in owner-organisations’ strategic and
operations management contexts
Project-related contributions to organisational objectives
SERIES ARTICLE
By Alan Stretton, PhD (Hon)
Sydney, Australia
INTRODUCTION
For some years I have been advancing the case for viewing the roles of projects in the broader contexts in which they are undertaken, rather than simply focusing on the projects themselves. In particular, I have written quite extensively about the role of projects in the most immediate context for most of them, namely the organisation within which they are undertaken (the Owner Organisation) – and particularly their role in helping that organisation achieve its strategic objectives (as viewed by that organisation). This kind of user-oriented perspective has been largely absent from much of the project management (PM) literature, most noticably in the mainstream PM standards and similar guidelines. Their focus has been dominantly on the project, rather as if it were the end in itself, rather than as it being a means of helping someone else – generally an organisation – achieve broader end objectives.
However, the 7th edition of PMI’s Standard for Project Management and a Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMI 2021) has changed its focus quite markedly, and in several respects. Importantly, for the purposes of this series of articles, these changes include a shift from a focus on governing projects etc., to a concern with their broader contribution to advancing organisational strategy and the achievement of business objectives. This is illustrated in the following quotation from PMI 2021:xi, which relates to its change to what it describes as “a systems view of project management”.
A systems focus for value delivery changes the perspective from one of governing portfolios, programs, and projects to focusing on the value change that links those and other business capabilities to advancing organizational strategy, value, and business objectives.
This change in PMI’s focus has prompted me to, first, link my previous models of organisational strategy and objectives with a broadly corresponding figure in PMI 2021. The strategic management stages of an abbreviated version of this linked model will then be used as basic reference points for all three articles.
This three-part series of articles will then discuss the following project-related contribution topics in seriatim.
- Some existing project-related supplier-organisation services in owner-organisations’ strategic and operations management contexts
- What’s in a name? Portfolios, programs and projects in owner-organisations’ strategic and operations management contexts
- From project outputs to organisational outcomes and benefits, and the roles of user groups, and of program/project management (PPM)
Before getting into details on the topics in item 1 above, we will briefly discuss the linear version of my previous models of organisational strategic management, link it with a broadly corresponding figure in PMI 2021, and propose an abbreviated version of this linked model, to be used as basic reference points for all three articles.
LINKING MY BASIC ORGANISATIONAL STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT MODEL WITH A CORRESPONDING FIGURE FROM PMI 2021
My basic linear organisational strategic management model
I first developed a basic linear organisational strategic management framework in Stretton 2017k and 2017l. An updated version of this framework is shown in Figure 1-1.
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Editor’s note: This is the first article in a series by Alan Stretton, PMWJ honorary global advisor, life member of AIPM in Australia and one of the world’s true pioneers in the project management professional field. This series builds on his previous articles and papers related to projects and project management in the context of organizational strategic and operational management. View his profile and previous works at https://pmworldlibrary.net/authors/alan-stretton/
How to cite this work: Stretton, A. (2022). 1. Some existing project-related supplier-organisation services in owner-organisations’ strategic and operations management contexts, Series on project-related contributions to organisational objectives, PM World Journal, Vol. XI, Issue I, January. Available online at https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/pmwj113-Jan2022-Stretton-project-related-contributions-to-organizational-objectives-series-article1.pdf
About the Author
Alan Stretton, PhD
Faculty Corps, University of Management
and Technology, Arlington, VA (USA)
Life Fellow, AIPM (Australia)
Alan Stretton is one of the pioneers of modern project management. He is currently a member of the Faculty Corps for the University of Management & Technology (UMT), USA. In 2006 he retired from a position as Adjunct Professor of Project Management in the Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), Australia, which he joined in 1988 to develop and deliver a Master of Project Management program. Prior to joining UTS, Mr. Stretton worked in the building and construction industries in Australia, New Zealand and the USA for some 38 years, which included the project management of construction, R&D, introduction of information and control systems, internal management education programs and organizational change projects. He has degrees in Civil Engineering (BE, Tasmania) and Mathematics (MA, Oxford), and an honorary PhD in strategy, programme and project management (ESC, Lille, France). Alan was Chairman of the Standards (PMBOK) Committee of the Project Management Institute (PMI®) from late 1989 to early 1992. He held a similar position with the Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM), and was elected a Life Fellow of AIPM in 1996. He was a member of the Core Working Group in the development of the Australian National Competency Standards for Project Management. He has published over 230 professional articles and papers. Alan can be contacted at alanailene@bigpond.com.au
To see more works by Alan Stretton, visit his author showcase in the PM World Library at http://pmworldlibrary.net/authors/alan-stretton/.
