Project Program Diagnosis & Improvement

The major concern is whether or not a given project/program has the capacity to deliver the planned strategic and business outcomes. An equally critical question is whether or not the project/program is being managed systemically and ideally in accordance with pre-set targets for managerial performance. These questions can only be answered by undertaking a systemic project/program diagnosis. In particular the early phase in the project life is critical as this is the time to make sure the project is being properly planned and handled. The past obsession in project management was to focus attention on tools and techniques. The current realisation is that, other things being equal, the human factors and their approach to the project have the highest influence in the success or failure of projects and programs.

Fortunately with the APIC methodologies it will be possible to properly assess a project/program and based on the actual performance scorecard decide how to direct the management’s attention and energy.

Project/program health check does not stop during the planning stage. Projects and programs are subject to change over their life; it is thus essential to continue to assess the health of the project/program throughout its life to ensure its fitness for purpose, its alignment with strategic needs and its proper implementation.

APIC offers a suite of project/program diagnosis and improvement services as follows:

· Rapid evaluation and feedback on the state of managerial capabilities and actual approaches employed on a given project/program

· Highlighting the state of management of the project on all fronts following a systems approach

· Benchmarking managerial performance relative to the best in the class

· Determining targets for managerial performance in each project function based on the requirements which vary from case to case

· Determining managerial intervention in a timely fashion, prioritising and addressing managerial deficiencies properly

· Guidance in the form of strategic advice as what is required to be done to improve the status of the project/program

All of these services are supported by an online interactive software called Project Health Check or PH-Check for short. This tool can be utilised to diagnose the health of a project or program at any point in its life, applying 67 indicators that characterise 18 core managerial functions on projects/programs. The assessment can be done at function level or at indicator level using a suite of assessment metrics. Typical project/program functions assessed include governance and leadership, planning and control, information and communication management, finance, customers and markets, stakeholders, technology, etc. The report displays managerial performance against defined targets. It can be benchmarked at different levels of practice. PH-Check can be used as a tool to manage complexity and risks effectively thus shortening delivery time and reducing costs.

Clients can either use the PH-Check directly. Alternatively APIC can train their assessors to apply the PH-Check systematically. This can be done over a 2-3 day intensive workshop. The most effective service is to engage the team at APIC to team up with the nominated client staff to conduct project/program health checks and come up with suggestions for improvements. The team at APIC has already conducted a number of project/program diagnoses and suggested improvements with potential to improve substantial sums and mitigate risks. Figure 1 shows a sample of project/program health check scorecards produced by the PH-Check tool.

Figure 1a: Project health check (business & strategic assessment)

Figure 1b: Project health check (implementation management assessment)

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Project Program Diagnosis & Improvement