If you have anything to do with an IT project (or any project for that matter), from initiation, to delivery to ownership after go-live, then this is a very important question.

This is not actually a question but an instruction to answer this question. If you can answer it properly then you are on the right track.

Be careful how you answer it – the correct answer will be a business reason and the business reason must follow at least three key criteria:

1. Is the project moving the business closer to the strategic/annual plan?
2. Has it been prioritised against all the other projects in the businesses pipeline?
3. Are all the right resources assigned?

An incorrect answer might be:

A. Because my boss told me to.
B. What do you mean by ‘the business’?
C. We wanted to upgrade to the latest version.

Of course there are many more questions to answer regarding a project setup – but these key questions will provide the answer to whether this project should continue, or whether the common sense department should take another look at it.

OK then, if you have a good answer then continue on with the project, but, if you don’t?

Ask “why not?” and raise a high priority risk. You will be doing the right thing. You are not alone. Tell your manager and project team to take action, with the most likely scenario being to shut the project down as this project is using resources that do not drive the business to its goals.

What to do for any team member:

PM – your integrity is at stake – raise the issue with the project stakeholder immediately.

BA – you are a key point to check this, raise the issue with the PM and the business owner.

Dev – don’t start any development without this understanding.

Tester – it’s possibly too late if the project has got to you.

Ops – make sure this is very clear before releasing to production.

Key Stakeholders – you own the budget. Can you explain to the execs how this project is going help achieve the business strategy and what its going to cost and, more importantly, return?

Exec/owner – you must ensure that all projects are aligned against your business strategy. You have no one to blame except yourselves. You are ultimately responsible.

This question is not just to ensure you are doing the right thing, but also aligned projects are much more enjoyable to work on, the business you work for will be more successful and hopefully your business, the IT industry and the economy can prosper!

Of course this assumes that the strategic plan (if there is one) is well written. A good test would be to dream up a fictitious project that you know is not really what the business wants and see if you can get it to align to the strategic plan. If the plan includes vague, hard to measure statements like “we want to improve processes”, then any project that has some hint of process improvement gets in. To really prove your point, see if you can get it through the real project approval process in your organisation!

Good luck out there.

ABOUT SCOTT GROOMBRIDGE//

Scott Groombridge is passionate about aligning IT with business for the greater good.