What Is Alternative Analysis In Project Management?

What Is Alternative Analysis In Project Management?

Alternative analysis is the evaluation of the various routes you can pursue to achieve the goal of a project or a particular project management objective. It looks beyond the status quo to compare different ways of getting work done and uses tools such as life-cycle costing, sensitivity analysis, cash flow analysis and cost-benefit analysis. It is part of the decision-making process when looking at existing portfolios, programs and projects or while initiating a new project and helps reduce the risk of project failure. It is typically done at the initiation of a project but is also used throughout the life cycle of the project. Making updates throughout the process will refine the solution and reaffirm the assessment criteria.

An analysis of alternatives (AOA) is a time-consuming process that helps project, portfolio and program managers identify, understand and evaluate the alternatives open to them when managing a project. It provides a framework to look at their process and seek out improvements that are of the greatest advantage. To execute an AOA, it is important to make a plan, organize the analytic framework, define the analysis problem statement, the context of the problem, scope and a framework for alternative comparisons, frame the analysis with ground rules, and access the data needs, collection and sources used.