Mission, Vision, and Strategy in Project Management
Have you ever worked on a project where you were so consumed by the work that you never asked ‘why’? ‘Why are we doing this project? Why is it important? Why is everyone working 80 hours a week? You complete task after task after task without knowing ‘why’! Never thinking about the big picture strategy that could justify the insanity!
Kitty's new night vision goggles by h?lf empty via Flickr
If this sounds familiar, you are not alone! Your view of the big picture is in the dark and your vision is clouded over as you struggle with your project’s sense of purpose! In short, you are working on a project without a visible Mission/Vision/Strategy (MVS) Statement. The MVS was never communicated to you and the team. The MVS has the answer; the project vision. The MVS communicates the big picture.
Communication is what we do on a daily basis with one another through many methods. According to Dictionary.Com (1), Communication is the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing, or signs. According to PMBOK, 4thedition, communication is the management of project information. (2).
Communication is the process used by one person to send information to another person. For example, using the PMBOK Basic Communication Model (3), a Business Owner (sender) communicates a new website idea to a Project Manager (receiver). The Project Manager receives the information and translates it back to the Business Owner. This process of communicating has been with us since the dawn of time. If we really are communicating, why do projects fail? Is communication the root of the problem? Many project managers will say timelines were too aggressive, there was not enough money; the client submitted additional requests, etc. Communication is the basis for everything we say, hear, do, learn, and see. We communicate:
——–>requirements——>designs——>plans
<———results——– status——–issues——->
For each of these topics, we have forms, templates and processes.
Did you notice the above list does not include a mission, vision and strategy statement? Is it part of a company’s Organizational Process Assets (OPA)? The MVS should be part of every OPA. Organizations have MVS statements that are communicated to employees, clients and the public at large. You may see them advertised on TV, displayed in a newspaper ad, or on a nice tombstone at Company headquarters. Some are easy to remember with a catchy phrase while others never grab their audiences’ attention. All projects should have a MVS statement. The MVS statement provides focus to the project team. Like a surgeon performing an operation, a MVS is critical to the success of a project.
There should be an entire process for developing a MVS statement, communicating it and ensuring the project team embraces it. Everything that happens during a project should be the result of the MVS. Project teams should implement the following in support of the MVS.
>————–> frequent reminders of the MVS <——————-> a dedicated website——————>
>————–> associating all work to the MVS <—————— > visible display of the MVS——— >
A formal communication methodology ensures the MVS is communicated to all project stakeholders to maintain MVS focus and answer those ‘why’ questions. Frequent reminders keep the MVS fresh and alive with the project stakeholders. A dedicated website supports the importance of the MVS and promotes MVS visibility. Associating all work to the MVS ensures everyone understands why they are working so hard, what the end goal is and helps the stakeholders embrace and believe in it.
A MVS will keep the project team focused on where they are, where they are headed, and why they are doing what they do. It creates an atmosphere of teamwork, focus and collective enthusiasm ensuring project success. The MVS ensures you won’t have to ask ‘Where did we go wrong’.
References:
1. – Communication definition – Dictionary.com
2. – PMBOK, 4th edition. Page 243
3. – PMBOK, 4th edition. Page 255
May 20th, 2009 at 9:02 am
Hi Jerry,
Interesting question, but I suspect the answer is, it really doesn’t matter a whole lot……
Not sure if you’ve ever been in the military, but as a junior officer or NCO, did we ever have much of a clue about the “big picture”? And would it have made much difference if we did?
Our jobs, as field grade officers and NCO’s was to do the best we can with what we had to work with to achieve the days objective, and we had to hope and trust that if we achieved what we were supposed to on a day to day and week to week basis, that someone making the big bucks had some clue what was going on.
Having been in project management all my working life, I see it very much the same way. If you are happy living the life of a field grade officer, making do with what you have, building and developing a really dynamic, functioning team, doing what you are told to do on a day to day and week to week basis, then project management is your thing. If you feel you MUST see the big picture, then you need to get an MBA and move up the ranks to become one of the generals.
