Project Selection: Criteria, Assumptions, Data Gathering, and Evaluation

Project Selection Criteria

Task:

We would like to start off by initiating the project, which is project identification.  Project identification involves identifying the need that needs to be addressed.

Next you want to select the project.  The steps in selecting a project are as follows:

1. Develop their criteria by which the project will be evaluated
2. List assumptions
3. Gather data
4. Evaluate the project against criteria (Gido & Clements, 2014).

When we look at project selection, first we must define what it is. Project selection involves evaluating potential projects and then deciding which of them should move forward to be implemented.   We have already reviewed the steps in project selection but now will go into further detail about each step. For step one in the project selection process, you will develop a set of criteria to evaluate the project against.   For example, is the project is in alignment with the company’s goals? What will be the return on the investment? What risks are involved?  What will be the competitor’s reaction? These are just some of the criteria to be evaluated against.  The next step is list of assumptions.  There can be assumptions regarding any project. For the project selection piece these assumptions need to be listed out so that everyone is aware of what assumptions are associated with the project.  Step three is gathering data.

When selecting a project you want to make an educated decision on which project would be feasible and would bring the best the most benefit. Obtaining data that will help you make an intelligent decision regarding your project selection.  This can include any financial records or any archived documents from previous projects that may have been completed by the organization.

After gathering the data, you want to evaluate it against the criteria that was developed in step one.  The projects should be graded using a rating system.  The rating system will help you in the evaluation process with selecting the project to implement.  Once the project has been selected it is now time to complete the project charter. 

At this point you may be questioning, what is a project charter? The definition of a project charter is going to be important. This week you will be working with your team on the course project.  One of the tasks to be completed is developing a project charter.  The project charter authorizes the project (Gido & Clements, 2014). Basically we are now giving an organization the go-ahead to commence a project and also we are committing funding to this particular project.  The project charter is going to be a written document. The format may vary but there will be some items that are listed in the project charter.  Some of the items are the project title, the purpose of the project, the objective of the project, description of what will be entailed in the project, any funding, the acceptance criteria, a schedule, some constraints,  what major risks to the project will be, any reporting requirements, and approval signature and date.  An example of a project charter is included in the text. This project charter example can be used as a guide to help complete your task for this week.  Another task that you will be completing for this week with your project team is a request for proposal.  Your project team task for the week is to complete a request for proposal.   A request for proposal is often referred to as an RFP.  This is a document constructed by a customer/sponsor designed to solicit contractors.  The document outlines what is needed to meet the project objectives. A RFP is simply asking contractors to respond to a project opportunity.   For the purposes of your group project this week, you will only be outsourcing a portion of the project you're completing for the course.   Please keep this in mind when you're preparing your RFP there are some guidelines that you need to follow when composing a RFP.  There are specific elements that should be included in a RFP to the prospective contractors.  There should be a project objective - this simply is giving background to the contractors on the purpose of the project so they can respond.  With a statement of work-- outlining what the contractor is responsible for doing.  The customer requirements-- any deliverables expected from the contractor.  The acceptance criteria to help determine if the project goals were met and any items that might be supplied by the customer.  Any approvals indicated by the customer, the type of financial contract that the customer intends to use, the payment terms,  an identified schedule, the RFP due date, and any criteria used to evaluate the competing contractors. An example of an RFP is included in the text.  This example can be used to help you this week when you are developing your RFP for your project.   Next, we will look at the proposal.   This is the document used to respond to the RFP. The document is prepared by the contractor and answers the customer’s/sponsor's needs as it relates to the request for services. This response may be extensive depending on the requirements noted in the RFP.   Some of the items that can be included in the proposal are the approach to accomplishing the project objective, the deliverables, the schedule, any staffing including the names any resumes of individuals who will be working to complete the project objective, costs associated with the project, as well as previous experience with a similar project.   After the RFP has been developed, organizations can now solicit proposals. There are several ways that this can be done.  An organization can identify a subset of contractors that the RFP can be sent to (Gido & Clements, 2014).  These contractors may be well-known or may specialize in the type of project the organization is trying to implement. Another way to solicit proposals is to post the RFP on websites or list it in a newspaper.  If the RFP is listed on the website or advertised or published in a local newspaper is important that the RFP give instructions on how contractors can respond to the RFP.  Responding to RFPs is competitive there could be a number of contractors vying for the same business.  With that being said, any improprieties contaminates the process.  No one competitor should appear to have an unfair advantage over the others that are competing for the same business (Gido & Clements, 2014).  To address this some organizations have what they call bid meetings.  These meetings are held so that any potential bidders can come and review the RFP and ask questions about the content of the RFP.  It is up to the customer or sponsor to clearly identify the elements of the RFP and also thoroughly answer the questions of interested contractors so they can be fully aware of the project requirements and if the project is worth being pursued.