Aligning Capability with Strategy

Organizations achieve project success by both doing the right projects and doing projects right. This article examines the relationship between using project categorization systems and achieving project success. In doing so, it defines the purpose of project categorization systems and describes the challenges in developing such systems. It also reviews the field's literature on categorizing projects. It then outlines this study's six-step methodology to develop a holistic project categorization system, a process that involved a literature survey, focus group meetings, and Web-based questionnaire. It analyzes the findings from both the focus group and the questionnaire; it evaluates the three multi-dimensional categorization systems that the studied organizations most use. It also explains why organizations and researchers use categorization systems; it suggests how organizations can evaluate and redesign their categorization systems.