Copyright 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Chapter 2
Strategic Management and
Project Selection
Problems With Multiple Projects
1.Delays in one project delays others
2.Inefficient use of resources
3.Bottlenecks in resource availability
Project Results
30 Percent late
Over half 190 percent over budget
Over half 220 percent late
Challenges
Making sure projects closely tied to
goals and strategy
How to handle growing number of
projects
How to make projects successful
Project Management Maturity
Project management maturity refers to
mastery of skills required to manage
project competently
Number of ways to measure
Most organizations do not do well
Project Selection and Criteria of
Choice
Project selection…
–Evaluating
–Choosing
–Implementing
Same process as other business
decisions
Types of Companies
Companies considering projects fall into
two broad categories:
1.Companies whose core business is completing
projects
2.Companies whose core business is something
else
They can also be broken down as:
1.Companies looking at projects to do for others
2.Companies looking at projects to do for
themselves
Project Companies
Must select which projects they will bid on
Generally based on…
–Their expertise
–Resource they have availability
–Their chance of winning bid
Preparing a bid is expensive
They do not want to waste that effort on bids
where they are unlikely to be successful
Non-Project Companies
Must decide which potential projects
they will pursue
Available capital is the major constraint
Profitability is often the major criteria
Must evaluate approaches when there
is more than one project that can
accomplish a goal
Models
Models are used to select projects
All models simplify reality
That is, they only look at the key
variables involved in a decision
The more variables included in a
model, the more complex it becomes
Simpler models usually work better
Types of Models
Stochastic Model
–A model that includes the probabilities of events
occurring within the model. In other words, the
same inputs might yield different outputs at
different runs. Also known as a probabilistic
model.
Deterministic Model
–A model that does not include probabilities. Given
the same inputs, the outputs will always be the
same.
Criteria For Project Selection
Models
Companies only want to undertake successful
projects
Projects that fail waste resources and hurt
profitability and competitiveness
Projects that succeed improve profitability and
competitiveness
It is not possible to know ahead of time if a project
will succeed or fail
In fact, there is a continuum of possible results from
total success through absolute failure
Criteria (Continued)
Companies need a way of weeding out the
bad projects while keeping the good ones
No model can predict with absolute certainty
No model could predict
–The Exxon Valdez wreck
–The explosion of the Challenger
What we want is a model with a “good batting
average”
Model Criteria
Realism
Capability
Flexibility
Easy to use
Inexpensive
Easy to implement
Realism
Needs to include all objectives of the firm
Needs to include the firms expertise as well
as its limitations
Needs to report results in a fashion that
allows different projects to be compared, e.g.
how do we compare a project to lower
production cost and one to raise market
share
Capability
Model needs to be sophisticated
enough to deal with all projects
–Varying resource requirements
–Varying time periods
–Varying probabilities of success
Needs to be able to select the optimum
projects among all contenders
Flexibility
Needs to be able to work with all
projects
Needs to be updated as the firm and its
environment evolves
Easy to Use
Needs to be quick to gather the data
and easy to use
Easy to be able to “fit” the project in the
model
Inexpensive
Do not want the model to eat up all the
savings that result from using the
model
Expenses include the cost of writing
and maintaining the model
Also includes the expense of gathering
the data needed by the model
Easy to Implement
This is less of an issue with modern
spreadsheets
However, a model to be used to
evaluate all the firm’s projects should
be centrally maintained
The Nature of Project Selection Models
Models turn inputs into outputs
Managers decide on the values for the inputs
and evaluate the outputs
The inputs never fully describe the situation
The outputs never fully describe the
expected results
Models are tools
Managers are the decision makers
Different Factors Affecting
Outcome
Many factors affect the outcome of a project
–Some are one-time factors
The cost of an item
–Others are reoccurring
Maintenance
Not all factors are equally important
Critical factors on one project may be trivial
on another project
Types of Project Selection Models
Nonnumeric models
Numeric models
Nonnumeric Models
Models that do not return a numeric
value for a project that can be
compared with other projects
These are really not “models” but rather
justifications for projects
Just because they are not true models
does not make them all “bad”
Types of Nonnumeric Models
Sacred Cow
–A project, often suggested by top management,
that has taken on a life of its own. It continues, not
due to any justification, but “just because.”
Operating Necessity
–A project that is required in order to protect lives
or property or to keep the company in operation.
Competitive Necessity
–A project that is required in order to maintain the
company’s position in the marketplace.
Types of Nonnumeric Models Continued
Product Line Extension
–Often, projects to expand a product line are
evaluated on how well the new product meshes
with the existing product line rather than on
overall benefits.
Comparative Benefit
–Projects are subjectively rank ordered based on
their perceived benefit to the company.
