Chapter 1 of Maximizing Project Value introduced the idea of value. Chapter 2 speaks to where and how that value flows. A couple years ago there was confusion about the term value. Let's restate it here again. The value John speaks to is the business value. He speaks to Earned Value later in this book, but even more so in Project Management the Agile Way.
Chapter 2 Highlights
- There is a distinction between project value and business value - project value is measured by Earned Value - how much of your budget did you earn? Business value must be derived from the business strategy. A business case if fine but a measurable strategy is better. Balanced Scorecard is the best way to connect business value with Earned Value. Here's how to do that Notes on Balanced Scorecard.
- Interests of the customer must be balanced as the value is developed - one way to do that is with a Scorecard that connects project performance with strategy. Then the customer can see the Measures of Effectiveness (MoE) of the project's outcomes against the fulfillment of the strategy.
- Projects are the instrument of strategy - yep this is how strategy gets implemented. The literature shows strategies fail most often during execution.
- There is a six steps process from opportunity to projects. Projects drive value - I prefer the Goal Question Measurement approach to making these connections. John's approach is straight forward and simple.
I've found what I was looking for in Chapter 7 that makes the book critical to our success - connecting Business Value with Capabilities Based Planning. I won't skip ahead. For now Chapter 2, is the starting point for putting these ideas to work.
