BUS605: Strategic Project Management

The quiet drive back to the office was a welcome respite for Tim Williams, even though he was catching the tail end of rush hour traffic. Traffic was moving well below the speed limit, so the time alone gave him a chance to reflect on the activities of the last few weeks. The business case for Husky Air was complete, and Tim had presented it to the company's senior management not more than 30 minutes ago.

Just as Tim was about to turn on the car's radio, his cell phone rang and he was immediately brought back to reality. Tim answered, and heard his business partner Kellie Matthews ask, "So, how did it go?"

"Not bad!" Tim replied. "In fact, senior management approved our recommendation and is willing to make funds available for us to go on to the next step".

Kellie laughed and teased, "I guess that means we can pay the office rent next month. So what's our next step?"

The traffic had now come to a complete stop, so Tim didn't feel that talking on his cell phone would distract him. "Now that we've completed the business case and Husky Air gave us the approval and funds, I would say that the first phase of our project methodology is complete," he said. "The next thing we need to do is develop a project charter and baseline plan that will outline what we're going to do, how we're going to do it, when we're going to do it, and how much it will cost".

"Wow," exclaimed Kellie, "I thought that was all outlined in the business case".

"The business case was a strategic plan, the project charter and baseline project plan are going to be our tactical plan," Tim explained. "This will also be a reality check to make sure that we can deliver the application to our client within the guidelines that were specified in the business case".

"Will this require another approval by Husky Air's management?" asked Kellie".

Actually, there will be several more," answered Tim. "In fact, the CEO was pleased that our methodology has approval or review points throughout the project life cycle. He said that Husky Air hired a consulting firm a few years ago to develop an inventory system. The consultants didn't keep senior management informed after the project was approved. So the CEO was surprised to find out that the project was only half complete when the agreed upon project deadline arrived. Husky Air's management had only two choices: Cancel the project and take the loss, or bite the bullet and continue funding a project that would cost twice as much as originally planned. Needless to say, they intend never to hire that consulting firm again".

"Well if the client is happy then we should be happy as well," Kellie said.

The traffic started moving again, and Tim said "I'll see you in the office tomorrow morning. We have a lot of work ahead of us".

Kellie agreed, and they both said goodbye before hanging up. Tim relaxed as the traffic started to move again. Even though there was still much work to be done before the actual work on the system would begin, he felt good that they had cleared the first hurdle. "What the heck," he thought. He turned off at the next exit and headed for his favorite Italian restaurant. "It's important to celebrate the small but important successes along the way," he told himself. "Pizza is perfect".
Things to Think About

1. Why is it important to have several status review and decision points throughout the project's life cycle?
2. Aside from reality checks, what other purposes do status reviews and decision points throughout the project's life cycle provide?
3. How does a business case differ from the project charter/project plan?
4. Why is it important to celebrate the small but important successes?