When to Start a Project?

Deciding when to start a project in an organization is a major decision that deserves careful consideration. Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Antonio Nieto-Rodriquez and Whitney Johnson share a list of six questions that should be asked to determine when to begin a project formally. Using the S-curve framework from Rodgers’ model of the diffusion of innovations, they discuss the project launch decision as one of moving from the base of the S where things move slowly to the rapidly ascending back of the S where things move quickly.

The six questions they consider are: 1) Can you identify a unique approach or niche for the project? 2) Is the project in your core business? 3) Can you clearly define the scope? 4) Do you know that you can handle the required investment cost? 5) Is there buy-in from organizational leaders and the wider organization? and 6) Can you specify a timeline for completing the project?

If you are able to answer “yes” to these questions it may be time to launch a project and accelerate from the slow base of the S to the steep back curve. Starting a project is a major step, and posing questions such as these provides a more disciplined approach to taking that step.