Project Strategic Framing Approach - The Strategy Table

Abstract

Abstract Considering the different drivers and constrains of each party within a Joint Venture, the strategy table is an effective tool that provides a structured workflow to guarantee objectives alignment and to maximize value creation for all the Stakeholders during a pre-feasibility study. Eni used this opportunity framing approach to define alternative project development strategy options with the aim to create value for all the stakeholders. Thanks to this guided and structured approach each party, within a Joint Venture, can present and compare his view with others. Using the strategy table tool, as framing approach, allows to identify alternative development strategies (bookends) as a combination of strategic options applicable for a given strategy theme. Furthermore, a clear objectives (what) and rationale (why) associated to each strategy will be defined to support the evaluation. The range of strategy themes identified helps to test the potential tradeoff between various fundamental objectives. Through a structured process, characterized by the definition, framing, evaluation and decision phases, it is possible to streamline the alternative strategy themes options and rank them in terms of value creation for the stakeholders. Using the strategy table tool, as framing approach, implies a decision-making process that allows to choose the strategy that best achieves our goal while also reducing our exposure to risks. Frequently the decision structure of a problem is complex, especially when the decision being considered relates to a large of scale project involving many sub-decisions. The Strategy Table helps the project management team to achieve an informed decision since it allows to evaluate what we are planning to achieve, understanding what our options are and considering how each option performs with reference to our objectives and project risks. Once the bookends for all the strategy themes are defined (i.e. selected strategic choices for each focus decision), a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis is performed to qualitatively assess the identified strategies against strategic objectives and a short-list of strategies on which focus on more in details is defined. The final outcome represents the most promising development strategies to be tested during pre-feasibility and feasibility studies.