Project health check updated and improved
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Transcript of Project health check updated and improved
How is my project doing
INTRODUCTION
There comes a time as a project manager that you will need
to conduct a project health check when the project is not
achieving the planned goals and objectives.
Even the best planned projects will encounter problems along
the way. These hurdles however, do not mean that your
project is doomed to failure. The key is to identify these
challenges early and take the appropriate steps to get your
project back on track.
A project health check can be conducted when you have just
taken over a project from a project manager or during a
project that is underway and you need to have an
understanding of why the project is running into trouble.
PREPARING FOR THE PROJECT HEALTH CHECK
Time
The Triple Constraints The structure and process of a project will always encompass key processes and in PMBOK we refer to these as the triple constraints and each project will be broken down into: • Scope • Cost • Time Quality will also be taken into the configuration as this has to be measured for a successful delivery.
This presentation is using the standards and best practice provided by PMBOK as a guideline for setting up the steps to conduct a project audit
PREPARING FOR THE PROJECT HEALTH CHECK
Fundamentally you must audit the three key factors that form the project however the level of detail that you need to produce will be based on: • The size and complexity of the project • The requirement for the project to be implemented • The speed to market • The speed to meet the strategic objectives
The findings should be collated into an agreed matrix to easily identify what the high risk areas are that are impacting on the current state of the project.
Area to cover during the audit can include:
Executive Support
Scope
Project Management
Change Management
Resource Management
Risk Management
This presentation will focus on the areas above, however the areas to be audited could change according to your particular project.. The guidelines presented here could be used for any project.
ACTION PLAN
Step 1 • Define The Project Health Check Charter
Step 2 • Outline The Project Health Check Plan
Step 3 • Conduct the Health Check
Step 4 • Present the report
Step 5 • Implement the approved plan
DEFINE THE PROJECT HEALTH CHECK CHARTER
A project health charter is setup to provide the project manager with the authority to move ahead with the project audit and to ensure that there is enough budget assigned and resources allocated for the project audit to be conducted
Identify stakeholders
Identify the project team
Compile the charter
Review charter Update the charter with the feedback
Approve the charter
Documentation • Approved charter
OUTLINE THE PROJECT HEALTH CHECK PLAN
The project health check plan will outline what tasks/activities will need to be carried out to perform the assessment. It is important to note that the plan must specify the tools to gather the analysis, the allocation of the teams and costs and align back to the agreed budget.
Identify the audit tools
Identify the tasks to be performed
Assign the resources
Assign the durations
Align the costs Finalise the
dependencies
Finalise the cost and budget
Baseline and Obtain final
approval
Documentation • Audit matrix to record findings
• Audit documentation and questionnaires
• Project Plan
• Resource Plan
• Communication Plan
CONDUCT THE PROJECT HEALTH CHECK
In order to ensure that the project health check is conducted correctly the project plan and the tools to be used for the health check must be communicated to the project team. Workshops and meetings must be setup and the dates confirmed and where required, questionnaires to be sent out to a selected target audience in preparation for the audit.
• During the course of the audit there will be updates to the project plan.
• Each plan should be re-baselined against the first baseline to manage and track
all of the changes
Conduct a kick off meeting
Perform the agreed activities
Record the findings
Review the findings
Finalise and document
Distribute the findings
Documentation • Kick off presentation
• Completed questionnaires
• Completed matrix
• Minutes of meetings
PRESENT THE REPORT
.
The report for the project health check must be presented in a concise and clear manner that allows for easy reading by both the stakeholders as well as the team. The report should clearly show the findings from the health check and provide the solutions to allow for the required decisions to be made for the project/s undergoing a project health check
Finalise the table of contents
Send out draft copy of report
Update report with feedback
Finalise the report
Walkthrough the report with the
full team
Otain stakeholder approval
Documentation • Audit report
• Implementation Plan
• Minutes of meetings
IMPLEMENT THE APPROVED PLAN
Once the health check findings have been agreed it will be necessary to implement the approved findings. The implementation of the approved plan must be conducted as a normal project following the agreed process and governance. Training may be required to introduce the agreed changes for project delivery.
Confirm the actions to be carried out
Setup a project plan and timeline
Kick off the project
Track into the project roadmap and programme
Move into the agreed project methodology
Close out the project audit
Documentation • Approved Health Check Report
• Revised project plan
• Revised project roadmap
• Updated release programme
• Close out document for project audit
GUIDELINES FOR QUESTION AND ANSWERS
In order to accurately assess the findings of the questionnaires the questions posed
to the stakeholders and project teams should be clear and not confusing.
