Project Selection And Monitoring: Ensuring Return On Investment

Approaches to project selection

Research shows that most organizations invest a large amount of money when designing new projects. Therefore, organizations must ensure their investments are safeguarded and will have worthy returns to benefit the establishments. Thus, this calls for a credible analysis of all initiated projects prospects to validate the decision for making the required financial investments. Notably, an organization might have several projects openings to invest in and gain an advantage. Although they cannot invest in all projects, they need to be careful. Analyzing projects and settling for the ones that seem worthwhile is referred to as the project assortment approach. Subsequently, there are two main categories of project selection,

This approach employs a benefits measurement approach and controlled optimization technique. The controlled or Constrained optimization approach is a prototypical mathematical type of project selection used for huge projects, which tend to be complex and have inclusive calculations meant to analyze the study and viability of developments. Additionally, it involves linear programming and several objective programming, and this is to understand the doubts involved. Jilek et al. (2018) argue that benefits measurement procedures are a proportional method used to gauge various projects' possible advantages and then settle for the most dependable and beneficial ones. It involves the net present value, which practically shows discount and all forthcoming value of returns and investments to their r present value and analyzes profit; cost-benefit analysis shows a ratio of benefits should be higher.

Rashid et al. (2019)  suggest that project selection decisions are usually made based on non-financial reflections. Hence, these may involve customer demand, political arguments, safety, personal prejudices, and security considerations, among other things.

Therefore, selecting a project is one of the most crucial steps before taking any new plans and investment decisions. In so doing, selection should be done by experts with solid skills in the above methods. Qualitative and quantitative approaches are used in the prominent commercial sectors to define policies for project selections (Taherdoost & Brard 2019).

Among numerous administrative requirements, Observing and assessment is an uninterrupted management task within the commercial-oriented context. Research identifies blockages in implementation, which highlights if there are any unintentional effects, either positive or negative, from an investment project. Therefore, planning, monitoring, and assessment generate the outcome-based management approach. It intends to assist the decision made towards the ultimate goal. Consequently, the organization helps focus on the results that are of importance. Monitoring and evaluation enable learning from the past challenges and mistakes experienced during implementation. Considering monitoring and assessment is an administrative requirement in projects, it involves obtaining key stakeholders that encourage contribution and amplified ownership of plans.

On the other hand, an outcome framework is a major tool for organizing the anticipated results and the assessable development dynamics. Correspondingly, research suggests that monitoring and evaluation comprise task descriptions required to collect relevant information intended to gather particular data to be evaluated. In addition, its description contains the designated roles and responsibilities of plan investors. Therefore, it ensures that appropriate progress and performance information is systematically gathered, managed, and analyzed to allow evidence-based ideas.

Benefits measurement approach

Gemünden et al. (2018) argue that various processes and approaches for monitoring involve the involvement, review, and technique monitoring, While evaluation comprises assessment, economic analysis, and thematic. In so doing, the management information is organized for repository files which helps the management of the core numeric evidence-related project and the analysis. Therefore, having a wide range of tested approaches and implements, the evaluation and monitoring can bridge the existing gap in the prevailing literature. Monitoring can also mean a lot to work on change of management and action.

When implementing a project, it is important to assess the project's feasibility and appraise it to ensure that the project has significant public investment decisions based on monetary viability study. It means a plan or project should be well-defined before it is appraised since project description comprises the report of the physical services built, the output put in place, and technology used, among other factors. On the other hand, assets, operational, and maintenance costs must be assessed over the project's life as any revenue estimated to be created. Although, there is some technological description that is still required for initial cost assessment (Whyte 2019). Notably, the project can be measured for feasibility using different dimensions. For instance, in methodological feasibility, where proven technologies are used without having any technical issues, and environmental and community sustainability, the main question, in this case, is whether the project complies with national environmental and planning standards.

A cross-sectional analysis conducted by Kahvandi et al. (2019) asserts that when an organization increases the value of money in a project, they need to identify the distribution .option and appraise them. Therefore, using the existing reports and wide consultancy with practitioners is important because they gather the data and information relevant to the opportunity of the project. It is crucial to analyze data to comprehend the significance of the incentives. A corporate should identify best practice solutions from the findings, including global examples if appropriate. More importantly, consider the full assortment of issues that might shake the objectives as developing radical options, which may be a segment of official appraisal and assist in gauging the factor of feasible solutions.

People, procedures, and technology can characterize business projects. Therefore, these aspects are equally interconnected and show enlarged challenges in complex situations. The nature of profit-based business activity calls for the optimization of capital. On the other hand, a project business case is a treasured element for the likely accomplishment of the project, whereas some cases are more likely to be what one likes doing. However, it is crucial to understand if the business is profitable and why the project is being executed.

