Project strategy: A template for analyzing real life projects

Abstract

This paper is about an industry independent template used to analyze real life project case studies. This template has been used by graduate students post-project to analyze over 650 case studies. Any project can be analyzed with this thorough template. The design is flexible and comprehensive. Scale is easily integrated into but does not influence the analytical outcome. There are over seventy analytical metrics. Some are highly vectored where a single aspect is analyzed in depth and detail. Company processes, methodologies, risks, cultures, leadership, and organization, as well as, customer, user deliverables, needs, and risks are included. The alignment of corporate, business, project, and customer strategies are defined, described, and analyzed to see how they contribute to competitive advantage/value. This analysis provides students with an in-depth look at project management in their company and allows them to compare their company's project management practice to those of the other students. When used as a pre-project tool, development of the project's Strategic Focus and Success Dimensions contributes to a unified Project Strategy and an effective Project Plan that strategically aligns company, process, customer, and deliverables leading to project success and increased competitive advantage/value.