Prioritizing Projects at D.D. Williamson free essay sample

D. D. Williamson implemented a new process for project prioritization that included focusing on the vision and impact of projects and narrowing down projects by selecting the ones of high importance and assigning them to senior management teams. I will attempt to critique that process, recommend an improvement for the process, provide a scenario of why the process could possibly not be successful, and project if the process will still be successful in five years. Critiquing D. D. Williamson Project Prioritization The prioritization process at D. D. Williamson is a great improvement opposed to the previous prioritization process that was implemented. I believe that D. D. Williamson was able to finally overcome challenges after years of not having a successful process in place. Cutting down the amount of projects from 60 to 16 was a smart plan that in return helped D. D. Williamson not to go over budget, increase the success rate to over 60 percent of projects finishing close to the expected completion date, and earn better results. We will write a custom essay sample on Prioritizing Projects at D.D. Williamson or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This process also helped to move forward the most critical projects of high importance. Simplifying the criteria ratings also helped to narrow down projects and prioritize them. By selecting a new criteria rating and focusing on the Vision Impact Projects (VIPs), it made it easier for the management team to focus on projects that would have a impact on corporate objectives and monitor them better in weekly meetings to overcome barriers before they occurred. Improving the Prioritization Process Though the proposed prioritization process at D. D. Williamson is a vast improvement opposed the prior process, I would recommend adding more criteria to determine which projects move forward opposed to just basing the criteria rating on the level of expected impact. Senior management should be more involved in the selection process and base selections on criteria such as investment, time, profitability, and strategy. According Examples of Project Prioritization, â€Å"Prioritization of projects means selecting the efforts and projects to be executed by the corporation based upon on a complete detailed analysis of all possible and available projects† (Vargas, R. V. ). Determining risks ahead of time is a good component in the criteria selection process, but other factors such as the one mentioned should be key components to ensure the right projects are being selected. Possible Process Failure â€Å"We simplified the criteria ratings – rating projects on the level of selected impact on corporate objectives, the cross-functional nature of the team, and the perceived likelihood that the project would encounter barriers which required senior level support to overcome† (Kloppenborg, T. and Nkomo, S. ). While these are all great criteria ratings when selecting projects, there are several criterions that are missing that could cause possible failure of the implemented process. First, if direct, indirect, variable, and fixed costs are not a factor of the criterion process, the project can end up going over budget thus making it unsuccessful or causing it not to meet the proposed deadline. Secondly, if there is a not a more functional involvement that includes a project management team for each project broken down by specialization, opinions may be crossed and conflicting information may be given. The Process in Five Years According to Effective Approaches to Project Prioritization, â€Å"establishing a project prioritization is neither simple nor fast† (Schwartz, C. ). During the next five years D. D. Williamson will continue to evaluate and adjust its project prioritization process based on changes in project management successes and failures. Also, one must take into consideration the cost of labor, and various other costs that will inflate over time that could cause the criterion process to adjust and be reassembled. Conclusion In conclusion, D. D. Williamson was able to implement a successful project management process that helped them to execute the highest projects of importance and build a foundation that will contribute to continued success. Like anything, there are always opportunities for improvement, and I am confident that D. D. Williamson will continue to improve its project management process through selection and criteria ratings in the future.