Project Development and Strategies for Success

Businesses have to make important and timely decisions regarding capital investments needed to sustain a position in the market or to exploit new business opportunities. Getting the proper return on a firm’s investment is critical for longterm success. Unfortunately, many capital projects do not result in fulfillment of the firm’s business objectives due to misalignment of the business and project objectives. This can typically occur early during the project development phase if there is not a systematic approach to alignment that identifies and manages project risks. This process allows for thoughtful and robust project execution strategies to be developed that can mitigate identified risks. These systematic approaches are even more important today, since many owners’ capital program organizations have been downsized during the recent recession, and owners may find that they no longer have the internal management resources to properly plan and develop capital projects.

This paper details a proven project delivery system that provides key strategic information for timely go/no-go decision gates that effectively manage the risk-to-reward relationship during project development. The paper explores critical project execution strategies to mitigate risks and maintain alignment of the business and project objectives. We also discuss using third-party facilitators in augmenting the owner’s project management team as a valuable component of a well-rounded implementation process. Finally, to demonstrate the success of the concept, we provide two case studies in which BRG experts worked with industry owners to incorporate successful strategies and project controls for critical plant investment projects.