Business-as-usual, Projects, Programme and Portfolio Management
Projects are unique, transient endeavours, undertaken to bring about change and achieve planned objectives, which can be defined in terms of outputs, outcomes, or benefits.
A project is usually deemed to be a success if it achieves the objectives according to its acceptance criteria, normally within an agreed timescale and budget.
Project-work is conducted across normal organizational functional areas, setting up a temporary organization, drawing on the skills, expertise, and knowledge of the organization, as well as third parties.
Projects normally use capital expenditure to acquire, upgrade, and maintain assets, services, products, and capabilities. They may also need to consider the ultimate requirements for decommissioning and disposal.
In some situations you may find multiple projects running in parallel, or related to one another, to provide support or to build additional capabilities.
Multiple concurrent projects may require prioritization in terms of scheduled deployment, the importance of primary deliverables, or the availability of key resources, skills, or individuals.
Differences between Projects and Business-as-usual (BAU)
The term business-as-usual (BAU) refers to an organization’s normal day-to-day operations, also referred to as steady-state.
Projects contrast with BAU in a number of ways.
It is important for the success of the project that the project’s unique characteristics are recognized and that the most appropriate structures, management, and controls are put in place.
Project Characteristics
A project is terminated after achieving its objectives, it is limited, temporary in nature, with pre-defined start and endpoints
Projects deliver a unique product or service
Projects are formed with temporary teams from across organizational boundaries to meet project needs. The project may or may not be aligned with the organizational structure
Projects have a dedicated project manager appointed for the duration of the project, and may not have direct line authority over the project team
Business-as-usual (BAU) Characteristics
BAU (often called Operations) sustain the organization to achieve its business purpose and goals, and they do so in an ongoing manner with no defined endpoint
Business-as-usual delivers repetitive, non-unique product, service, or results, and their teams are formed within the organizational structure and aligned to suit functional/operational demands
They have long-term formal management with direct line authority over functional unit personnel
Typically, a project’s objective is to deliver outputs, for example a software solution, a building, a process or a service. The project team transitions the outputs to an internal or external client to deliver the desired outcomes and benefits.
Sometimes, the project also includes the work required to deliver outcomes and benefits. In such cases, the project team leads more of the work to deliver the changes required by the client to realise the project’s intended benefits.
However, BAU uses the products of the project to realize the benefits.
It is unusual for projects to deliver any benefits into the organisation during their deployment (unless there is some form of phased roll-out, or a delivery contractor benefits by being paid to deliver specific phases).
All projects trade the triple constraints of time, cost and quality in achieving the defined scope of the project within the defined tolerance for risk.
Project managers must understand the relative priorities of time, cost and quality as an important part of the decision as to which life cycle approach will suit best.
Differences between project, programme, and portfolio management
Project, programme, and portfolio management is concerned with managing discrete packages of work to achieve objectives. The way in which the work is managed depends upon a wide variety of factors.
The scale, significance, and complexity of the work are obvious factors; relocating a small office and organizing an international event share many basic principles but offer very different managerial challenges.
Scale and complexity are not the only factors. Managing a major infrastructure development for delivery to a client will need a different approach from internally managing a business merger.
The Initiative Objectives
A good distinguishing factor is often to look at the nature of the objectives.
Objectives may be expressed in terms of outputs (such as a new Help Desk factility), outcomes (such as staff being relocated from multiple locations to a new central site), benefits (such as reduced travel and facilities management costs) or strategic objectives (such as a 20 percent increase in market share in two years)
Commonly, endevours of a lesser scale and complexity, leading to an output, is referred to as a project.
Management of Change
Work that combines projects with change management to deliver benefits is a programme, while a collection of projects and programmes designed to achieve strategic objectives is called a portfolio.
However, some endeavors that only deliver outputs may be very large and complex, while some work that delivers benefits and encompasses the management of change may be relatively small and straightforward.
Small organizations will have strategic portfolios that are nowhere near as complex and expensive as, say, a large government defense project.
Although projects, programmes and portfolios are often spoken of as being mutually exclusive approaches, they are just combinations of managerial tools and techniques used to describe typical sets of circumstances.
The concept of projects, programmes, and portfolios should be thought of as just points on a gradual scale of managing the effort to deliver objectives.
APM 2021 – Project Management Qualification Masterclass
APM Project Management Qualification (PMQ)
Designed to meet and exceed the APM PMQ 2021 Syllabus
The APMG APM Project Management Qualification (PMQ) is an internationally recognised knowledge based qualification (IPMA Level D) that enables you to satisfy the needs of modern-day projects by fully participating in project endeavours ranging from individual assignments to large capital projects. It is the benchmark qualification for anyone embarking on a project management career, or looking to add project management to their portfolio of skills.
About this course
Projex Academy’s APM Project Management Qualification self-study video training contains all the training and materials you need to attain your APMG APM PMQ Qualification – without attending a classroom!
This certificate is the first qualification in the APM’s development path, and there are NO Prerequisites to prepare or sit the exam
Get a firm understanding of the core skills needed to be a successful project manager. Our fully-accredited e-learning allows you to learn at a pace that suits you, at home or on the go.
What is included?
The APM PMQ MASTERCLASS is designed for project managers, project team members, and all professionals who want to improve their career scope using best practice in project management within any industry.
Our Masterclass online learning for APM PMQ combines approximately 15 hours of online learning, with simple to understand HD video lessons, presentation and study material for students to download and enjoy at their own pace and time. Extremely cost effective, extremely knowledge effective and guaranteed to boost your career.
