#HarvardBusinessReview
The Art and Science of Aligning Initiatives with Strategic Objectives
04 April 2025
BY SCOTT M. GRAFFIUS | ScottGraffius.com
Introduction
Scott M. Graffius sparks breakthroughs in AI, Agile, and Project Management/PMO leadership as a globally recognized practitioner, researcher, thought leader, award-winning author, and international public speaker.
To date, he's delivered talks and workshops at 93 conferences and other events across 25 countries. This article explores the his talk, 'Score and Prioritize Proposed Initiatives Based on Multiple Factors, Including Strategic Alignment.'
Main Body
Abstract for Graffius' Talk
"57% more projects meet goals when they are aligned with strategic objectives" (from PMI). How does your organization assess proposals for new projects? Is there a well-defined scoring and prioritization process based on alignment with the business’ strategic objectives and other factors to quickly and easily identify the objective value of each proposal? If the answer is "no," this talk should prove to be valuable. If the answer is "yes," you’re still likely to find practical information and examples to adapt and adopt.
Key Learning Objectives for Graffius' Talk
This session helps participants develop and enhance the contributions they make by being able to:
Conclusion
Graffius' 'Score and Prioritize Proposed Initiatives Based on Multiple Factors, Including Strategic Alignment' session helps professionals make smarter decisions that drive real business impact. Whether one is refining their current approach or building one from scratch, the session offers practical insights that can be immediately applied.
Ask Scott to speak at your event. Just complete the speaker engagement request form or email him today!
Read on for:
About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius sparks breakthroughs in AI, agile, and project management/PMO leadership as a globally recognized practitioner, researcher, thought leader, award-winning author, and international public speaker.
Graffius has generated more than USD $1.9 billion in business value for organizations served, including Fortune 500 companies. Businesses and industries range from technology (including R&D and AI) to entertainment, financial services, and healthcare, government, social media, and more.
Graffius leads the professional services firm Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions, along with its subsidiary Exceptional Agility. These consultancies offer strategic and tactical advisory, training, embedded talent, and consulting services to public, private, and government sectors. They help organizations enhance their capabilities and results in agile, project management, program management, portfolio management, and PMO leadership, supporting innovation and driving competitive advantage. The consultancies confidently back services with a Delighted Client Guarantee™. Graffius is a former vice president of project management with a publicly traded provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet. Before that, he ran and supervised the delivery of projects and programs in public and private organizations with businesses ranging from e-commerce to advanced technology products and services, retail, manufacturing, entertainment, and more. He has experience with consumer, business, reseller, government, and international markets.
He is the author of two award-winning books.
Prominent businesses, professional associations, government agencies, and universities have featured Graffius and his work including content from his books, talks, workshops, and more. Select examples include:
Graffius has been actively involved with the Project Management Institute (PMI) in the development of professional standards. He was a member of the team which produced the Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures—Second Edition. Graffius was a contributor and reviewer of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge—Sixth Edition, The Standard for Program Management—Fourth Edition, and The Practice Standard for Project Estimating—Second Edition. He was also a subject matter expert reviewer of content for the PMI’s Congress. Beyond the PMI, Graffius also served as a member of the review team for two of the Scrum Alliance’s Global Scrum Gatherings.
Graffius has a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a focus in Human Factors. He holds eight professional certifications:
He is an active member of the Scrum Alliance, the Project Management Institute (PMI), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
He divides his time between Los Angeles and Paris, France.
Thought Leader | Public Speaker | Agile Scrum Book | Agile Transformation Book | Blog | Photo | X | LinkedIn | Email
How to Cite This Article
Graffius, Scott M. (2025, April 4). The Art and Science of Aligning Initiatives with Strategic Objectives. Available at: https://scottgraffius.com/blog/files/scott-m-graffius-presents-the-art-and-science-of-aligning-initiatives-with-strategic-objectives.html.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
DOI: (coming soon)
Content Acknowledgements
Names, marks, and content are the property of their respective owners.
Graffius' 'Score and Prioritize Proposed Initiatives Based on Multiple Factors, Including Strategic Alignment' is copyright © Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved.
Post-Publication Notes
If there's an update after this article is published, the information will appear here.
Copyright
Copyright © Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved.
Content on this site—including text, images, videos, and data—may not be used for training or input into any artificial intelligence, machine learning, or automatized learning systems, or published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Introduction
Scott M. Graffius sparks breakthroughs in AI, Agile, and Project Management/PMO leadership as a globally recognized practitioner, researcher, thought leader, award-winning author, and international public speaker.
To date, he's delivered talks and workshops at 93 conferences and other events across 25 countries. This article explores the his talk, 'Score and Prioritize Proposed Initiatives Based on Multiple Factors, Including Strategic Alignment.'
Main Body
Abstract for Graffius' Talk
"57% more projects meet goals when they are aligned with strategic objectives" (from PMI). How does your organization assess proposals for new projects? Is there a well-defined scoring and prioritization process based on alignment with the business’ strategic objectives and other factors to quickly and easily identify the objective value of each proposal? If the answer is "no," this talk should prove to be valuable. If the answer is "yes," you’re still likely to find practical information and examples to adapt and adopt.
Key Learning Objectives for Graffius' Talk
This session helps participants develop and enhance the contributions they make by being able to:
- Understand the benefits of scoring and prioritizing project proposals based on strategic alignment and other factors.
