Project Health Check
When was your last Project Health Check?
A Project Health Check is a learning opportunity, a glance at the status of a project to see which areas need a slight improvement and which are going according to plan. Very often, those closest to a project are the ones that have difficulty seeing the progress that a project is or is not making because they are so focused on the minute details or stakeholder needs. The primary purpose of a health check is to determine how well the project is performing in terms of the objectives and procedures and by company standards. With any business in any sector, the cost of fixing an issue is much higher than the cost of preventing it in the first place.
Unfortunately, upcoming problems can go unnoticed or even disregarded because many people have that ‘slow and steady wins the race mentality. The belief that everything will be okay if you stick to the plan is false and shouldn’t be fostered. Conducting checks on projects can help develop future projects and programs by identifying common problems and solutions and applying them to future projects.
These checks are best undertaken by third-party assessors, who can provide an unbiased and balanced view and opinion. Another benefit of going with an independent is that their recommendations are more likely to be actioned. A professional assessor will consider the nature of your organisation and apply a recognised project management methodology.
There are two approaches to this that you can take:
- Perform health when the project runs into trouble to determine what went wrong and why.
- Perform checks at set intervals to find any potential issues before they become a problem.
Both approaches have their place, depending on the project and the organisation’s size.
The following are five categories of warning signs that can be identified using health checks.
- Conformity
This is about consistency and ensuring that every part of your project conforms to the practices applied to other projects and the organisation. This not only helps improve communication but can also improve the effectiveness of your organisation and project.
- Validating the case for your business
Projects are created for various reasons; this check looks at the project’s objectives and goals throughout the project’s life, ensuring that the focus is still on the bigger picture.
- Project finance control
This focuses on the costs you expect to incur in the coming months, also known as your project’s Burn Rate. You can use this data to estimate future costs and decide on resources.
- Risk assessment
Project managers have been known to perform the required management exercise by leaving it in a drawer until the project’s conclusion. This check examines the risk management plan and ensures that any risks have been noted and addressed. If they haven’t, recommendations can be made.
- The human element
Successful project management is a team effort. With this in mind, the project manager must maintain productive relationships across the board. Project health checks look at how well teams work with each other, how satisfied clients are, and any further human involvement that could negatively impact the project.
When the project managers have successfully identified what warning signs they should be looking for, the next thing to do is perform the check and begin turning the project around.
Scope, Quality, Schedule, Cost, Communication, Resources and Risk… The list goes on. Every aspect of project management is scrutinised and examined in detail.
By engaging PMPi as an independent Consultant to perform a project health check, organisations can avoid any potential risk and confirm that their project is on track to achieve the desired outcomes.