The Importance of Project Reach
The concept of "reach" is very important in the project management process. A large number of projects fail on a consistent basis because the project managers choose to use the incorrect reach. In this article I will be talking about reach in detail, and I will explain how project managers can use it properly to make sure their projects become successful.
The first thing I will need to do is clearly define the concept of reach. Reach can be defined as how far the project stretches in achieving the end goal. While some projects have a long reach, others have a reach which is quite short.
If the reach of the project is not correct, it is very unlikely that the sponsor or client will be happy with it. If either of these two parties are not happy with the reach of your project, you can consider it to be a failure. Understanding "reach" is complex, but is important for those who want their projects to succeed. To understand reach, you will first need to look at the common processes that are used by most teams in order to start and complete a project. The very first step in this process is the conception of the project. Every so often, an organization will decide that there are improvements that need to be made, even though they may not be necessary.
Common things that organizations wish to improve are customer service, gaining a larger share of the market, or marketing a new product. The smart project managers know that offering a product or service which caters to the needs of the organizations will allow them to get a large amount of funding, and it will also allow them to get the project of their choice approved. When a organization is considering a new change or strategy, this is typically where they will receive a number of offers from their project managers. In most cases, the upper management will approve a large number of projects simultaneously.
A lot of company managers believe that allowing numerous projects to commence will increase the chances that they will be able to reach the goals of the organization. However, after a certain period of time, it becomes clear that these projects are nothing more than "pig projects." They continue to consume more of the company resources, but they fail to deliver on their original promise. They only make it appear as if they are striving to reach the goals of the company. Eventually, the higher management will get tired of this, and the funding will stop. In some cases, project managers will be fired.
The reason why these projects fail is because they do not take the time to measure or promote reach. Let me give you an example of this. Suppose a company decides that it wants to improve its customer service, and it begins funding projects that can help it achieve this objective. If the project manager makes the promise that they will increase the customer service success rate from 40% to 75%, they have created a long reach. As you can see, it goes beyond the boundaries of the single department and focuses on the goals of the company. It should also be noted that projects with a long reach are hard to achieve. The reason for this is because it may take more than one department in order to achieve it.
While it is important to start a project that has reach, you don’t want your project to have a reach that is so long that variables are created that are beyond the control of both the project manager and their team. Having a long reach can be risky, because it will often require the company to make a number of significant changes. The goal of a project manager should be to create balance. They should have a reach that is long enough for them to achieve a powerful result once the project is completed. They must also avoid stretching the reach to the point where they have not control over the variables. The last and most important guideline is to avoid making changes that are so significant to the company that it will be hard for the project to succeed.
