If you select the wrong projects up front, then however well you implement them you’ll be missing value. Project prioritization is a critical management process that is rarely done well.

Projects are ‘bullied’ through, are supported by spurious business cases, evaluated purely in cost/risk terms or justified as ‘mandatory’. 

Alternatively there is a view that ‘management knows best’ and no process is required. Both our and Cranfield University’s research has shown that this is not the case. We have routinely found 15-20% of portfolio expenditure is being wasted on non-strategic, low value, low relevance projects.

Prioritization is for those who genuinely want to get a return on their funds and other resources invested. It is not difficult, it just requires that the pre-requisite value-focused processes to be in place.

Prioritization asks three key questions

1. Do we want to do this project?
2. Can we do it?
3. Do we want to do it now?

A project can fail at any hurdle; but, if you think about it, a project you don’t want to do, can’t do or cannot do now is a wasted investment. 

This Guide explains what you need to put in place to have an effective prioritization process.

Understanding Project Prioritization

1. The need for prioritization
2. The financial dimension
3. The risk dimension
4. The strategic contribution dimension
5. The accountability dimension
6. The capability dimension
7. The capacity dimension
8. The business value dimension
9. The prioritization process

• Project Investment Committee/Board - to learn the nature and necessary components of prioritization
• PPMOs - who support PICs through coordinating project proposals for evaluation and manage the project portfolio
• Project and Governance teams - to understand how their projects are going to be prioritized
• Auditors - to understand the process, its necessary components and how it should work in order to audit the processes effectively
• Vendors and consultants - who want to proposed projects to organizations

• Spells out the seven dimensions necessary for effective prioritization
• Ensures everyone has a common understanding of the dimensions of prioritization and their roles
• Provides the basis for the review or design of an effective prioritization process

Coming soon