It is up to the project manager to disclose and develop the business case itself in most cases. Considering the alignment of the project is important because it determines the outcomes of the firm's strategy. A systematic review conducted by Zebari et al. (2019) articulates that cascaded development from strategic portfolio planning helps ensure the organization's success and improve the projects possible for success.  

Controlled optimization technique

When implementing project management helps organizations, the organization achieves a lot. For instance, the value measurement method determines whether the project management has accomplished its goal. It helps future projects in the market and assists in identifying the impacts made by a business initiative to compare the cost-benefit analysis in project management. Notably, the objectives are based on determining the value of employing projects. Therefore, the value is determined by postulating improvement over time. Selective measures using are the key to having a successful project management value. In so doing, having a solution for business activity has accumulated an extensive list of prospective measures for deliberation, as cited by (Newman & Comfort 2018),

Subsequently, research articulates that the measures are a commencing point for project management and delivering development processes. It does not contain a draft; it uses the list to start deliberating on the measures that are important to the organization's objective. Findings recommend that an organization choose 3-7 methods for the measurement system, although it is quite tough and equally costly to have too many measures. Hence, the involvement is only designated to select project management measures instead of project performance measures. The main difference between performance measures and value measures is the reason for measuring. In measuring, the organization gathers data to assist in making management decisions to mark a change in the hope of elevating performances. For instance, project performance gauges are performed to offer information to the manager to articulate control over the project. These measures should align with the organizational level, which can instantaneously affect change found in information. It has to regulate the  performance of the project at hand. Conversely, the enactment of the project allows managers to make critical decisions that give businesses successful closures.

Placement of a strategic business goal is one of the most credible metrics in benchmarking effective project management. The metrics are used to determine if the organization is working on the designed project while measuring the arrangement of projects to the intended business objective. Similarly, it is determined using the survey method of employing a proper mix project of project management in specialists and business unit directors and executives.

A systematic review conducted by Li, X et al. (2018) showed that performance requirement is one of the main keys to successful project management. Thus, to measure this dynamic, experts and business units need to develop suitable measures, which means the solution fully satisfies the requirement. Subsequently, a requirement performance index maybe measures the extent to which project results meet the necessities. Therefore, types of needs that may be measured comprise functional requirements where an action, non-functional rations include usability. Therefore, to attain suitable criteria derived after the requirement description is written first. Organizations or business units should consider having a customer contentment scale of 1-100, which means that purchaser expectations are met. It calls for a mixture of conformance to needs and fitness for usage.

Therefore, the core decision is made by informed stakeholders, and this provides one-on-one briefs and predictable obstacles and addresses them appropriately. It is equally important to use insightful influence to gain profitable outcomes for team members and the project itself and build personal relationships that allow the securing of resources at dangerous times. 

References

Gemünden, H. G., Lehner, P., & Kock, A. (2018). The project-oriented organization and its contribution to innovation. International Journal of Project Management, 36(1), 147- 160.

Jilek, P., SILOVSKÁ, H. ?., KOLA?ÍK, P., & Lukavec, M. (2018). Selection of quantitative and qualitative methods for comprehensive evaluation of PPP projects focusing on the Czech Republic. Transylvanian Review of Administrative Sciences, 14(54), 38-54.

Kahvandi, Z., Saghatforoush, E., Mahoud, M., & Preece, C. (2019). Analysis of the Barriers to the Implementation of Integrated Project Delivery (IPD): A Meta-Synthesis Approach. Journal of Engineering, Project & Production Management, 9(1).

Li, X., Holsapple, C. W., & Goldsby, T. J. (2019). Supply chain management teams' structural impact: Development of supply chain agility in multidivisional firms. Management Research Review.

Newman, W., & Comfort, M. (2018). Investigating the value creation of internal audit and its impact on company performance. Academy of Entrepreneurship Journal, 24(3), 1-21.

Rashid, Y., Rashid, A., Warraich, M. A., Sabir, S. S., & Waseem, A. (2019). Case study method: A step-by-step guide for business researchers. International journal of qualitative methods, 18, 1609406919862424.

Taherdoost, H., & Brard, A. (2019). Analyzing the process of supplier selection criteria and methods. Procedia Manufacturing, 32, 1024-1034.

Whyte, J. (2019). How digital information transforms project delivery models. Project management journal, 50(2), 177-194.

Zebari, R. R., Zeebaree, S. R., Jacksi, K., & Shukur, H. M. (2019). E-business requirements for flexibility and implementation enterprise system: A review. International Journal of Scientific & Technology Research, 8(11), 655-660.