Balancing Strategy and Tactics in

Project Implementation

Presenters: Can Seckin, Khadijah Arshad and

Mehrdad Barghi

Introduction

Successful project
Successful
project
implementation
implementation
is difficult
Project based work is
is very
different from other organizational
difficult

activities.
Project based work is very different from other organizational
Projects
have specific goals, defined beginning and end , and
activities.
a
limitedhave
budget.
Projects
specific goals, defined beginning and end , and
Limited
authority
a limited budget. and manpower given to project manager.
Project
tools that given
will help
to identify
critical
Limitedmanager
authorityneeds
and manpower
to project
manager.
issues
to
Projectand
manager
needs tools that will help to identify critical
prioritize
them
issues and to over the life of the project.
Planning
effectively
andlife
acting
efficiently
prioritize them
over the
of the
project. is hard

Planning effectively and acting efficiently is hard

Balancing the interplay between

Balancingand
theaction-strategy
interplay between
planning
and
planning
action-strategy
and
tactics
is and
project
managers most
tactics is project
managers most
important
job
important job

The Project Life Cycle

Project Critical Success

Factors

Strategy and Tactics

Strategi
c

Related to the early planning

phase of project implementation
Establish overall goals and plan
Mission, top management
support, and schedule

Tactical

Concerned with the actual

implementation
Using resources to achieve ends
The other seven key factors

Strategy and Tactics over

Time

The importance of strategy

and tactics shift over project
life cycle
Strategic issues At the
beginning.
Tactical issues Toward the
end
At the final stage, equal
importance
Making the transition
between each is the key to
become a succesful
manager

Strategy/Tactics
Effectiveness Matrix
Strategic-Tactical Errors
Type I: Not taking an action
when one should be taken
Type II: Taking an action
when
none should be taken
Type III: Taking the wrong
action
Type IV: Addressing the right
problem, but solution is not
used
A particular set of
circumstances are defined with
cells.

Real Project Case

Project Mission
Top
Management
Support
Project
Schedule
Client
Consultation
Personnel
Technical Tasks
Client
Acceptance
Monitoring and
Feedback

New Alloy
Development

Real Project Case

Project Mission
Top
Management
Support
Project
Schedule
Client
Consultation
Personnel
Technical Tasks
Client
Acceptance
Monitoring and
Feedback

New Appliance
Development

Real Project Case

Project Mission
Top Management
Support
Project Schedule
Client Consultation
Personnel
Technical Tasks
Client Acceptance
Monitoring and
Feedback
Communication
Trouble shooting

Automated Office

Real Project Case

Project Mission
Top Management
Support
Project Schedule
Client Consultation
Personnel
Technical Tasks
Client Acceptance
Monitoring and
Feedback
Communication
Trouble shooting

New Bank Loan

Setup

Implications For Managers

Use a multiple-factor
model

Think strategically
early in the project life
cycle

Think strategically early in

the project life cycle

Think more
tactically as the
project moves
forward in time

Think more tactically as the

project moves forward in time
Make strategy and tactics work for you
and your project team