When we talk about the Project Management Institute (PMI) definition of project management, we use the term “process groups.” There are five process groups:

• Initiating
• Planning
• Executing
• Monitoring and Controlling
• Closing

This is simply a structure for organizing our work and thinking about the ways in which projects develop over time.

Each process group contains a number of steps or aspects of project management that need to be considered.

I have found that most people think of the execution, monitoring and controlling processes when they think of project management. There’s a belief that it’s all about telling people what to do and then holding them to deadlines.

I, on the other hand, firmly believe that the project battle is won or lost during project initiation and planning. Ironically, these are the steps that are most often neglected or glossed over.

Let’s talk about project initiation. It’s all about picking the right project. We have to make sure that before investing dollars and time in project execution, we’re sure that the product of the project will meet organizational needs and fit with the overall strategy.

Unfortunately, it’s often true that an organization doesn’t really have a strategy. There’s no long-term plan. This makes it hard to recognize when a project is a good or bad fit.

Moreover, for those of us who work in Information Technology, we’re often guilty of a huge sin: we pick projects for the sake of technology rather than for sound business reasons. Instead, we need to focus on real problems, as reported by customers and end-users, and make sure that our projects meet their needs rather than our IT desires. The worst thing we can do is implement something that is technically cool only to have the users say, “we don’t want that, we didn’t ask for it, and we’re not going to use it.”