That’s how I see it in retrospect of 40+ GREAT years…….
BR,
Dr. PDG, Jakarta
http://www.getpmcertified.com
Reply
May 20th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
Hi Jerry
Thanks for flagging the importance of communication within project management, I think you are right in that it is often overlooked and it is crucial to delivering successful projects.
My experience – as a communications consultant to projects over 15+ years – is that systems facilitate good communications, for instance by automating or documenting common processes.
But communications itself can’t be systemitised because comms is all about relationships and much more than managing project information.
Good comms needs to be flexible and responsive. Its role is to gather support for the project particularly among senior execs, to understand and then change perceptions, overcome resistance, change attitudes and perceptions, publicise successes.
How this is done depends on each audience and the comms channels available to the project team, along with the instincts of the comms lead – hopefully based on previous experience.
In the same way mission, values and vision are descriptions that should reflect existing culture within an organisation and that audiences recognise as real and authentic. They inform project communications so it is also authentic and fits within the culture.
You are right in that many projects overlook communications until things begin to go wrong, often at rollout when resistance rears its head. But equally many projects do include communications in the requirements stage and then develop practical plans linked to objectives.
Regards, Jo Ann
Reply
May 21st, 2009 at 2:05 am
Twitter Comment
Can project communications be systematised or is it about relationships [link to post]
– Posted using Chat Catcher
May 21st, 2009 at 2:53 am
Interesting ideas. And I would agree that communicating the purpose of a project – not only to all team members, but ultimately to the beneficiaries of the activity – is important.
But, in my more than 20 years in corporate communication, I’ve tended to shy away from the formal MVS process because, it usually becomes an exercise in spinning wheels.
Because an MVS is a committment and a promise, managers and executives tend to over manage them to stay safe and within the minimum that is doable. So over and over again, I witnessed a great deal of management and communications time being spent on creating long winded, clause packed statements that everyone could agree with but no one could really understand.
To my mind, no one has ever topped the old Avis slogan – “We Try Harder” as a clear statement of where a company wanted to go and how it was going to get there. It worked on many internal and external levels. I doubt very much that it was the product of a committee charged with coming up with a Mission and Vision Statement.
Reply
May 21st, 2009 at 3:09 am
In my experience Jerry, once the project is underway, it is too late to be asking those ‘why’ questions.
What the project team needs to have communicated to it is the business plan. The formal document that usually contains this information is the Market Requirements document (MRD). The MRD makes the case for the company to invest in the project or program and connects the project to the companies MVS. The MRD is not widely shared as it often contains company financial performance, market share and competitive threats that only product managers, marketing leadership and investment board need to know.
The Product Requirements Document (PRD) defines the requirements. PMBOK begins the journey at the PRD stage.
Pradeep Bhanot, Product Marketing Director, CA Clarity, CA
Reply
May 21st, 2009 at 3:38 am
Twitter Comment
Just commented on a blogpost the role of an MRD in a project at [link to post]
– Posted using Chat Catcher
May 22nd, 2009 at 1:35 pm
Jerry,
This is a great topic and a favorite for me.
Up front communications is the most important in my view. Often is the case that a lead or PM hits the ground running and does not spend enough time on the primary focus. That is why a strategy is so important. Formulating a strategy involves a common sense iterative approach by 1) gather information; 2) develop processes and procedures to analyze information; 3) determine decision points or phase gates; 4) implement the decision. Communicating the strategy early and often is very important. People or more commonly decision makers often shoot from the hips and do not spend an appropriate amount of time on the first step. Also, it is common for some individuals to make a decision and not keep an open mind. Flexibility is important in an ever changing environment. That being stated, it is also important to stand ground on some issues. Issues related to the primary decision points must be monitored and regulated using procedures and practices to make sure performance expectations are being met.
Travis
Reply