How to prepare a project idea for primetime

Project ideas are what support careers in project management — and present possibilities for moving your organization forward. Sometimes, project ideas need more work before they should or would be accepted. Here are indicators that a project idea isn’t ready and how to improve it:

• The sponsorship prospects aren’t clear. A great question about a project idea is, “Who would be an appropriate sponsor for this initiative?” If the answer isn’t clear or several sponsors might be needed to fulfill sponsorship responsibilities, that’s a problem. A project is doomed without sponsor commitment. The fix: restructure the project idea to align with a potential sponsor’s scope of responsibility. 
• Unclear benefits. For a valid project idea, 1 – who will benefit? and 2 – how will those benefits be realized and measured? If you can’t answer those questions, the idea might still be valid, but more work is needed before proceeding. Look for benefits resulting from changes to business processes, technology solutions, or customer support approaches. Then, document the answers to the questions above.
• Unclear funding sources. For every project idea, it’s essential to ask, “How will we pay for this?” If the answer is not clear, more work is needed to determine where the project’s benefits will be realized. Analyze the project benefits to identify the business area that will benefit from improvements – that’s your candidate for funding.
• Technology challenges exist. Some valid project ideas face technology platforms that struggle to handle change. Either the systems are too old or fragile, or the backlog of changes for the technology team is too large. In this case, you can consider two approaches. First, can benefits be obtained without extensive technology changes. Alternatively, if the benefits are large enough, consider contracting specialized technical or supplementary resources to address the technological changes needed to implement the project idea.
• Lack of strategic alignment. Resources and/or funding shortages often constrain organizations. Project ideas that don’t support the organization’s strategic direction aren’t a good idea. If necessary, restructure the project idea to support the organization’s strategy — or dismiss it as one that doesn’t fit current business priorities.

If you’re a project manager who doesn’t hear about project ideas early on, the points in this article are great topics to discuss as you finalize your project charter. If the project rushes ahead before the points are resolved, incorporate them as risks in your project planning. That way, you can discuss risk response activities with your key stakeholders.

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This article belongs to the Bonnie’s Project Pointers newsletter series, which has more than 70,000 subscribers. This newsletter is 100% written by a human (no aliens or AIs involved). If you like this article, you can subscribe to receive notifications when a new article posts.

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