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Project Health Check
We begin by immersing ourselves into a project to provide an independent assessment of its health. We
work to understand the project elements and plan, the key players in each element, the structure of the organization and where the players fit, and the underlying technical and human issues that
could impact project success.
To develop this understanding, we work closely with the Project Director, and we meet with key internal and
external stakeholders to get their perspectives on a project's structure, status, and issues. Throughout, our goal is one of supporting success rather than finding fault.
We get "plugged into" regular status meetings and work sessions. In our experience, how project work is
done is often as––or more––important than what is done. At these meetings, we observe the workings of the project teams so that we can provide advice on how they might
better achieve their objectives. We don't "hijack" these meetings, but instead steadily gain respect so that we will be perceived as a trusted source of help and support.
As necessary, we bring in associates who are expert in fields such as social networks, team effectiveness,
incentive and reward structures, realizing cultural change, technology architecture planning, process design, and/or quality management.
Each health check is different, as it must focus on the primary issues relevant to a specific project.
But all health checks consider the areas of strategic alignment, business and management environment, project-management and decision-making processes, staff and other resources, approach to change
management, organizational elements, and schedule and budget.
The result is a report to management—but, more important, a shared
understanding within the organization of what must be done to achieve success, and a set of action programs designed to help get there.
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ask hard questions and surface problems