{"id":68945,"date":"2023-12-07T14:00:21","date_gmt":"2023-12-07T20:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.projectmanager.com\/?p=68945"},"modified":"2026-04-28T14:35:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T19:35:24","slug":"enterprise-environmental-factors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.projectmanager.com\/blog\/enterprise-environmental-factors","title":{"rendered":"Enterprise Environmental Factors in Project Management"},"content":{"rendered":"

Projects aren\u2019t executed in a vacuum. It\u2019s easy to get lost in the planning and execution as these are foundational processes that help deliver successful projects. However, you can\u2019t forget the context of the project, which is what enterprise environmental factors (EEF) cover.<\/p>\n

Enterprise environmental factors help a project maneuver through the often knotty threads of the cultural, political, legal and environments in which a project is being done. Read on and we\u2019ll get into all that and more in detail.<\/p>\n

What Are Enterprise Environmental Factors?<\/h2>\n

Enterprise environmental factors can be defined as conditions that aren’t under the immediate control of the project team or project management office<\/a>. These constraints include the cultural, political, legal and environmental landscape in which the project is being executed. These can influence the outcome of the project, program or portfolio so they must be managed.<\/p>\n

Both being beyond the control of the project team, and even the organization that initiated the project, enterprise environmental factors can affect the outcome of the project, both negatively and positively. These enterprise environmental factors are even broader in scope as they can occur within the organization initiating the project and outside of it.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why project managers and their teams need to take time to identify enterprise environmental factors that might influence their projects and figure out an action plan to mitigate or respond to them in a timely, effective manner. This systematic analysis of external and internal environmental factors is part of the larger strategic management of a project, program<\/a> or project portfolio.<\/p>\n

First, you need to identify the enterprise environmental factors by listing the internal and external ones. An EEF project management tool is a SWOT analysis<\/a>, which can help identify enterprise environmental factors and determine their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. That’ll make it easier to know how to assess and plan for their potential effect on the project.<\/p>\n

Project management software can facilitate this process. ProjectManager<\/a> is award-winning project management software that has risk management features that can help you identify, plan and track enterprise environmental factors in your projects. Users can manage risk, issues and changes on task cards that can describe your response, note the impact on and likelihood of it occurring in the project, assign team members to own and mitigate the issue, prioritize it and much more. Then you can track the progress in real time to ensure the project is delivered on time and within budget. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.<\/p>\n

\"ProjectManager<\/a>
ProjectManager ProjectManager\u2019s risk management features manage enterprise environmental factors. Learn more<\/strong><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Enterprise Environmental Factors vs. Organizational Process Assets<\/h2>\n

There are many enterprise environmental factors to take into account. This means there are policies, practices, procedures and legislation both inside and outside an organization that must be managed.<\/p>\n

Organizational process assets (OPA) are used to improve the management of both projects. The organization over time will have a wide range of templates, contracts, registers and assessment tools to better manage their projects. These can include standardized guidelines, proposal evaluation criteria, work breakdown structure templates<\/a> and more.<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean that the line between the two is solid. There are examples of internal policies that fall under enterprise environmental factors and organizational process assets<\/a> that can be more confusing to separate. Think about an organization\u2019s computer systems, networks and software, which are instrumental in EEF project management, however, specific policies, processes and data fall under organizational process assets.<\/p>\n

Organizational process assets will improve the management of projects that are being managed within the constraints established by enterprise environmental factors.<\/p>\n

Why Are Enterprise Environmental Factors Important in Project Management?<\/h2>\n

All the projects and programs that a company executes should be closely tied to its strategic plan, which is a snapshot of its business strategy. Strategic plans<\/a> are influenced by the enterprise environmental factors so all these factors should be factored in at the very beginning of a project.<\/p>\n

Setting up these procedures is the responsibility of a project management office<\/a> (PMO), While not all organizations have a PMO overseeing these responsibilities, it’s sometimes under the purview of the project manager, PMOs are in charge of coordinating all project, program and project portfolio management related activities.<\/p>\n

This is important because environmental factors are all the internal and external influences on how projects are prioritized, planned and executed. This, in turn, can impact the outcome of the project. Therefore, it\u2019s as important to the success of the project as staying on schedule, keeping to your budget<\/a> and scope as well as delivering on quality expectations.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\"Swot\t<\/div>

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