Project management is important in getting things done regardless of what the objectives may be. There is a range of alternatives that are created to address the different objectives developed for different projects. Alternatives generation is basically the creation of alternative solutions to respond to different events that may arise as the project progresses.
It is important to take note that exceptional solutions are never possible with the absence of good alternatives. There is no single solution to problems and objectives may require different types of tasks or solutions in order to become complete.
Alternatives generation refers to sets of actions, strategies or portfolio of different individual elements that exhaust all possible approaches to a particular situation. Developing good alternatives is iterative and it must be evaluated technically at all times. It is crucial for good alternatives to be value-focused, clear, high quality, comprehensive, technically sound, mutually exclusive and has the ability to expose trade-offs.
They are necessary to provide alternative solutions to the decision-makers when it comes to dealing with the problem at hand. Good alternatives allow the team to meet the objectives of the project with fewer risks.
This project management term is defined in the 5th edition of the PMBOK.