High Performing Business – Project Initiation – Feasibility
Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT
Project Initiation – BEFORE starting any project, a PMP learns how to make sure it’s feasible to pursue that project.
It’s exciting to create lots of ideas and see extensive possibilities. In a world where anything is possible, it helps to also learn how probable it is for you (and others) to achieve your dreams.
Being an entrepreneur, I have the inside scoop on this dreaming thing. I am an idea machine. And over the years, I’ve learned, some ideas make more sense then others. Yes, I’ve pursued some fairly crazy business concepts. But of late, I’m much more deliberate and pragmatic on what it is I go after.
I created an opportunity scan process to evaluate ideas. In project management, the first step in business feasibility analysis is to define the feasibility criteria. I made this up partially from decades of experience, but also by using Michael Porter’s Five Force Analysis to evaluate the competitive strategy of my company’s capability to pursue a specific idea. (Cheetah Learning students learn how to do this feasibility assessment technique in our 40 hour online Project Turnaround course.)
Once I define my feasibility criteria (and this does change over time) and weight each criteria for importance – then I evaluate each opportunity (or idea) to see how well it meets each feasibility criteria. Most ideas I realize are not currently feasible without further refinement and research. But the ones that do make sense for us to pursue become readily apparent.
The job of a Project Management Professional (PMP) is to help the leadership of an operation pick the right projects to pursue. Right also means “feasible.” People who become PMP certified, as part of their training to pass the PMP certification exam through Cheetah Learning, learn the importance of doing feasibility studies. Many take the extra training after they earn their PMP, to learn how to do the feasibility studies through Cheetah’s Project Turnaround program.
Download Cheetah’s Free Smartstart Guide to becoming a Project Management Professional. Learn more about how to pass the PMP exam online today.
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