3-1 Final Project Milestone One: Project Charter (SNHU QSO-680)

Module 1-2: Case Study Overview

Objectives

This case study supplies an overview of the objectives and intended outputs of portfolio management and the reasons many firms utilize this approach in order to achieve their intended initiatives.

Specifically, regarding research and development firms, they craft their strategic plans in order to align to the firm’s overall target operating model, as well as the company’s overall mission; they are typically broken down into projects which are compiled into the main portfolio. In pharmaceutical firms, these goals typically include:

· Lowering drug expenses for the targeted client base

· Identifying opportunities in a given market to fill “gaps” where there is demand, but not supply (i.e.: new products, services, etc.)

· Increasing production in terms of efficiency, process improvement and upgrade research approaches.

In this case study specifically, the main goal is the first: lower costs. Therefore, the portfolio will ultimately be set up to achieve this intended objective. The other objectives will fall underneath as a sort of “umbrella.” That being the case, only projects which support this effort will be included in the firm’s portfolio, (Bode-Greuel, 2008).

Target Stakeholder Group

In this particular instance, the stakeholders would include the company’s client base. As the R&D firm’s main intent is to perform effectual research to develop new drugs which would support efforts to lower the firm’s overall drug costs, it stands to reason those purchasing the products and benefiting from the updated pricing would be the primary stakeholder group, (Bode-Greuel, 2008).

However, alongside the primary stakeholders will typically be other, indirect stakeholders. In this case study, examples would include partner companies who sell these products on behalf of the main company, and perhaps any adjoining supplier chain entities, as these companies would be also paying their own business costs and in that same vein, health insurance firms who cover all or part of the customer’s drug expenses would have a vested interest in this cost-reduction effort.

Taking this back to portfolio management, it would prove beneficial to these varying stakeholder groups as it will initiate an effort (or series of efforts), which will drive the pharmaceutical company’s investment in developing more price-friendly drugs. This portfolio of projects will all drive this output, but they won’t be approved by the sponsors until they demonstrate alignment to the corporate group’s overarching strategic goals.

The process which governs portfolio management will cover comprehension of diseases which will have many sub-segments. These would address overall disease comprehension and research, patient medical needs regarding the said disease, as well as other factors (like short vs long-term care) which will empower the firm to make an informed choice to invest in this venture or not, (2008).

In order to efficiently oversee a portfolio, the PM must closely monitor it through all phases of the lifecycle: initiation and planning to execution. Portfolios managed in a proficient manner will help secure the desired outputs, stay within scope and budget, within timetables set by leaders and obtain the ROI (return on investment) that is sought after by both internal and external stakeholders, as well as indirect stakeholders too.

These goals can be attained via any number of venues. They may include refining the process to be more efficient when creating new drugs. Also, upping productivity with the overall drug development process; focusing effort into crafting more streamlined research methods for new drugs and potential areas of interest which would benefit the firm’s operating model in multiple spaces, then highlight the ones that appear most promising. Key decision-makers and sponsors can leverage this information to call out the projects which appear to hold the most promise in terms of value, (2008).

Project, Portfolio & Program Levels

When a firm is rolling out a strategic initiative, it is typically broken down into three levels: project management, which are compiled into a program. The Programs in question are aligned to a Portfolio. Managers maintain direction and oversight at each level: project, portfolio, and program.

Project management is the leadership governance of a time-limited effort which includes a designated start and end period, along with a defined deliverable, which is a new product/service/etc. Well-vetted projects include a clearly defined output, including adequate descriptive details; also, there will usually be cross-functional leveraging and interdisciplinary partnerships (subject-matter-experts/SME’s). The project will have a defined schedule/timetable with an assumed consistent unrolling, a financial budget with constraints and a “safe margin” for unexpected costs. Finally, there will be a designated team, reserved tools, resources, and other assets, as well as leadership governance and reporting/fiscal updating expectations. Each project will include the in proposal how it aligns to the firm’s corporate approach.

Projects are grouped into Programs. Like projects, there are managers, but as each project is aligned to a similar Program, the program manager will have an oversight of several complimentary projects in-flight at one time. Using this approach helps to optimize the beneficial outputs of each project that may not be so assured if each were executed alone.

Lastly, Programs are compiled into Portfolios.

Corporate Strategy Alignment

The drive acting as an undercurrent for these projects (and the full portfolio) is adding value. The corporate strategy the firm has adopted is to lower costs, increase efficiency and streamline the process to lower overall company expenses whilst increasing production processes. The methodology selected to choose which projects will be compiled into the portfolio will also be utilized by the project teams to ensure continued alignment with the firm’s strategy and intended goals, also while remaining aligned to the expectations set forth by internal and external stakeholders.

Project Manager’s Role

For the PM, their role is to facilitate the project selection process, to ensure value is present in each project chosen, and that it demonstrates corporate alignment. Also, the PM will drive the project(s) in their lifecycle, ensuring continued alignment, adherence to budgets, forecasts, and other obligatory components to ensure a successful execution and close. The PM will also, in that same vein, continue to select and monitor the prioritization of each project and calibrate with leaders on any change management issues which arise on a given project. The PM will ensure the deliverables are crafted and the project closed in a compliant manner; also, that the outputs are still aligned to the R&D plan and operationalized (as needed), to meet the firm’s other overarching goals.

References

Bode-Greuel, K. M., Nichisch, K. J. (2008). Value-Driven Project in Portfolio Management in the

Pharmaceutical Industry: Drug Discovery Vs. Drug Development- Commonalities and

Differences in Portfolio Management Practice. Journal Of Commercial

Biotechnology, 14 (4), pp. 307-325. Retrieved from: Value-driven project and portfolio management in the pharmaceutical industry: Drug discovery versus drug development – Commonalities and differences in portfolio management practice – ProQuest

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Customer logo here	Project Name: Project Charter	Company logo here

Project Name: Project Charter

The blue-colored text passages within this document are tips and guidance for filling out this template. If you are ready with your first draft, you should delete these passages before sending the document to your sponsor.