Numeric Models
Models that return a numeric value for
a project that can be easily compared
with other projects
Two major categories:
1.Profit/profitability
2.Scoring
Profit/Profitability Models
Models that look at costs and revenues
–Payback period
–Discounted cash flow (NPV)
–Internal rate of return (IRR)
–Profitability index
NPV and IRR are the more common
Payback Period
The length of time until the original
investment has been recouped by the
project
A shorter payback period is better
Payback Period Example
4
000,25$
000,100$
PeriodPayback
FlowCash Annual
CostProject
PeriodPayback
Payback Period Drawbacks
1.Does not consider time value of
money
2.More difficult to use when cash flows
change over time
3.Less meaningful over longer periods
of time (due to time value of money)
Discounted Cash Flow
The value of a stream of cash inflows and
outflows in today’s dollars
Also know as discounted cash flow or just
discounting
Widely used to evaluate projects
Includes the time value of money
Includes all inflows and outflows, not just the
ones through payback point
Discounted Cash Flow Continued
Requires a percentage to use to reduce
future cash flows
–This is known as the discount rate
The discount rate may also be know as
a hurdle rate or cutoff rate
There will usually be one overall
discount rate for the company
NPV Formula
n
t t
t
k
F
A
1
0
1
(project) NPV
NPV Formula Terms
A
0Initial cash investment
F
tThe cash flow in time period t (negative for
outflows)
kThe discount rate
TThe number of years of life
A higher NPV is better
The higher the discount rate, the lower the
NPV
NPV Example
939,1$
03.015.01
000,25$
000,100$ (project) NPV
8
1
t
t
Internal Rate of Return [IRR]
The discount rate (k) that causes the NPV to
be equal to zero
The higher the IRR, the better
–While it is technically possible for a series to have
multiple IRR’s, this is not a practical issue
Finding the IRR requires a financial
calculator or computer
In Excel “=IRR(Series,Guess)”
Profitability Index
a.k.a. Benefit cost ratio
NPV divided by initial cash investment
Ratios greater than 1.0 are good
Advantages of Profitability Models
Easy to use and understand
Based on accounting data and
forecasts
Familiar and well understood
Give a go/no-go indication
Can be modified to include risk
Disadvantages of Profitability
Models
Ignore non-monetary factors
Some ignore time value of money
Discounting models (NPV, IRR) are
biased to the short-term
Payback models ignore cash flow after
payback
Scoring Models
Unweighted factor model
Weighted factor model
Unweighted Factor Model
Each factor is weighted the same
Less important factors are weighted the
same as important ones
Easy to compute
Just total or average the scores
Unweighted Factor Model Example
Figure 2-2
Weighted Factor Model
Each factor is weighted relative to its
importance
–Weighting allows important factors to stand out
A good way to include non-numeric data in
the analysis
Factors need to sum to one
All weights must be set up so higher values
mean more desirable
Small differences in totals are not meaningful
Weighted Factor Model Example
Figure B
Analysis Under Uncertainty—The
Management of Risk
Everything to do with projects is risky
Some projects, like R&D, are more risky than
others, like construction
Risks include…
–The timing of the project and its associated cash
flow
–Risk regarding the outcome of the project
–Risk about the side effects
Risk and Uncertainty
What the decision maker does
What nature does
Uncertainty
1.Pro forma financial statements
2.Risk analysis
3.Simulation (requires detailed
probability information)
Comments on the Information Base for
Selection
1.Accounting data
2.Measurements
3.Uncertain information
Accounting Data
1.Cost and revenue are linear
2.Cost-revenue data derived using
standard cost standardized revenue
assumptions
3.Costs may include overhead
Measurements
1.Subjective versus objective
2.Quantitative versus qualitative
3.Reliable versus unreliable
4.Valid versus invalid
Uncertain Information
Must estimate inputs for risk analysis
These inputs cannot be known exactly
Inputs must be adjusted over time
Project Portfolio Process (PPP)
Links projects directly to the goals and
strategy of the organization
Means for monitoring and controlling
projects
PPP Steps
1.Establish a project council
2.Identify project categories and criteria
3.Collect project data
4.Assess resource availability
5.Reduce the project and criteria set
6.Prioritize the projects within categories
7.Select projects to be funded and held in reserve
8.Implement the process
Step 1: Establish a Project Council
Senior management
The project managers of major projects
The head of the Project Management Office
Particularly relevant general managers
Those who can identify key opportunities and
risks facing the organization
Anyone who can derail the PPP later on
Step 3: Collect Project Data
Assemble the data
Document assumptions
Screen out weaker projects
The fewer projects that need to be
compared and analyzed, the easier the
work
Step 4: Assess Resource Availability
Assess both internal and external
resources
Assess labor conservatively
Timing is particularly important
Step 5: Reduce the Project and Criteria
Set
Organization’s goals
Have competence
Market for offering
How risky
Potential partner
Right resources
Good fit
Use strengths
Synergistic
Dominated by
another
Has slipped in
desirability
Step 6: Prioritize the Projects Within
Categories
Apply the scores and criterion weights
Consider in terms of benefits first,
resource costs second
Summarize the returns from the
projects
Step 7: Select the Projects to be
Funded and Held in Reserve
Determine the mix of projects across
the categories
Leave some resources free for new
opportunities
Allocate the categorized projects in
rank order
Step 8: Implement the Process
Communicate results
Repeat regularly
Improve process
Project Proposals
The project proposal is essentially a project
bid
Putting together a project proposal requires a
detailed analysis of the project
Project proposals can take weeks or months
to complete
A more detailed analysis may result in not
bidding on the project
Project Proposal Contents
Cover letter
Executive summary
The technical approach
The implementation plan
The plan for logistic support and
administration
Past experience