Island Consulting
QUALITY
Project Health Check
Best
practice will always call for some form of project review. Many organisations
used to limit these to 'Post Implementation Reviews'. (Some
organisations still do). All too often these degenerated into witch
hunts, despite frequent claims to the contrary. There is nothing
wrong with the concept of a post implementation review. Ideally, it
should be the last of several reviews.
By undertaking reviews during the life of the project, it is possible to apply any learning towards improving the outcome of the project, rather than 'learning valuable lessons from the failure of the project'. We call these health checks, as they are geared towards detecting problems, and taking corrective action in time to save the 'patient'.
The number of health checks and the scope of them will depend on a number of variables including the following project attributes:
By undertaking reviews during the life of the project, it is possible to apply any learning towards improving the outcome of the project, rather than 'learning valuable lessons from the failure of the project'. We call these health checks, as they are geared towards detecting problems, and taking corrective action in time to save the 'patient'.
The number of health checks and the scope of them will depend on a number of variables including the following project attributes:
- Size of the project
- Priority and criticality of the project
- Nature & function of the project,
- Duration of the project
- Project budget
At
the very least, health checks determine if the project is complying with
standards and procedures including the project methodology. They can
also compare projects to 'best practice' or 'common practice' and look
for common problems.
Health checks need to be done by people who are conversant with current project management techniques. Their experience will be essential in recognising common problems and working within standard methodologies. We suggest using staff from your project office, or specialist consultants such as Island Consulting.
Health checks need to be done by people who are conversant with current project management techniques. Their experience will be essential in recognising common problems and working within standard methodologies. We suggest using staff from your project office, or specialist consultants such as Island Consulting.
