by Robert Buttrick
Successful projects need to lead to successful business outcomes and unless a project is adequately defined, it is unlikely to achieve anything, except perhaps a hole in your budget. Take any project that you are associated with and check that it is satisfactorily defined.
If you don’t know:
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why you are doing the project, consider terminating it;
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what you are delivering, regard your costs and timescales as unstable and your risk high;
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when it will be done, carry out more investigations until you do know;
- how you will approach the project, regard risk as high and investigate further.
Use this checklist to review any projects currently in progress.
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Has the definition documentation been written, reviewed by the stakeholders and approved by the project sponsor?
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Do the scope and objectives of the project meet the needs of the business?
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Have the benefits been fully assessed and quantified wherever possible?
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Do the benefits match the needs?
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Have all significant risks been identified, categorised and taken into account in the plan and business case?
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Has a comprehensive and satisfactory work breakdown been developed?
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Does the work breakdown reflect the deliverables to be produced?
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Are all key logical relationships between projects and activities clear?
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Has the plan been developed to minimise or offset the risks?
The only way a project can be delivered is through its deliverables. For each deliverable check:
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Are the deliverables relevant and feasible both to produce and use?
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Have quality criteria been established?
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Is it clear who is accountable for preparing each deliverable?
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Is it clear who will review the deliverable prior to acceptance?
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Is it clear who will approve each deliverable?
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Has sufficient time been allowed for reviewing/amending each deliverable?
© Robert Buttrick