by Kathleen Austin & Gerald Kendall
Part 1 provided an introduction to projects and the need to plan a project. Part 2 discussed how to ensure the correct level of detail in a project network. Parts 3 – 6 detailed Steps 1 – 4 of the 10 steps to building an executable project plan. Basis for this post: Advanced Multi-Project Management: Achieving Outstanding Speed and Results with Predictability, by Gerald I. Kendall and Kathleen M Austin, J. Ross Publishing, 2012, Chapter 17.
Step 5: Check the network against project goals, scope, and deliverables – 2nd risk avoidance
This step provides three types of risk avoidance:
- Avoids the risk of missed scope, by ensuring that all the tasks required to meet the project’s scope and goals are included in the task interdependency diagram.
- Avoids the risk of wasting resources, by ensuring that no extra tasks are included that exceed the project’s scope and goals!
- Prevents some risk of scope creep, by ensuring that the tasks are sufficient to meet goals and deliverables that were discussed during the initial team meeting.
Specifically, Step 5 checks every task against the project goals, scope and sponsor criteria identified in Step 1 (Project Stakeholders’ Meeting). One way to think about this step is that it ensures that what the stakeholders require has been translated into work specifics for the projects’ resources and managers.
Ensuring that the Project Meets All Stakeholder Needs
Do not begin this task until all previous steps have been fully completed. Gather the documentation created during and after the Project Stakeholders’ Meeting. Make sure there is a clean plot / printout of the task interdependency diagram as well as all task notes available.
Carefully check the Project Stakeholders’ Meeting results template against the project planning done so far. See Figure 17.1 – Did we remember to include tasks to put electrical outlets in the kitchen island? Do we have a task for ordering the microwave? Does the task have the correct microwave specifications? Some items from step 1 will be explicitly shown (the tangible deliverables), while others are implied by the work that will be accomplished. Where criteria have been specified, ensure that is documented in the task description or task notes so that proper exit criteria for a task or pathway reflects that criteria.
If items of scope or tangible deliverables are missing, add those tasks and build in the required dependencies using the established processes for building and checking. Ensure both a forward and backward pass are done to mitigate the risk of missing any required dependencies.
When tasks are in the network diagram that are not needed to meet the project scope defined in step 1, delete them. Use the standard building and checking processes to ensure correct relationships with the remaining tasks.
Conclusions
Any multi-project environment deteriorates quickly when project after project yields unpleasant surprises. No one expects a project network to be perfect, but when every network is full of holes, the results are predictable – many projects will finish late, over budget and not within scope. Step 5 plugs the hole caused by missing key stakeholder criteria. It also avoids doing unnecessary work by checking every defined task in the network against the definition of project scope from Step 1. The result is a far more robust network with a much higher probability of meeting stakeholder expectations without big surprises.
Next Post: Step 6: Determine resources (skill level and maximum number) that could be assigned to perform the task during project execution
