Whenundertakingaproject,theapproachtakentoplanningandexecutioncandeterminethesuccessorfailureoftheproject.Oneapproachthathasgainedtractioninrecenttimesisthebreadthapproachtoprojectmanagement.Breadthfocusesonthecomprehensiveunderstandingoftheprojectandaimstoensurethateveryaspectoftheproject'sobjectivesistakenintoconsideration.Thisarticleprovidesanoverviewofthebreadthapproach,itsadvantages,anditsimplementationinprojectmanagement.

UnderstandingBreadthApproach

Thebreadthapproachisaprojectmanagementtechniquethatinvolvestakingabroadviewoftheprojectanditsobjectives.Inotherwords,itinvolveslookingbeyondthestatedgoalsoftheprojectandtakingintoconsiderationallotherfactorsthatcanimpactthesuccessoftheproject.Thisapproachisoftencontrastedwiththetraditionalnarrowapproachthatfocusesononlytheexplicitgoalsoftheproject.

Bytakingabreadthapproachtoprojectmanagement,projectmanagerscanidentifypotentialrisks,opportunities,andstakeholdersthatmayimpacttheproject'ssuccess.Thesefactorscanincludechangesinthemarket,financialconstraints,technologychanges,andevenhumanresources.Projectmanagersusingthebreadthapproachcanalsoidentifypotentialsolutionstoaddressthesefactors,whichcanresultinamorecomprehensiveprojectplan.

AdvantagesofBreadthApproach

Oneofthesignificantadvantagesofthebreadthapproachtoprojectmanagementisthatitprovidesamoreholisticviewoftheproject.Whencomparedtothenarrowapproach,thebreadthapproachcanhelpensurethattheprojectobjectivesalignwiththebroaderorganizationalgoals.Thiscanhelppreventprojectmanagersfromoverlookingkeyfactorsthatcouldimpacttheproject'ssuccess.

Anotheradvantageofthebreadthapproachisthatitencouragescollaborationandcommunicationamongdifferentteamsinvolvedintheproject.Thebreadthapproachrequiresprojectmanagerstoidentifyandengagewithstakeholdersfromvariousdepartments,includingfinance,marketing,andoperations.Thisengagementcanresultincreativesolutionsandimprovementsinoverallprojectperformance.

ImplementingBreadthApproach

Gettingstartedwiththebreadthapproachtoprojectmanagementcanfeeldaunting.However,thefollowingstepscanhelpprojectmanagersimplementthebreadthapproach:

Step1:Definethescopeoftheproject:Theprojectmanagershouldhaveaclearunderstandingoftheprojectgoalsandobjectives.Itisessentialtoidentifyknownrisksandstakeholdersasthiswillformthefoundationofthebreadthapproach.

Step2:Identifyandengagewithrelevantstakeholders:Theprojectmanagershouldidentifyandengagewithstakeholdersfromvariousdepartmentsinvolvedintheproject.Thiscanincludefinancial,marketing,andoperationteams.

Step3:Conductacomprehensiveriskassessment:Theprojectmanagershouldidentifyandanalyzeanyknownandpotentialriskswhichcouldimpactthesuccessoftheproject.

Step4:Createacomprehensiveprojectplan:Basedontheinformationgatheredfromtheabovesteps,theprojectmanagershoulddevelopacomprehensiveprojectplanthattakeseveryaspectoftheprojectintoconsideration.

Thebreadthapproachtoprojectmanagementcanhelpprojectmanagersensurethateveryaspectoftheprojectisconsidered,resultinginincreasedprojectsuccessrates.Bytakingaholisticapproachandengagingrelevantstakeholders,projectmanagerscancreatecomprehensiveprojectplansthatidentifyandmitigatepotentialrisks,andthatalignwithbroaderorganizationalgoals.