A structured process for the fuzzy front-end of complex projects
研究了澳大利亚国防采购项目的严格前端流程，提出一个包含四个步骤的结构化流程，帮助运营经理理清复杂项目前端的角色、职责和活动。
The front-end stage of projects, which covers the period from inception through to project approval, is not well understood in the literature and is considered 'fuzzy'. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to develop a structured process for the project front-end stage of complex projects. In this study, the rigorous and protracted front-end process followed by Australian Defence acquisition and development projects is analysed. Findings propose a front-end process that consists of the following four steps: (1) project trigger identification, (2) project idea generation, (3) business case development, and (4) business case appraisal. We further detail the activities included in each step and propose practical implications for operations managers and the organisation. By structuring the front-end process, our research contributes to the operations management literature by clarifying roles, responsibilities, and activities in the management of the front-end of complex projects and their alignment with the operations' environment.