Major initiatives require professional implementation. A project organization is highly recommended for larger, more complex, and time-limited activities. Many such projects run well as they are accordingly prepared and professionally managed and supervised.
For a variety of reasons, however, there are always projects that do not run as intended. Different factors, internal as well as external ones, can lead to misunderstandings, staffing problems, technical issues, delays, or further impacts that endanger the project. At a certain stage, not only Project Management gets troubled but also Project Steering is heavily challenged.
External view
Would a neutral expertise from outside help in such a situation? We experienced that an external assessment was the key to achieve a breakthrough in quite some cases. Several factors granted by the professional external support may enable that success:
- Unbiased approach
- Neutral questioning
- A clear sign that not everything is going according to plan.
Sustainable added value
A neutrally conducted project assessment provides a 360-degree view of the project by taking a closer look at the three main pillars – people, processes and systems – providing options and clear directions for moving forward to the customer.
People
The project team and all involved employees are the most important factor for a successful project. Crucial are
- Motivation & commitment
- Knowhow
- Availability
Processes
The project itself as well as its results/targets contain a number of processes and defined procedures, including operating instructions and behavioral rules. Crucial are
- Insight and understanding
- Transparency
- Consistency
in the sequences – that is the way to achieve sustainable positive results.
Systems
Understanding the systems and solutions and how they interact is key in our digitized and highly automated world. In almost any project, digital solutions and automated systems play an important role. The following points are thus crucial:
- (functional) Coverage
- Functionality
- Maturity level
A project assessment presents the situation and enlightens the crucial points. It provides the customer with options and recommendations to improve the situation. And it hopefully also delivers positive input for any future project in the organization.
