A project is carried out with care, using special facilities and resources, between the beginning and end. Whatever we do it will still be impossible to keep the project isolated from internal and external factors. So we need to know what these factors are. By knowing them we will be able to use them in the direction that will increase the success chances of the project.
Lets start with the definition. Enterprise environmental factors are factors that have the potential to affect your project in any possible way. They are beyond the control of your project team. They may be caused by your organization or are caused by external things independent of your organization.
Enterprise environmental factors have the potential to have a positive impact on the project. This is usually desirable. This assumption is extremely good but not always true. There are enterprise environmental factors that will have a negative impact on the project as well. The task of the project manager is to do her best to minimize the impact of harmful ones by maximizing the impact of factors that will have a positive impact. Hard duty but worth the merit.
Organizational process assets and enterprise environmental factors are often included together as inputs in processes. So they are often conceptually confused with each other. The main difference between them is that enterprise environmental factors exist outside the control of the project team, while the use of organizational process assets is within the control of the project team. Accordingly, while organizational process assets are actively used in processes, environmental business factors can only be considered.
The scope of environmental operating factors is virtually unlimited and they can be based on numerous sources originating in and out of the project. So ignoring these factors when conducting a process will leave the project facing endless obscurity. This, in turn, will inevitably profoundly affect the project's chances of success. Some elements of the enterprise environmental factors are mandatory and affect the success of the project for sure, while many others only form examples of good practices. Regardless of they are mandatory or non-compulsory, the project team and the project manager should take them into consideration while tailoring processes.
Enterprise environmental factors can be categorized as internal and external. Examples of internal factors are;
- Organizational culture,
- Structure of the organization,
- Type and characteristics of organizational administration,
- Internal stakeholder expectations,
- Experience and expertise of employees
- Security policies
- Financial status
- Geographical factors,
- Facilities and resources,
- Internal infrastructure
Examples of external factors are,
- Market conditions
- Political factors,
- Social and cultural influences,
- Academic researches
- Commercial databases,
- Expectations of external stakeholders,
- Risk Appetite of stakeholders,
- Government regulations,
- Industry standards