Which Projects Should I Choose?
How do you assess value and the criteria of value-based decisions as they apply to project prioritization? Most organizations think of project value purely in terms of financial criteria - project costs vs. benefits in dollars. However, there can be many more aspects to value - strategic benefit, risk, alignment and balance. The criteria and their individual importance will vary from organization to organization, and may change over time. The important thing is to consider all aspects of value, not just the purely financial. For example, one project may not bring a lot of financial benefits on its own. But, it might reduce risk or enable other projects that do produce significant financial benefits.
By applying value-based decision methods to your project prioritization process, you will truly determine the best projects for your organization - your top initiatives. This is where the focus should be placed. The beauty is that the prioritization process need not be overly burdensome. For example, for most organizations a simple weighted scoring model combined with knowledge of alignment with business objectives is enough to assess value and make project comparisons. Once in place, this will also facilitate agreement from the executive team on the top initiatives.
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Making
Value-Based Decisions
