strategic plan?
Furthermore, project management software can help manage your projects to meet their goals and the larger ones of the organization.
The Strategic Importance of Managing Knowledge
- Concerned with managing knowledge for reusing existing knowledge and creating new knowledge
- Improves knowledge sharing and knowledge integration
- It is an ongoing process to use prior knowledge to produce or increase the project outcomes, and knowledge created by the project is available to support organizational operations and future projects
- The strategic importance of knowledge management goes beyond documenting the knowledge and lessons learned
- Knowledge is essential to the proper use of the skills, experience, and expertise of the project team and the project resources in a perfect way to achieve competitive advantages
- Build an innovative environment that supports sharing knowledge with organization members and stakeholders to make the best strategic decision
- Allows the organization to choose the best strategic options available to succeed the project
- Essential to build the trust and motivation of the employees, which supports the smooth functioning of the project activities
Level of Strategic Plans
Strategic planning activities typically focus on three areas as follows,
- Corporate level strategic – A corporate strategic plan concerned with the overall scope of the organization. It mainly focuses on organizing and aligning the structure of the business and its policies, processes, and senior leadership to meet desired project goals. Ex: setting the vision, mission, objectives, etc.
- Business level strategic – Business level strategy helps determine how variance business units should complete in their markets. For example: To create a better human resources (HR) policy than competence.
- Operational level strategic – Operational level strategy helps determine how an organization’s operational/functional parts deliver effectively to corporate and business level strategies. For example: Managing employees effectively.
Why Is Strategic Planning Important?
A strategic plan is a roadmap to achieving the business goals. So, every business needs direction and organizational goals to work toward. As such, strategic planning offers that type of guidance. Without such guidance, there is no way to provide essential details on whether a business is on track to reach its goals. The following are the crucial aspects when needed for strategic planning.
- Strategic planning involves selecting project goals. Typically, project managers use the SMART method when planning goals. It involves specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. However, establishing project goals is crucial because it helps achieve acceptable outcomes.
- Typically, strategic planning starts with a mission because it will provide an organization with a sense of purpose and direction. Furthermore, the organization’s mission statement describes essential details such as who it is, what it does, and where it wants to go. Simply put, missions are typically broad but actionable.
- Strategic planning can align with short-term goals. Furthermore, it can help project managers to make everyday decision-making that better aligns with business strategy.
- Strategic planning helps project managers periodically evaluate progress against the plan and make the necessary adjustments or changes in response to changing conditions.
Process of Strategic Project Management
Most strategic planning cycles can be summarized as follows.
Defining the Project
Defining the project is the first step of the strategic project management process. Typically, this process includes the following key steps.
- Identifying key problems to be addressed
- Defining project scope and main focus
- Creating overall mission and objectives
Accordingly, during this process, project managers gather as much information and data relevant to accomplishing their vision and understanding the needs of the business as a suitable entity.
Creating the Strategy
Creating the strategy is the second step of the strategic project management process. Typically, this process includes the following key steps.
- Explore the internal and external environment
- Defining strategic goal
- Examine strategic options
- Appraising the attractiveness of the project and implementation difficulties
Project Planning
Project planning is the third step of the strategic project management process. Typically, this process includes the following key steps.
- Detail analysis of key activities
- Analysis of how these activities are networked
- Appraisal of uncertainties
- Financial appraisal and identification drivers
Implementing and Controlling
Implementing and controlling is the fourth step of the strategic project management process. Typically, this process includes the following key steps.
- Define project responsibilities
- Identify implementation and difficulties
Project strategic implementation is vital to the success of the business venture. If the overall project strategy doesn’t work with the business’ current structure, a new structure should be installed at the beginning of this process. Every team member within the organization must be made clear of their responsibilities and duties and how that fits in with the overall project goals.
Review and Learning
Review and learning is the last step of the strategic project management process. Typically, this process includes the following key steps.
- Consistent review of internal and external issues
- Making corrective action when necessary to improve the strategic project management process
- Determining progress by measuring the actual results versus the plan
The Benefits of Strategic Project Management
- Strategic project management helps project managers establish a link between the organization and project goals
- Strategic project management helps you check whether the project and strategy are matched
- To generate numerous options to implement the project
- Strategic project management helps you understand opportunities and threats as well as strengths and weaknesses
- To match project activities and corporate goals
- Strategic project management helps you translate strategy into action and establish stakeholder support
Read More: 15 project management strategies to achieve acceptable project outcomes
