Project Team Alignment Tool

This template is designed to assist the project manager in communicating and explaining the
projects alignment to the project team. This tool helps the team to understand the projects
purpose and allows the team to better understand questions like:

Why is the project being done?

How does the project help the organization to improve?
Why is now the right time to do this project?
What will happen if the project doesnt succeed?

The tool should be completed by the project manager in conjunction with the sponsor and any
other relevant key stakeholders. The team should then be walked through the contents and the
completed document made available as a reference. If it is necessary to update the tool during
the project, the changes should also be explained to the team.

Guidelines

Project Name The name of the project the tool is being completed for
Date Completed The date the tool was completed
Why was the project approved? This should be a bullet point list of the key reasons
why this project is being invested in by the organization. It should be based on the
business case and the key decisions points that were used during the project selection
process. This content should come from the sponsor and be interpreted by the PM to
ensure it is written in a way the team can relate to. Bullet points encourage concise,
precise points.
What benefits is the project expected to deliver? This should again be based on the
business case and should summarize the benefits the sponsor and other key
stakeholders are accountable to deliver. This section should include both the category of
measurement and the extent of expected benefit (for example, a 10% market share
expansion in Europe, a $5 million dollar increase in revenue from this product, etc.)
Why is now the right time to do this project? This section should address why the
project was approved now. Why was it not done earlier, and why was it not deferred?
This will help the team to understand how the project is viewed by the organization and
helps to identify time sensitive elements, dependencies on other initiatives/business
areas, etc.
How will the organization improve? This section should be driven by the sponsor and
is a more holistic view of the projects importance. It should go beyond the pure numbers
that are addressed earlier and speak to why the organizations future success is
 supported by the project. This may include aspects of competitive advantage, market
positioning, consolidation, etc. The PM should ensure this section is given sufficient
context for the team to understand.
How would the organization suffer? This section should focus on practical ways
that the organization would be less successful without the project. These elements need
to be relevant to the team and will help the team to understand not just why the project
was selected, but what the implications of failure are.
How should the key constraints be ranked? This section should contain a ranking
from 1 (most important) to 5 (least important) of the key constraints. The intent here is to
help establish not only the main driving forces behind the project, but also to provide
high-level direction on how conflicts between constraints will be resolved. While all
constraints are important, the one ranked fifth will be sacrificed if it means preserving the
other four, while the top priority will not be sacrificed at any cost.
What opportunities should the team be looking to exploit? This should contain
information on related areas and/or elements of the project that may allow for greater
benefits to be delivered. These are not core to the scope of the project, but may offer
low/no-cost additional benefits and/or mitigation if they arise. The team should be
looking for those options as a hedge against any problems that may arise on the project.
What threats to success should the team be wary of? This is the mirror image of the
above section and is designed to identify elements of the project that are high risk and/or
related areas that may have a negative impact on the project. These should be
monitored most closely as they are most likely to prevent benefits from being achieved.

Project Name Date

 Completed

Why was this project approved? What are the main reasons for executive approval of the
initiative?





What benefits is the project expected to deliver to the business? Please be specific on benefit
areas and extent of benefits.





Why is now the right time to do this project?

How will the organization improve as a result of completing this project?

How would the organization suffer if this project wasnt undertaken?



How should the key constraints (schedule, cost, scope, quality and risk) be ranked from most
important to least important?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What opportunities should the team be looking to exploit during the completion of the project?





What threats to success should the team be wary of during the completion of the project?