Many businesses in any industry don’t have one project in their plan. If the business grows, it will have several projects waiting to be worked on. However, everything is to be done on its time and under the deadline. Some projects are long run, and some are for the short run. An organization always has a list of tasks they need to get done, but with time, some get obsoletes. To make this easier, Project Prioritization was introduced. This process shows how and why a business should prioritize its projects.
Importance of Project Prioritization
Project Prioritization is one of the biggest challenges a business or a firm faces. It is critical for managers to allocate their time for every task. Successful managers and businessmen know the importance of Prioritization, and they try to influence their employees as well.
In a project, new tasks fly in n out all day. Therefore, a manager should know what is more important to complete in the project. However, when everything seems essential, Prioritization can be a bit difficult.
Factors for Project Prioritization
Prioritizing your projects is vital, as not everything can be done simultaneously. Here are some tools to help you look at projects and decide which ones to prioritize.
1. Value Added by a Project
Evaluating and analyzing the importance of a project is the first step you should take. In this, managers gather and consider which project would add more value to the business. It is then compared to the budget and resources used on the project.
It is one of the best ways to select which project would bring in more benefits, unbiasedly. However, looking at the financial returns and not the external cost can somehow affect the organization.
2. Differentiating Criteria for Prioritizing
An organization would like to work on many projects. However, they can’t complete every project. To decide which project would require fewer inputs and bring high output. There are categories of input that the managers consider.
Some of them include:
- Investment
- Technical support
- Staff and expertise needed
- Financially risky
- Time the project would need to complete
3. Net Present Value
As you know, the value of money changes over time. Net present value is the difference between the value of the amount spent in the current vs. the value this amount would hold in the future. As a result, managers tend to prioritize projects with higher NPVs.
4. Business Objectives
While considering other factors, one of the main factors you should look at is which project would help achieve the objectives efficiently. The primary purpose of growth is to achieve an organization’s objectives.
Final Words
Here is what you need to know about project prioritization. First, however, every manager should share a common belief or understand the value of the project to prioritize it.
Once you know your priorities, it will be easy to work on them and complete them efficiently. Make sure you analyze every factor before considering prioritizing it.