- Identify selection and prioritization criteria appropriate for your unique organization, leveraging the flexible framework and some or all of the 10 factors.
- Put the practical, actionable information presented to use.
Conclusion
Graffius' 'Score and Prioritize Proposed Initiatives Based on Multiple Factors, Including Strategic Alignment' session helps professionals make smarter decisions that drive real business impact. Whether one is refining their current approach or building one from scratch, the session offers practical insights that can be immediately applied.
Ask Scott to speak at your event. Just complete the speaker engagement request form or email him today!
Read on for:
- About Scott M. Graffius,
- How to Cite This Article,
- and more.
About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius sparks breakthroughs in AI, agile, and project management/PMO leadership as a globally recognized practitioner, researcher, thought leader, award-winning author, and international public speaker.
Graffius has generated more than USD $1.9 billion in business value for organizations served, including Fortune 500 companies. Businesses and industries range from technology (including R&D and AI) to entertainment, financial services, and healthcare, government, social media, and more.
Graffius leads the professional services firm Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions, along with its subsidiary Exceptional Agility. These consultancies offer strategic and tactical advisory, training, embedded talent, and consulting services to public, private, and government sectors. They help organizations enhance their capabilities and results in agile, project management, program management, portfolio management, and PMO leadership, supporting innovation and driving competitive advantage. The consultancies confidently back services with a Delighted Client Guarantee™. Graffius is a former vice president of project management with a publicly traded provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet. Before that, he ran and supervised the delivery of projects and programs in public and private organizations with businesses ranging from e-commerce to advanced technology products and services, retail, manufacturing, entertainment, and more. He has experience with consumer, business, reseller, government, and international markets.
He is the author of two award-winning books.
- His first book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions (ISBN-13: 9781533370242), received 17 awards.
- His second book is Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change (ISBN-13: 9781072447962). BookAuthority named it one of the best Scrum books of all time.
Prominent businesses, professional associations, government agencies, and universities have featured Graffius and his work including content from his books, talks, workshops, and more. Select examples include:
- Adobe,
- American Management Association,
- Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute,
- Bayer,
- BMC Software,
- Boston University,
- Broadcom,
- Cisco,
- Coburg University of Applied Sciences and Arts Germany,
- Computer Weekly,
- Constructor University Germany,
- Data Governance Success,
- Deimos Aerospace,
- DevOps Institute,
- EU's European Commission,
- Ford Motor Company,
- GoDaddy,
- Harvard Medical School,
- Hasso Plattner Institute Germany,
- IEEE,
- Innovation Project Management,
- Johns Hopkins University,
- Journal of Neurosurgery,
- Lam Research (Semiconductors),
- Leadership Worthy,
- Life Sciences Trainers and Educators Network,
- London South Bank University,
- Microsoft,
- NASSCOM,
- National Academy of Sciences,
- New Zealand Government,
- Oracle,
- Pinterest Inc.,
- Project Management Institute,
- SANS Institute,
- SBG Neumark Germany,
- Singapore Institute of Technology,
- Torrens University Australia,
- TBS Switzerland,
- Tufts University,
- UC San Diego,
- UK Sports Institute,
- University of Galway Ireland,
- US Department of Energy,
- US National Park Service,
- US Tennis Association,
- Veleučilište u Rijeci Croatia,
- Verizon,
- Virginia Tech,
- Warsaw University of Technology,
- Wrike,
- Yale University,
- and many others.
Graffius has been actively involved with the Project Management Institute (PMI) in the development of professional standards. He was a member of the team which produced the Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures—Second Edition. Graffius was a contributor and reviewer of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge—Sixth Edition, The Standard for Program Management—Fourth Edition, and The Practice Standard for Project Estimating—Second Edition. He was also a subject matter expert reviewer of content for the PMI’s Congress. Beyond the PMI, Graffius also served as a member of the review team for two of the Scrum Alliance’s Global Scrum Gatherings.
Graffius has a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a focus in Human Factors. He holds eight professional certifications:
- Certified SAFe 6 Agilist (SA),
- Certified Scrum Professional - ScrumMaster (CSP-SM),
- Certified Scrum Professional - Product Owner (CSP-PO),
- Certified ScrumMaster (CSM),
- Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO),
- Project Management Professional (PMP),
- Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (LSSGB), and
- IT Service Management Foundation (ITIL).
He is an active member of the Scrum Alliance, the Project Management Institute (PMI), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
He divides his time between Los Angeles and Paris, France.
Thought Leader | Public Speaker | Agile Scrum Book | Agile Transformation Book | Blog | Photo | X | LinkedIn | Email
How to Cite This Article
Graffius, Scott M. (2025, April 4). The Art and Science of Aligning Initiatives with Strategic Objectives. Available at: https://scottgraffius.com/blog/files/scott-m-graffius-presents-the-art-and-science-of-aligning-initiatives-with-strategic-objectives.html.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
DOI: (coming soon)
Content Acknowledgements
Names, marks, and content are the property of their respective owners.
Graffius' 'Score and Prioritize Proposed Initiatives Based on Multiple Factors, Including Strategic Alignment' is copyright © Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved.
Post-Publication Notes
If there's an update after this article is published, the information will appear here.
Copyright
Copyright © Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved.
Content on this site—including text, images, videos, and data—may not be used for training or input into any artificial intelligence, machine learning, or automatized learning systems, or published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.