While teams try to prepare for everything, projects sometimes “go off the rails” and the project team may need assistance to identify and mitigate the problems to get the project back on track. IPA’s Project Recovery Analyses can help project teams in this effort. The Project Recovery Analysis can be used at any point in the project life cycle when teams have determined that the project is not meeting its planned targets.
A Project Readiness Analysis can be performed on any project. If desired, a Project Recovery Analysis can be coupled with a Team Functionality Assessment.
The Project Recovery Analysis covers the project issues that have caused it to run behind schedule, severely overrun its cost estimate, and/or have problems with its planned technology. This is done via a comparison of the project’s practices and industry Best Practices to identify gaps that may be causing the issues. In addition, it includes a discussion of the Best Practices identified by IPA and solutions that can be quickly implemented to help teams get projects under control.
There are many benefits to a Project Recovery Analysis, including:
To perform a Project Recovery Analysis, the project team will submit a written project scope document, the project execution plan, the project schedule, and a cost breakdown. If available, the team will also submit any gate review documentation and project status reports.
IPA will then meet with project team members to verify the accuracy of the data. This typically includes the project manager, scheduler, construction manager, lead engineer (s), and project control specialist and estimator, but more team members may be needed depending on the characteristics of the project. Not all team members will be needed for the entire interview, but more value can be gained by having all key members present for some portion of the interview. The interview typically lasts 1 day, but that can vary depending on the project’s size and scope and the stage at which the evaluation takes place. If the project is in execution and an IPA Prospective Evaluation has not been completed, the interview may be longer.
IPA will deliver either a written report or a presentation that details the Project Recovery Analysis. This will include a discussion of the project’s current state, gaps from industry Best Practices, and recommendations for improvement. In addition, if applicable, the deliverable will list the probable root causes of the issues.