170 • Creative, Ecient, and Eective Project Management
it compatible with the beliefs or values embraced by the organization in
general, or the leadership in particular. Other stakeholders may not want
to communicate or coordinate with each other due to issues unrelated to
the project. Others may be fearful of the consequences of participating on
a project and would rather sit on the sidelines until they see who supports
it and how well it progresses.
Another challenge and constraint is obtaining clarity in project scope.
All too oen, customers only have a vague idea of what they want, let alone
what they need. Customer confusion can lead to frustration on everyone’s
part, especially for members of the project team. In the end, of course,
it boils down to communication among the customer, sponsor, and the
project manager.
Some common creative challenges and constraints that may be present
during this process for a project are shown in Table8.1.
TABLE8.1
Dening Process Challenges and Constraints
Creative Challenge
and Constraint Example
Faster, better, cheaper
philosophy
Stakeholder desire to see results quickly
Fear Feeling, by some stakeholders, that they might lose power and
inuence as a result of a project
Groupthink Stakeholders, such as a management team, subscribes to a set
of beliefs that may not embrace a project despite its economic
advantages
Hierarchy Senior management dictates what types of projects are
included in an organization’s portfolio
Lack of sharing Information that could impact a decision about a project is not
shared by key stakeholders
Management’s lack of
responsiveness
Certain stakeholders, specically management, does not
participate in dening key elements of a project
Mores, beliefs, values A perception by certain stakeholders that a particular project
is not the type embraced historically by an organization,
regardless of the business case
Poor communications Jargon used by certain categories of stakeholders, making it
dicult to share and understand information
Poor coordination A stakeholder’s perception that a project is the sole province of
a specic organization
Silos Stakeholders not wanting to participate in the dening process
because of another stakeholder (e.g., Engineering not
working with Sales and Marketing)