Front-end Sustainability: Initiating the right sustainable projects
Projects shape societies, resource consumption, and the impact of the products, buildings, infrastructure and systems designed within them. One of the most critical questions for project management going forward will be how to aid in tackling the large, complex, and interlinked sustainability challenges that need to be solved for societies worldwide to survive and prosper[1]. The 'Fuzzy' Front-End, when a project is conceptualized and defined, is the stage which is most critical in determining the impact of a project, yet the Front-End of Eco-Innovation has recieved little attention by the field of project management [2] [3]. This article will describe how project, program and portfolio managers can re-design their Fuzzy Front-End processes for effective sustainable impact of their projects.
Contents |
The big idea
The 'Fuzzy' Front-End is the most uncertain, challenging part of projects, and the most critical for project success. "For companies to achieve true sustainability as opposed to a lower level of sustainability, considerations for sustainability have to be incorporated in early stages of the innovation process"[2]. "Too many projects are initiated based a preconceived idea of the technical solution to the problem at hand" [4].
As sustainability is a new lense to view projects through, it requires rethinking bla bla. Move from reactive to pro-active.
Management of meaningful sustainability projects can be especially complex, as the scope is beyond what a single organization, government or individual can solve alone .
How to do it
The Front-End process
Tool [5]!
The Front-End 'Delivery' Unit
The Project Brief
Opportunity discovery strategies: how to get ideas for which projects to start?
Stakeholder involvement
Mindset and implementation
References
- ↑ Konstantinou, Efrosyni, Jenny McArthur, Rob Leslie-Carter, and Vedran Zerjav, 2021. Climate Change and the Evolution of the Project Management Profession, Project Management Institute. (https://www.projectmanagement.com/contentPages/video.cfm?ID=736527&thisPageURL=/videos/736527/climate-change-and-the-evolution-of-the-project-management-profession#_=_)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Bocken, N. M. P., M. Farracho, R. Bosworth, and R. Kemp, 2014. The Front-End of Eco-Innovation for Eco-Innovative Small and Medium Sized Companies, Journal of Engineering and Technology Management 31:43–57. Available at: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1810/245338/The-front-end-of-eco-innovation_final__open-access.pdf?sequence=1 )
- ↑ Sherwin, Chris, 2017. The Fuzzy Front-End of Sustainability, Edie. (https://www.edie.net/the-fuzzy-front-end-of-sustainability/) )
- ↑ Olsson, Nils O. E., and Knut Samset. 2006. “Front-End Project Management, Flexibility, and Project Success.” in PMI® Research Conference: New Directions in Project Management, Montréal, Québec, Canada. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.
- ↑ Stock, Tim, Michael Obenaus, Amara Slaymaker, and Günther Seliger, 2017. A Model for the Development of Sustainable Innovations for the Early Phase of the Innovation Process, Procedia Manufacturing 8:215–22. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351978917300331?via%3Dihub
