Effective Project Management: Traditional, Agile, Extreme, Sixth Edition

Gaining Approval to Launch the Project

Getting your POS approved means that the senior management team thinks your idea addresses an important business situation and that they will give you the resources you need to develop your project plan. Your project proposal has to convince them that your approach makes good business sense and the resources you are requesting are in line with the business value that will be generated. To gain that approval, you may have to submit and revise the proposal several times. That will come about for one or more of the following reasons:

• The cost-benefit is not in your favor — Decompose your solution and estimate benefits by function. Perhaps you can trim the solution down by eliminating functions with unfavorable cost-benefit ratios.
• The risks of failure are too high — This happens often. For example, a new technology or one for which your organization is not experienced is the major contributor to high risk. Replace that technology with a more stable, well-known technology and wait for time to correct the situation.
• The total project cost exceeds available funding — The scope triangle would suggest trimming scope or decomposing the project into phases.
• Other projects are competing for the same resources — Maybe it's time to press your sponsor into service. The politics or the leverage your sponsor can bring to bear may be sufficient.

For any or all of these reasons, you may be asked to revise and resubmit your proposal.