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Project Reviews: Getting to the Heart of the Matter
by Wayne Strider
(First published in the April 2001 issue of Successful Project Management)
By the time my partner and I get called, the client's question usually takes a form similar to, "Can you look at our project and tell us if we have any hope of completing it successfully?" A project review answers that question and then some. Less frequently, a client will ask for a project review before the project gets into trouble, perhaps even as the project is getting started. Then the question may be different, such as, "Can you tell us if the course of action we have identified can be achieved, or how it could be modified to ensure its success?"
This is the first in a series of three articles I will write this year on project reviews. Each article will answer one of following questions:
- What is a project review?
- Who sponsors project reviews?
- Who should lead your project review?
What Is a Project Review?
There are many uses for the ambiguous term "project review." I have seen the term used to mean an evaluation to determine which among several candidate projects should be funded. I have also seen it used to mean a review of a project post-implementation, a.k.a. project retrospective. Other times I have seen it used interchangeably with the term "project status review."
For our purposes, I define "project review" as:
- A brief, organized, and objective project checkup that leads to
- A written report containing the results of the checkup, with recommendations for going forward, and
- Answers the question: "Can this project be completed, and if so, what needs to be done so it can be successful?"
How Is a Project Review Conducted?
The review may be focused by asking the person requesting the review to answer the following questions prior to starting:
- What concerns us most about the [project name] right now?
- What do we hope to learn from the review?
- What can happen as a result of the review?
The review may be organized around any area of interest or concern, depending on the answers to the focusing questions. However, such areas need to be identified and agreed upon prior to the review. Organizing the review this way has the benefit of making sure that the review team is efficient with its time. Another benefit is that the report can be organized by the areas of interest or concern. These areas might be broad and general, such as:
- Sponsorship
- Business functionality
- Management capability
- Technical capability.
Or the areas of interest or concern might be more narrowly defined, such as:
- Project management practices
- Network design
- Vendor management
- Skills of technical staff.
The review leader convenes a project review team. The review team is as small as possible, staffed with individuals who are experienced and skilled in the areas of interest or concern being investigated. This does not mean that there is necessarily one individual for each area. It means that the review team as a whole must possess the skills and experience. It may be that one individual on the review team is skilled and experienced in more than one area.
The review team interviews selected project staff and reads project documents. The interviews and documents are arranged and requested in advance of the review. The review team looks for relevant project processes and results that are working well, and those that need improvement.
What Is the Result of a Project Review?
After the interviews are completed and the documents read, the review team meets to analyze findings, prioritize issues, and discuss recommendations. A written report is prepared based on the analysis and discussions, and typically consists of the following sections:
- Executive summary
- Historical background
- Major issues
- Findings and recommendations.
An historical background is provided so that the person requesting the review and the project team understand how the project got into its current situation. The perspective of history can be a great teacher so that troublesome patterns are not repeated. Recommendations may be stated as short-term tactical recommendations and longer term strategic recommendations.
In my next article I will answer the question, "Who sponsors project reviews?" To answer that question I will look at how executive sponsors--or anyone--might recognize they need a project review. I will also look at the emotional traps that prevent anyone from asking for a project review. Finally, I'll look at the cost of a project review.
Wayne Strider is cofounder and vice president of Strider & Cline, Inc., an IT management consulting firm based in Kansas City, Missouri. He welcomes feedback on his article and can be reached at waynestrider@worldnet.att.net. His website is www.striderandcline.com.
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