Delivering ROI by Performing Project Reviews

Pat McGowan, Senior Management Consultant

November 19, 2018

Do you have a project which is characterized by or exhibits any of the following symptoms?

• • A “cannot afford to fail” mandate;
  • Mega-project risks;
  • Suspect vendor performance;
  • Rumours that refuse to go away;
  • Key personnel burnout;
  • Constant project conflicts;
  • Continuous change requests;
  • Never-ending surprises, then

Then perhaps a project review is in order.

According to a recent PMI PULSE study, project success (Meeting Project Goals) has remained flat over the last four years.

Do we have to accept on average a 36% failure rate? This study indicated that high-performing organizations have improved their success rates to 80% or more by adhering to proven project, program, and portfolio management practices.

Mature project management practices should include the delivery of regular Project Reviews to ensure projects are tracking towards success.  The “Five Ws  and One How” of Project Reviews (PRs) is described as follows:

Who

An ideal candidate to facilitate a PR meeting is the senior Project Manager who is familiar with the PMO practices of the organization. It is desirable that this individual be independent and unbiased to ensure the integrity of the PR Report/Action Plan. Attendees can vary depending on the project size, scope, and project phase. The Project Manager is a mandatory attendee with other attendees being optional or as required: Project Team Members, Architects, Sponsor, Stakeholders and PMO Manager.

What

The PR is a structured meeting of a set length depending on the size and complexity of the project. The purpose of this meeting is to understand the status of the project, and to provide coaching and assistance to the Project Manager. Key artifacts and deliverables are reviewed and any issues (technical or business) are identified. The risk register is reviewed to ensure all risks are being tracked and any additional ones added. Minutes are captured, and actions with responsibilities and target dates are identified for follow-up.

When

PRs should be conducted at least monthly but can be done more or less often as required.

Where

The organization can provide a meeting room with appropriate facilities/technology to capture meeting notes/actions from some potential virtual attendees.

How

The PR facilitator provides the invitees with the meeting agenda in advance of the meeting. Depending on the project size, complexity, and the phase of the project, the Project Manager may be required to provide attendees in advance of the meeting with certain documents such as:

• • Deliverables
  • Plans
  • Budget/forecasts
  • Risk register
  • Other project & architecture artifacts

This ensures an efficient use of the scheduled meeting time. 

Why

The PR is a valuable project management practice used by mature high-performance organizations to achieve the following benefits:

• • Improved communication with all stakeholders
  • Provide project corrections versus rescues
  • Reduced change requests
  • Provide lessons learned in project versus post project
  • Higher project success rates
  • Alignment with enterprise architecture requirements

The Project Review is an invaluable practice and investment that will improve your project success rate and provide a high return on your investment. Experience dictates that a small investment of a regular project review delivers significant cost savings that return many fold that investment. In addition to the ROI, clients also greatly reduce the likelihood of a failed project and the business impact of a failed project.