Goal-oriented prioritization of project outputs: a stratified approach

Abstract

The literature points out that project outputs need to be aligned with project goals. However, it does not demonstrate how this alignment can be utilized to enhance project decision making. Drawing on system theory, this paper shows how to evaluate and utilize project goal-outputs relationships – while integrating risk related to the future values of goals – to support decisions made by executives in large and complex projects. To do so, a novel analytical approach that combines the stratified approach and quality function deployment (QFD) is developed and introduced to the literature. The stratified approach is a tool from operations research, which is used to integrate risk related to the future values of goals, and QFD is a quality management tool which is used to translate one set of elements (goals) to another (outputs).

Keywords:

• Project management
• project goal setting
• quality function deployment (QFD)
• the stratified decision-making approach

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the reviewers and the journal’s editorial office for the comments to improve the quality of this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 https://www.intelligenttransport.com/transport-articles/89125/how-the-city-is-adapting-to-canberras-light-rail-system

2 https://www.transport.act.gov.au/

3 https://www.transport.act.gov.au/

4 tourism.act.gov.au

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mehdi Rajabi Asadabadi

Dr. Mehdi Rajabi Asadabadi is a Lecturer at the University of Sydney. As a researcher, Mehdi looks at expanding knowledge on project and operations management. He does this by introducing real-world problems to the literature and providing novel solutions to them. More particularly, Mehdi is interested to develop and apply innovative operational research tools and techniques in order to address problems in large-scale projects. Mehdi has worked on common problems in government projects spanning from requirement specification to project benefits management. He also looks at the role of data mining in enhancing decision quality in organizations. For example, Mehdi suggests that automated text mining techniques can be combined with traditional techniques, sometimes from other disciplines, to extract and utilize information and support effective decision making. Mehdi’s research has been published in journals including European Journal of Operational Research, Decision Support Systems, Knowledge Based Systems, and Business and Industrial Marketing. Here is the link to his YouTube Channel to watch a few short, animated videos of his research studies.

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHjDnGhcyY9_kuA7gsHZD6g

LinkedIn: Mehdi Rajabi Asadabadi – University Lecturer – John Grill Centre for Project Leadership, The University of Sydney | LinkedIn

Scholar Google: Mehdi Rajabi Asadabadi – Google Scholar