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Undertaking a project

Stage 1
1. Establish a Project Management Committee to represent users. Identify the need to make improvements to the existing facility. Consider not only existing need but potential future need, eg. are there any plans to provide additional housing in the area. 2. Prioritise the shopping list. 3. Consult residents/organisations connected with the project. Establish local support.

Stage 2
1. Consult potential funding agencies for advice on grants and timescale of applications. 2. Submit 'marker' applications with outline proposals. 3. Determine timescale for project to be undertaken (this will depend on availability of grants and fundraising efforts). 4. Have detailed plans prepared and request tenders for the work. 5. Submit planning applications and building regulation application (if required). 6. Begin fundraising campaign (note: Statutory funding agencies can only provide a maximum of 75% of the total cost. The other 25% should be raised by other means). 7. Select successful tenderer. 8. Submit formal grant applications enclosing tender prices and detailed plans. 9. Prepare the tenderer to begin work as soon as fundraising is complete.

Stage 3
1. Undertake the project and claim grant aid.

Undertaking a Successful Project Audit


by Michael Stanleigh A project audit provides an opportunity to uncover the issues, concerns and challenges encountered in the execution of a project. It affords the project manager, project sponsor and project team an interim view of what has gone well and what needs to be improved with the project to successfully complete it. If done at the close of a project, a project audit can be used to develop success criteria for future projects by providing a forensic review. This review will provide an opportunity to learn what elements of the project were successfully managed and which ones presented some challenges. This will help the organization identify what it needs to do so that mistakes are not repeated on future projects. Regardless of whether the project audit is conducted mid-term on a project or at its conclusion, the process is similar. It is generally recommended that an outside facilitator conduct the project audit. This ensures confidentiality but also provides the team members and other stakeholders with the opportunity to be candid. They know that their input will be valued and the final report will not identify individual names, rather it will only include facts. It is common that individuals interviewed during the project audit of a particularly badly managed project will find speaking with an outside facilitator provides them with the opportunity to express their emotions and feelings about their involvement in the project and/or the impact the project has had on them. This venting is an important part of the overall audit. A project audit consists of three phases:
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Phase 1: Success Criteria and Questionnaire Development Phase 2: In-depth Research Phase 3: Report Development

Phase 1 - Success Criteria and Questionnaire Development 1. Success Criteria Development o Interview the core project sponsor and project manager to determine their success criteria for the project audit. This ensures that their individual and collective needs are met.

2. Questionnaire Development o Develop a questionnaire to be sent to each member of the core project team and selected stakeholders. We find that individuals will often complete the questionnaire in advance of an interview. It helps them to focus their thoughts. The actual interview provides the facilitator with the opportunity to gain deeper insights into the interviewees comments. The questionnaires help them to reflect on the projects successes, failures, challenges and missed opportunities.

3. Project Audit Questions

There are many questions that can be asked. It is easiest to develop open-ended questions for the interviews. These questionnaires can be used for team members and/or other stakeholders who cannot attend an interview. o Develop the questions so that they will help to identify the major project successes; the major project issues, concerns and challenges; how the team worked together; how vendors were managed; how reporting and meetings were handled; how risk and change was managed, etc.
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Phase 2 - In-Depth Research 1. Conduct individual research interviews with the Project Sponsor, Project Manager and Project Team members in order to identify the past, current and future issues, concerns, challenges and opportunities.

2. Conduct individual research interviews with stakeholders including vendors, suppliers, contractors, other project internal and external resources and selected customers.

3. Assess the issues, challenges and concerns in more depth to get to the root causes of the problems.

4. Review all historical and current documentation related to this project including; o Team Structure o Scope Statement o Business Requirements o Project Plan o Milestone Report o Meeting Minutes o Action Items o Risk Logs o Issue Logs o Change Logs

5. Review the Project Plan to determine how the Vendor Plan has been incorporated into the overall project plan.

6. Interview selected Stakeholders to identify and determine what their expectations of the project had been and to identify to what extent their expectations have been met.

7. Review the Project Quality Management and the Product Quality Management to identify the issues, concerns and challenges in the overall management of the project and to identify the opportunities that can be realized through improvements to the attention of project and product quality.

8. Identify the Lessons Learned that can improve the performance of other future projects within the organization. Phase 3 - Report Development 1. Compile the information collected from all of the interviews.

2. Compile the information collected from individuals who only completed the questionnaire.

3. Consolidate the findings from the project documentation review.

4. Identify the issues, concerns and challenges presented through the review of the Project Quality Management and Product Quality Management plans and isolate the opportunities you believe may be realized.

