05.17.08
Project Health Check
While the Project Health Check is one of our most popular services, I am still often asked what a “health check” is for and why an organisation might want to undertake one. I thought I would outline the main objectives and benefits of undertaking a health check as I find them extremely valuable as a tool for ensuring project success.
The key objectives of a Project Health Check include:
To determine the current state of the project and detect problems early enough so that the project team has the capacity to deal with them.
To identify factors that will enable or disable the potential of delivering the anticipated outcome and benefits of the project. Key areas under review include the following:
· Completion and clarity of Business Case / Benefits Realisation Plan
o Sufficiency of analysis and translation to definition of project outcomes
· Adequacy of Stakeholder Commitment & Support
· Adequacy of Project Initiation Process
· Adequacy of Scope Definition & Verification
· Adequacy of Requirements Definition & Verification
· Appropriateness of Project Approach
· Appropriateness of Project Organisation Structure & team
o Skills, knowledge and experience of Project Manager / Team Leaders
o Demonstrated competency of Project Manager / Team Leaders
o Skills, knowledge and experience of project team
· Adequate and timely risk identification, analysis , management and control
· Realism & Executablility of Project Plan (schedule) taking into account:
o Completeness of Project Plan
o Appropriate level of work decomposition
o Appropriate work steps such as:
§ Project Initiation / Problem Definition
§ Requirements Definition
§ Analysis /Design (System Performance, System Capacity, IT infrastructure)
§ System Development/Testing (Conversion, Application Security, Interfaces, Testing Co-ordination, Functional Testing, Business Acceptance Test Planning, Regression Test Processes, Integration Test Planning)
§ Process Development/Testing (internal controls in process design)
§ Change Management (Organisational Impacts, Communication and Training)
§ Implementation Planning including Support Planning
o Reference to appropriate IT standards, processes and methods
o Sequencing of tasks in a logical sequence to deliver desired outcomes instead of silos of work by functional area
o Dependency definition ( doing the right tasks at the right time)
o Appropriate sizing of work into manageable packets of work
o Accuracy of work effort and duration estimation
o Adequacy of resourcing levels and appropriateness of types of resources applied
o Sufficiency of contingency planning
o Inclusion of checkpoints linked to appropriate implementation of deliverable (document) review sign off and management
o Appropriateness of wording in plan to enable its use as a communication document and management document
o Ability to baseline project plan and manage variance to plan
· Communication Planning
o Thoroughness of Stakeholder needs assessment
o Appropriateness of Information distribution
· Adequacy of Project Monitoring and Control
o Accuracy, adequacy and timeliness of performance reporting, replanning and change management
o Implementation of appropriate inclusive project status and team meetings
o Implementation of appropriate Steering Committee
o Adequacy of Issue Management and appropriate scope change control
· Adequacy of resource procurement process vendor and contract management
· Adequacy of Financial Management including:
o Development of project budget and expenditure forecasts
o Implementation of adequate, accurate and timely processes to manage and report project cost
To analyse findings and present detailed recommendations addressing each of the issues identified.
Overall, this helps to ensure a shared understanding and commitment between the project team & the ultimate business stakeholders to a realistic and executable strategy to resolve issues as agreed.