Project objectives vs business objectives

Question

What are the differences between project objectives and business objectives? And should the project manager care about business objectives when managing his project?

Answer 1

Project objectives are not the same as business objectives. Project objectives are project specific (high level) deliverables that the project is expected to achieve. An example of a project objective would be "Create an accounting module that will be used in the Project Management Software". Project objectives are clear and concise, and as mentioned here ( http://www.projectmanagementquestions.com/77/an-example-of-a-project-objective ) , they do not represent abstract concepts.

As for business objectives, they consists of the high level objectives of the whole business. For example, increase sales by 20% by the end of the year, decrease employee turnover rate by 5% in 5 years, make a net profit of $5 million in July. You can view business objectives as targets the business wants to achieve withing a specific period or at a specific point in time.

Now how do project objectives relate to business objectives? Project objectives must be aligned, at all times, with the business objectives (for example, you don't want a project that will cost the company millions on the short term and starts paying for itself after 10 years, while, at the same time, you want to achieve record profitability this year). It is the job of the Program Manager (or the Project Portfolio Manager) to ensure alignment between any project's objectives and the business objectives of the organization.

Note: Both business objectives and project objectives must be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable/Agreed, Realistic, Time bound).