Organizations often require significant transformations to execute their strategic planning or achieve market differentiation. These transformations can range from minor sectoral changes to larger expansions, such as the creation of new departmental or manufacturing units. To achieve these feats, it is necessary to create projects and invest in good management so that overall objectives are met and energy is not wasted on low-impact actions or rework.
According to Guilherme Barbassa, director of Stratec, the business management model will generally have two main pillars or foundations: operational process management, that is, the company's day-to-day operations; and project management, which are largely responsible for generating structural changes.
Barbassa believes that all projects associated with an organization are, in principle, important and should add value; otherwise, they have no reason to exist. “From the simplest to the most complex, their importance must be adequately highlighted to avoid mistakes of creating projects without significant value for the organization at its current stage, especially those classified as strategic,” he emphasizes.
The director of Stratec Regarding strategic management, we are talking about significant organizational changes to attain a certain market position or strengthen the current one. Good management will ensure effectiveness in project execution, which in turn will drive change and sustain the company's strategic management.
The fact is, leading a strategic and complex project to success is much more than simply stating that the organization advocates for methodology “A” or “B,” or that it has a “blue,” “red,” or “yellow” project office, phrases that many organizations “pride” themselves on saying. Managing a project of great importance requires the organization to be prepared to frequently monitor indicators, mitigate risks, and work on deviations to get back on the planned path.
“Many organizations today are still mistaken in thinking that project success is delivering a set of activities to a person, without concern for adequate planning and a monitoring and control plan compatible with the complexity of the project in question, in a way that risks can be identified and resolved,” comments Barbassa.
According to the director, managing a project is an equation composed of several important variables, such as having adequate planning, the involvement of people committed to a “positive outcome” (sponsor, project manager, and associated teams), as well as tools that facilitate the monitoring, control, and communication of performance indicators. Of these three key components mentioned, we can say that the first two are strongly influenced by the culture of the project's sponsoring organization and by the talent and commitment of the people involved.
Managing projects with IT support
The software of Strategy Management – developed by Stratec, assists in operational management, utilizing common project management methodologies, definition of Critical path, budget and responsibility management, as well as the entire activity execution control system.
Barbosa points out that the software allows for scaling Alerts about activities, saying who is responsible for each action, see the project's progress, evaluate their operational management, visualize the relationship between projects, prioritize them, and automatically generate indicators of project effectiveness and efficiency, such as the S-curve, for example.
The software also enables the control and communication of goals from various perspectives, from the most traditional timeline, through the scope with its final product, to allocated costs and risks. “The manager can create and monitor not just one, but several performance indicators for project monitoring and control,” he attests.
The software of large companies and institutions
The software mentioned above is the system applied in Ministry of Mines and Energy and on Logistics Coordination of the Presidency of the Republic. The system was also used in the extinct Strategic Affairs Secretariat of the Presidency.
Guilherme Barbassa says that Strategic Management Software controls all strategic projects of the Ministry of Mines and Energy. “The entire methodology for managing projects is in the tool, as well as all project cost control, budget control, and indicators,” he says.
Many other renowned companies in the market, from different segments such as health, education, retail, and food industries, also use Strategic Management Software to manage projects. See our client list.
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