Why are we doing this project?

Organizations undertake projects all the time. But how often is the decision to undertake as project based on a strong business case? How often are proposed projects reviewed and approved by executive management? How often does management review the purpose, direction and progress of a project during its lifecycle? How often does management end up asking itself “Why did we take on this project in the first place?”

The answers to these questions, respectively, would probably be: “Rarely,” “Sometimes,” “Occasionally,” and “Because it seemed like a good idea at the time.” In fact, says author Mike Peterson, many organisations have difficulty turning their business ideas into reality. In this article, however, he offers some practice-proven guidelines for avoiding the mistakes commonly made by organisations when undertaking new projects.

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