Why is it important to align projects with organizational strategy?-The Project Management Talks

Summary

In this podcast episode of 'Project Management Docs', host Vinita interviews Natalia, a project manager at Alpha Surf. They discuss the criticality of aligning projects with organizational strategy, using Alpha Surf's focus on expanding marketplaces and enhancing business intelligence tools as a case study. Natalia emphasizes the importance of strategic alignment for resource optimization and achieving company goals. She outlines their feedback-driven development process, which balances client requests, project strategy, and technical improvements. Tools like Jira, Confluence, and various Atlassian apps facilitate this alignment across teams, ensuring everyone works towards a common vision.

Takeaways

• 📚 Natalia from Alpha Surf discusses the importance of aligning projects with organizational strategy for achieving company goals.
• 🌟 Alpha Surf is a marketplace vendor with a focus on business intelligence tools, aiming to extend their presence across various marketplaces.
• 🔍 The company's strategy includes not only adding new apps but also ensuring the success and growth of existing ones to outperform competitors.
• 👥 Strategic alignment requires collaboration across all teams, including development, marketing, sales, and customer support, to work towards common goals.
• 💡 Natalia emphasizes the need for a balance between customer-requested features and those that align with the organization's strategic objectives.
• 🛠 The company uses a feedback-driven development process, incorporating client requests and strategic tasks into their product roadmap.
• 📝 Scrum framework is utilized for task management, with a backlog of tasks prioritized based on alignment with goals and client value.
• 🔄 Regular evaluation and reassessment of tasks and goals ensure that the development process remains flexible and responsive to change.
• 🛑 Natalia warns of the risks of resource wastage and project delays if teams work on features not aligned with the overall strategy.
• 🔧 Tools like Jira, Confluence, and various Atlassian apps are used for project management, ensuring all team members have access to the same information and tools.
• 📊 Business intelligence tools, such as dashboards for Microsoft Power BI, help visualize progress and team efforts, allowing for better strategic decision-making.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the podcast session with Natalia?

The main topic of the podcast session is the alignment of projects to organizational strategy.

Who is Natalia in the context of the podcast?

Natalia is an experienced project manager from Alpha Surf who is invited to share her insights on project management.

What does Alpha Surf primarily focus on in terms of business?

Alpha Surf primarily focuses on business intelligence tools, such as connectors from Jira to various platforms like Microsoft Power BI, Tableau, BigQuery, and Oracle Analytics.

What is the significance of strategic alignment in project management according to Natalia?

Strategic alignment ensures that all company processes are built to best support the achievement of company goals, and it's crucial for effective resource utilization and meeting project goals.

What is Alpha Surf's goal for the upcoming year as mentioned by Natalia?

Alpha Surf's goal for the upcoming year is to extend the number of marketplaces they work on and add new apps, ensuring the success and growth of both new and existing projects.

How does Natalia describe the importance of collaboration among different teams in an organization?

Natalia emphasizes that all teams, including development, marketing, sales, and customer support, must work together and be on the same page to align projects with the organizational strategy.

What is the role of the development team in the context of strategic alignment?

The development team should devote its resources to features that align with the overall project and organizational goals, avoiding the development of features that are not aligned with the strategy.

What is the potential consequence of a team working on projects not aligned with the organizational strategy?

The potential consequence is a waste of resources, delayed or unmet project goals, and a negative impact on the company's ability to achieve its objectives.

What process does Natalia's team use to ensure that projects align with their strategy?

Natalia's team uses a feedback-driven development process within the Scrum framework, where they maintain a backlog of tasks, evaluate client requests, and plan sprints to balance feature development, client requests, and technical improvements.

What tools and technologies does Natalia mention for promoting alignment across teams in an organization?

Natalia mentions using Atlassian tools like Jira and Confluence, as well as other tools such as Canva, Pajero, Microsoft Power BI, and various add-ons for Jira to promote alignment and collaboration across teams.

How does Natalia view the role of customer feedback in the development process?

Natalia views customer feedback as a crucial part of the development process, as it helps to prioritize features and improvements that are valuable to clients and align with the organization's goals.

What is the purpose of using the Appraise tool in Natalia's organization?

The Appraise tool is used for tracking OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) for the organization and teams, allowing them to align their objectives and evaluate their performance at the end of each quarter.

How does Natalia plan to integrate the feedback from using their own products back into their development process?

Natalia plans to use the feedback from using their own products to improve the user experience, integrate the feedback into their development strategy, and potentially visualize the data through dashboards for better understanding of team efforts.