B03 - Make a go/no-go decision

At this point, the sponsor has to make a new go/no-go decision based on the new plans. They may make the decision by themselves, or arrange it with others such as the portfolio management system.

If it’s decided to stop the project, the project closure activities will be run, and you can decide whether or not to have the post-project management cycle.

Purpose

The goal is to make sure the project is still justifiable, and remind everyone that there’s a goal for the project, above the sum of isolated specialist activities.

Common Pitfalls

The sponsor has to take this management activity seriously, and not approve the project automatically without inspection. It’s important for everyone to understand that cancelling projects is a sign of good project management.

Sometimes a project may be justifiable when evaluated in isolation, but it may not be as justifiable as other possible projects that you can run. As a result, a holistic perspective is necessary when evaluating the continuous justification of the project, and it’s best done in a single portfolio management system that oversees all the projects in the company.

Principles

The following principles have a significant role in this management activity:

• NUP3: always be proactive
• NUP5: don’t do anything without a clear purpose