	Project:	Project Name
	Title:	Project Charter
	Document number:
	Version	0.1
	Document status:	Draft
	Author:	Doe, John
	Responsible:
	Date created:	dd.mm.yy
	Protection class:	“For internal use only”

The Project and Author fields are filled automatically with the data from the document properties (File Properties). Once the appropriate entries have been made here, these fields can be updated with the “Update Field” function (can be found in the context menu for the individual fields).

Possible states for the document status include “Draft,” “Released,” and “Final.” The status of the current document should be specified respectively in the field above.

Document history

Version	Date	Author	Comment/Change
0.1	dd.mm.yy		Draft

The document history should provide an overview of the development of the document. Different versions with their date, author, and possible comments should be entered here.

Tips for Using This Template:

The Statement of Work (SOW) forms the basis for the project order. The project order represents a further level of detail. Information that is often only outlined roughly in the SOW has to be provided in greater detail in the project order. Furthermore, internal points can also often be listed in the project order, which are essential for project success.

The blue text contained in the template should provide assistance for usage. It briefly describes how the individual elements and styles are to be understood.

Please delete all of the blue text before you disseminate or print the document; it is intended exclusively for internal use.

Page

1





Background/Project purpose or justification

2





Goals

2.1



Goals

2.2



Scheduling goals/milestones

3





Project product description

4





Delivery units

4.1



Delivery units/services

5





Project success criteria

6





High-level risks

7





Key stakeholders

8





Assumptions,




restrictions




and external dependencies

9





Responsibility of the customer

9.1



Tasks

9.2



Resources and staffing

10





Project category

11





Project budget (overview)

12





Project startup

13





Project end

13.1



Signatures for release

Annex

A.



Glossary and abbreviations

B.



References, accompanying documents

1

1. Background/Project Purpose or Justification

This section describes why the project was initiated and how significant it is for the company.

2 Goals

This section describes which goals are to be realized with the project. These goals serve as a point of reference for the project closing. Measurable goals should be defined.

2.1 Goals

Goal	Description

2.2 Scheduling Goals/Milestones

Schedule	Description

3 Project Product Description

This section describes the project end product to be supplied.

Product Scope Description


The product scope description documents the characteristics of the product, service, or results that the project will be undertaken to create. The description should also document the relationship between the products, services, or results being created and the business need that the project will address.

4 Delivery Units

A list of all project products/deliverables whose complete and satisfactory delivery indicate the completion of the project.

4.1 Delivery Units/Services

Delivery Unit	Description/Comment

A deliverable is any unique and verifiable product, result, or capability to perform a service that is required to be produced to complete a process, phase, or project. Deliverables are typically tangible components completed to meet the project objectives and can include elements of the project management plan. Deliverables also include ancillary results, such as project management reports and documentation. These deliverables may be described at a summary level or in great detail.

5 Project Success Criteria

This section outlines the quantifiable criteria that have to be fulfilled so that the project can be performed successfully.

Project Success Criteria

6 High-Level Risks

This section describes some of the key project risks and their potential impact on the success of the project. This list of risks should be regarded as provisional rather than complete because risks are usually identified and dealt with continuously during the course of the project.

Risk	Possible Impacts on the Project

7 Key Stakeholders

This section should at least contain the key stakeholders with their names and roles in the project context. This is your starting point for further stakeholder management and analysis.

Name	Role

8 Assumptions, Restrictions and External Dependencies

Assumptions are expectations that form the basis for decisions. This section lists the main assumptions on the basis of which appraisals, plans, and methods are defined for the project.

A	R	E	Item
A = Assumption	R = Restriction	E = External dependency

9 Responsibility of the Customer

This section lists what the customer is to contribute in the course of the project. These responsibilities can be split into two categories.

9.1 Tasks

Task	Comment	Contact

9.2 Resources and Staffing

Resources/Staffing	Comment	Contact

10 Project Category

According to the relevant requirements and experiences in the company, the project is classified based on the following predefined features.

Project Category

Project Categories:	C Projects:	B Projects:	A Projects:
Complexity	Low	Average	High
Risk & Impact on Company	Low	Average	High
Strategic Importance	Low	Average	High
Number of Persons on Project	Generally 5–10	Generally 10–20	Generally > 20
Project Duration	Up to six months	6–12 months	6–24 months

Once the categories have been defined, please enter them above. In addition, we recommend that you mark the individual criteria in the table. The category parameters should be modified accordingly to your company/industry parameters.

11 Project Budget (Overview)

The financial framework within which the project has to operate is described here. Depending on the size of the framework, it may make sense to provide further details for individual parts.

Area	Amount
Project
Subproject

12 Project Startup

The project is deemed started with the following signatures:

	Representative of Steering Committee	Customer	Project Manager
Signature
Name
Date

13 Project End

Planned Project End:

13.1 Signatures for Release

The project manager is released with the signatures provided here following the project closing phase:

	Representative of Steering Committee	Customer	Project Manager
Signature
Name
Date

Annex

I.
Glossary and Abbreviations

If abbreviations have been used in this document (as well as terms that need to be defined in greater detail) and common understanding for every user is a prerequisite for the success of the project, this is an opportunity to explain them.

Term	Explanation

II.
References, Accompanying Documents

If references have been made in this document to other external documents, these documents should be listed here.

Reference No.	Title	Doc. No.

File name: Project Charter.docx Page 19 of 19
Print date 05.05.16