5. Identify all of the projects issues, concerns and challenges.

6. Identify all of the projects opportunities that can be realized through this reports recommendations.

7. Identify the Lessons Learned that can improve the performance of future projects within the organization.

8. Finalize the creation of the report and recommendations on the basis of the findings and present this detailed report and recommendations including the road map to get future projects to the next level of performance. Conclusion The purpose of a project audit is to identify Lessons Learned that can help improve the performance of a project or to improve the performance of future projects by undertaking a forensic review to uncover problems to be avoided. In this way, project audits are highly beneficial to the organization and provide the following multitude of outcomes:

Development of Lessons Learned on the project that can be applied to both the organization and its vendors.

Development of strategies, which if implemented within the organization, will increase the likelihood of future projects and change initiatives being managed successfully.

Development of project success criteria which might include on-time, on-budget, meeting customer and other stakeholder requirements, transition to next phase successfully executed, etc.

Recognition of risk management so that risk assessment and the development of associated contingency plans becomes commonplace within the organization.

Development of change management success criteria which might include how staff are involved, how customers are impacted, how the organization is impacted, transition to next level of change to be initiated, etc.

Development of criteria that will continue the improvement of relationships between the organization and its vendors, suppliers and contractors regarding the management of projects.

Identification of the Lessons Learned on the project that can be applied to future projects within the organization.

About the Author As President and CEO of Business Improvement Architects, Michael works with executives and senior managers around the world to help them improve operational effectiveness through strategic planning, leadership development, project management and quality management. He has been instrumental in helping his clients reduce waste and increase efficiencies and profits with his clear processes and quality approach. For more information about this article, please contact bia at info@bia.ca. Michael Stanleigh is author of the global report: 2010 PMO Global Study: How a Project Management Office Can Improve Organizational Effectiveness. For more information about this report, please contact bia at info@bia.ca. Business Improvement Architects

Project Management Glossary


The Project Management Template kit uses the following industry standard project management dictionary terms: Acceptance Management The process by which deliverables produced by a project are reviewed and accepted by the customer. Acceptance Planning The process of identifying and scheduling a suite of tests to measure the completion of project deliverables against stated criteria. Activity A group of tasks undertaken to produce a tangible project deliverable. Business Case A document outlining the justification for initiation of a project. It includes a description of the business problem or opportunity, a list of alternative solutions, their costs and benefits and a recommended solution for implementation. Change Management The process of identifying, documenting, approving and implementing changes within a project. Communications Management The process of identifying, creating, reviewing and distributing communications messages to stakeholders within a project. Communications Planning The process of identifying the information needs of project stakeholders and scheduling communications activities to meet those needs within the project. Cost Management The process of monitoring and controlling the costs incurred within a project, through the completion and approval of Expense Forms. Deliverable A product, capability to perform a service, or other result, that must be produced to complete a project. Deliverables can be produced by the project team or, in some cases, by suppliers contracted to the project. Dependency A logical relationship between two or more activities. The four types of dependencies are: startto-finish, start-to-start, finish-to-start, and finish-to-finish.

Feasibility Study A document that confirms the likelihood that a range of alternative solutions will meet the requirements of the customer. Financial Planning The process of identifying, quantifying and scheduling the financial resources required to undertake a project. Goods Any merchandise, wares and commodities required to complete the project. Issue An event that currently affects a project's ability to produce the required deliverables. Issue Management The process of identifying, quantifying and resolving project-related issues. Job Description A document that describes a particular role and set of responsibilities within a project. Materials Consumable and non-consumable items used to produce deliverables, such as equipment, tools, machinery and supplies. Milestone The recognition of an important event within a project, usually the achievement of a key project deliverable or a set of deliverables. Phase A set of project activities and tasks that usually result in the completion of one or more project deliverables. Phase Review A checkpoint at the end of each project phase to ensure that a project has achieved its stated objectives and deliverables as planned. Process A set of related activities that are performed to deliver products, services or results. Procurement Item Any item that is contractually obliged to be provided by a supplier, such as:
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Products (e.g. goods, materials, equipment, tools, machinery) Services (e.g. labor, technical and consulting services) Results (e.g. a more efficient process, a more highly skilled team and a restructured organization)