All of the answers should be easily uploaded into a control matrix to show where the
problem areas are and what needs to be focussed on. Microsoft Excel is a great
document to use for this and can easily be adapted as required
Provide a method for the questions to be answered and this should be done in a
quiet place away from the normal day to day work routine
Communicate back to the responders to let them know how things are progressing
EXECUTIVE SUPPORT QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES
Project Sponsor Buy-in The project sponsor is fully committed to the project success
Business Case There is a clear, written, approved business case for the project
Project Budget The entire project has been financed and the budget approved
Accountability The project sponsor shares accountability with the project team to ensure success
Success criteria The steering committee have adequate authority and have approved what constitutes the success criteria for the project
0 Strongly disagree or don’t know
1 Disagree
2 Neutral
3 Agree
4 Strongly disagree
SCOPE QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES
Objectives The objectives are the project are clear to all stakeholders and project team
Business Alignment The objectives of the project are in line with the corporate goals and standards
Documentation There is adequate documentation for the project requirements and performance
Stakeholder Input The stakeholders are given opportunity to provide inputs throughout the project
Tolerances There is an understanding of the tolerances for the scope of the project
0 Strongly disagree or don’t know
1 Disagree
2 Neutral
3 Agree
4 Strongly disagree
PROJECT MANAGEMENT QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES
Stakeholder representation Are all the stakeholders represented by the steering committee? Is there representation for the business the users and the vendors?
Project Plan There is a detailed plan including critical path, resource schedule, milestones for the completion of the project to track releases?
Project Meetings There are regular minuted project meetings?
Lessons Learnt Have lessons from previous projects been identified and if necessary applied
Project Methodology There is an approved project methodology for the project
0 Strongly disagree or don’t know
1 Disagree
2 Neutral
3 Agree
4 Strongly disagree
COMMUNICATION AND TRAINING QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES
Written Plans There is a written approved change management and communication plan
Communication Plan The communication plan clearly outlines the delivery mechanism for all lines of communication
Training Plan There is a training plan with the agreed budget and approach for training
Documentation There is a clear understanding of where and how all documentation for the project will be stored to provide easy access for the project team and stakeholders
0 Strongly disagree or don’t know
1 Disagree
2 Neutral
3 Agree
4 Strongly disagree
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES
Manpower There is sufficient manpower to complete the project
Resource Plan Is there a resource management plan integrated into the project plan to show public holiday and resource constraints including resource levelling
Roles and responsibilities There are clear and concise roles and responsibilities for the project team
Training Training for resources have been included in the project plan
Technology All project management technology to be used in the project is understood by the project team
0 Strongly disagree or don’t know
1 Disagree
2 Neutral
3 Agree
4 Strongly disagree
RISK MANAGEMENT QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES
Risk Management Project risks are tracked and appropriate responses are assigned and monitored
Risk Assessment Project risks have been assessed with the Impact and proximity of each risk and the correct mitigation strategies assigned
Owner There are clear roles and responsibilities assigned to the risks
Communication The risks are being communicated both internally within the project and externally to stakeholders as well as vendors
Risk Improvement All risks are being moved into a continuation improvement model for reducing risks in future projects
0 Strongly disagree or don’t know
1 Disagree
2 Neutral
3 Agree
4 Strongly disagree
HOW THE RESULTS WILL BE PRESENTED
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
ExecutiveSupport
Scope
ProjectManagement
Communication and Training
ResourceManagement
RiskManagement
Project healthcheck
Score Confidence
Executive Support 13% Very low
Scope 56% Medium
Project Management 63% Medium
Communication and Training 88% High
Resource Management 100% High
Risk Management 88% High
This is just an example and not an accurate depiction of results. It is used to give you an idea of how the results can be presented using accurate information.
PROJECT HEALTH CHECK BENEFITS
For The Project Manager
The project manager receives immediate information in all areas of the project and can optimise
processes and project deliverables
The project manager can zone in and very quickly put in an action plan to turn the project
around
The project manager receives the right level of feedback from the team and stakeholders
For The Company
Immediate option to mitigate the risk for the project failing
Able to identify the need for action on the project a well as at organisational level
Can look at current project practice to see how this an be improved
Identify quality concerns and address them