Executive's Guide to Project Management: Organizational Processes and Practices for Supporting Complex Projects

Project Birth Process

The project birth process begins with an idea and ends when the idea becomes an approved and funded project attached to the appropriate portfolio.

Project Proposed

All projects begin with an idea to address an existing problem or take advantage of a new business opportunity. It is the responsibility of the proposer or their staff to provide business validation that the proposed project makes good business sense.

The proposed project is documented with a one-page Project Overview Statement (POS) and submitted to the appropriate portfolio to be evaluated regarding its alignment to the portfolio strategy and its suitability for support. The POS originated at Texas Instruments as part of its new product research and development process. I started using it in 1963 while I was an employee at Texas Instruments and have continuously adapted it to the project proposal process that I also developed. It is invaluable. The POS is a five-part document which is discussed in the following sections.

Problem or Opportunity Statement

Every organization has a collection of known problems and untapped business opportunities. Several attempts to alleviate part of or the entire problem may have already been made but the problem persists. The POS gives proposers a way to relate their idea to a known problem and to offer a full or partial solution. If the problem is serious enough and if the proposed solution is feasible, further action will be taken. In this case, senior managers ...