Procurement Management The process of sourcing procurement items from suppliers and managing their performance throughout a project. Procurement Planning The process of identifying, quantifying and scheduling the delivery of procurement items to a project. Product A physical artifact that is produced by the project. Products are produced primarily using goods and materials. Project A unique endeavor to produce a set of deliverables within clearly specified time, cost and quality constraints. Project Lifecycle A series of phases undertaken to deliver a required project outcome. Project Management The skills, tools and management processes required to successfully undertake a project. Project Office The physical premise, roles, tools and processes required to administer a project. Project Plan A document that lists the Work Breakdown Structure, timeframes and resources required to undertake a project. Project Schedule A document that identifies the timeframes for delivering a project and the dependencies between activities within that project. Project Task A specific work item that usually results in the partial completion of a project deliverable. Project Team A group of people who report to a Project Manager for the purpose of delivering a project. Quality The extent to which the final deliverable conforms to the customer requirements. Quality Assurance A structured review of the project by an external resource, to determine the overall project performance (e.g. against schedule and budget) and conformance (i.e. to the management processes specified for the project).

Quality Control The internal monitoring and control of project deliverables, to ensure that they meet the quality targets set for the project. Quality Management The process by which the quality of the deliverables and management processes is assured and controlled on a project. Quality Review A structured independent review of the project, to determine the overall project performance (e.g. against schedule and budget) and the project conformance (i.e. to the management processes specified for the project). Quality Planning The process of identifying and scheduling Quality Assurance and Quality Control activities to improve the level of quality within a project. Request for Information A tender document issued to potential suppliers to enable them to describe how they will meet the procurement requirements of a project. Request for Proposal A tender document issued to suppliers in a short-listed group, to enable them to submit detailed proposals defining how they will meet the procurement requirements of a project. Resource The labor, equipment, materials and other items needed to undertake a project. Resource Planning The process of identifying, quantifying and scheduling the resources required to complete a project. Result The outcome of performing a project process or activity. Risk Any event that is likely to adversely affect a project's ability to achieve the defined objectives. Risk Management The process of identifying, quantifying and controlling risks throughout a project. Risk Mitigation The actions taken to avoid, transfer or mitigate risks within a project. Risk Planning The identification and scheduling of actions needed to reduce the level of risk within a project.

Scope The total aggregation of deliverables to be produced by a project. Service Work carried out to benefit a customer. Note: A service does not produce a physical product or tangible result, as this is called an activity. Solution A combination of deliverables that solve a specified business problem or realize a specified business opportunity. Statement of Work A tender document that defines the procurement requirements of a project in enough detail to enable potential suppliers to determine whether they can meet those requirements. Supplier Contract An agreement between a project team and an external supplier for the completion of a defined scope of work within a project. Tender Document A formal document issued to potential suppliers during the tender process to enable them to submit the information the project needs to select a preferred supplier. Tender Management The process of identifying, evaluating and contracting suppliers for the provision of a scope of work to a project. Project Charter A document that describes the purpose of a project, the manner in which it will be structured and how it will be implemented. Tender Process The process of issuing a Request for Information, Request for Proposal and Supplier Contract to select and contract a preferred supplier to a project. Time Management The process of recording and quantifying time spent completing tasks within a project. Work Breakdown Structure The complete set of phases, activities and tasks required to undertake the project and meet the full requirements of the customer.

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Project Management Kit


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kit includes all of the templates you need for projects. More than 50 templates, plans and forms are included, covering the entire Project Life Cycle. It helps you to start up, plan and execute projects quickly and easily. Every project management template:
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Is professionally laid out Has the charts and tables you need Comes with step-by-step instructions Contains practical examples Includes tips & hints

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Project Management Stages


Project Initiation
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Project Proposal Business Case Feasibility Study Project Charter Job Description Project Office Checklist Phase Review Form (Initiation)

Project Execution
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Time Management Process Timesheet Form Timesheet Register Cost Management Process Expense Form Expense Register Quality Management Process Quality Review Form Deliverables Register Change Management Process Change Request Form Change Register Risk Management Process Risk Form Risk Register Issue Management Process Issue Form Issue Register Procurement Management Process Purchase Order Form Procurement Register Acceptance Management Process Acceptance Form Acceptance Register Communications Management Process Project Status Report Communications Register Phase Review Form (Execution)

Project Planning
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Project Plan Resource Plan

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Financial Plan Quality Plan Risk Plan Acceptance Plan Communications Plan Procurement Plan Tender Management Process Statement of Work Request for Information Request for Proposal Supplier Contract Tender Register Phase Review Form (Planning)

Project Closure
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Project Closure Report Post Implementation Review

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