Citation (IEEE): K. A. Brown, N. L. Hyer, and R. Ettenson, “The Question Every Project Team Should Answer,” MIT Sloan Management Review, vol. 55, no. 1, pp. 49–57, 2013.
What it argues
The authors argue that projects often fail because teams never agree on why the project exists. They recommend asking “why” before planning “what”: articulating a problem-focused purpose statement that explains the need the project addresses and the value it creates for stakeholders. They show how a clear purpose aligns the team, guides trade-offs and supports the project’s identity, or brand, inside the organization.