A theoretical framework for aligning project management with business strategy

When a project's goals align with an organization's business strategy, the project may likely generate significant business advantages. This paper examines a empirically based, theoretical framework for aligning project management and strategic management. In doing so, it identifies two concerns in developing in aligning project management and business strategy; it reviews the literature on business strategy typologies, project management's strategic function, and alignment studies that show what has been addressed and what has not. It outlines the study's four-phase methodology: reviewing topical literature, analyzing 8 case studies from 7 organizations, interviewing 42 individuals participating in projects at market-leading organizations, and evaluating these findings with a panel of 5 experts, information that the authors used to develop their framework, a model based on Shenhar's Strategic Project Leadership (SPL).