At this time of the year it becomes important to understand how your projects are doing. Doing a health check will give you a great and instant view on what is going right and what needs to be improved and more importantly is the project still a viable option and will bring in the benefits

1. How is my project doing

2. INTRODUCTION
There comes a time as a project manager that you will need
to conduct a project health check when the project is not
achieving the planned goals and objectives.
Even the best planned projects will encounter problems along
the way. These hurdles however, do not mean that your
project is doomed to failure. The key is to identify these
challenges early and take the appropriate steps to get your
project back on track.
A project health check can be conducted when you have just
taken over a project from a project manager or during a
project that is underway and you need to have an
understanding of why the project is running into trouble.

3. PREPARING FOR THE PROJECT HEALTH CHECK
Time
The Triple ConstraintsThe structure and process of a project will always
encompass key processes and in PMBOK we refer
to these as the triple constraints and each project
will be broken down into:
• Scope
• Cost
• Time
Quality will also be taken into the configuration as
this has to be measured for a successful delivery.
This presentation is using the standards and best practice provided by PMBOK
as a guideline for setting up the steps to conduct a project audit

4. PREPARING FOR THE PROJECT HEALTH CHECK
Fundamentally you must audit the three key factors that form the project however the
level of detail that you need to produce will be based on:
• The size and complexity of the project
• The requirement for the project to be implemented
• The speed to market
• The speed to meet the strategic objectives
The findings should be collated into an agreed matrix to easily identify what the high
risk areas are that are impacting on the current state of the project.
Area to cover during the audit can include:
Executive Support
Scope
Project Management
Change Management
Resource Management
Risk Management
This presentation will focus on the areas above, however the areas to be
audited could change according to your particular project.. The guidelines
presented here could be used for any project.

5. ACTION PLAN
Step 1
• Define The Project Health Check Charter
Step 2
• Outline The Project Health Check Plan
Step 3
• Conduct the Health Check
Step 4
• Present the report
Step 5
• Implement the approved plan

6. DEFINE THE PROJECT HEALTH CHECK CHARTER
A project health charter is setup to provide the project manager with the
authority to move ahead with the project audit and to ensure that there is
enough budget assigned and resources allocated for the project audit to
be conducted
Identify
stakeholders
Identify the
project team
Compile the
charter
Review charter
Update the
charter with
the feedback
Approve the
charter
Documentation
• Approved charter

7. OUTLINE THE PROJECT HEALTH CHECK PLAN
The project health check plan will outline what tasks/activities will need to
be carried out to perform the assessment. It is important to note that the
plan must specify the tools to gather the analysis, the allocation of the
teams and costs and align back to the agreed budget.
Identify the
audit tools
Identify the
tasks to be
performed
Assign the
resources
Assign the
durations
Align the costs
Finalise the
dependencies
Finalise the
cost and
budget
Baseline and
Obtain final
approval
Documentation
• Audit matrix to record findings
• Audit documentation and questionnaires
• Project Plan
• Resource Plan
• Communication Plan

8. CONDUCT THE PROJECT HEALTH CHECK
In order to ensure that the project health check is conducted correctly the
project plan and the tools to be used for the health check must be
communicated to the project team. Workshops and meetings must be
setup and the dates confirmed and where required, questionnaires to be
sent out to a selected target audience in preparation for the audit.
Conduct a kick off
meeting
Perform the
agreed activities
Record the
findings
Review the
findings
Finalise and
document
Distribute the
findings
Documentation
• Kick off presentation
• Completed questionnaires
• Completed matrix
• Minutes of meetings

9. PRESENT THE REPORT
The report for the project health check must be presented in a concise and
clear manner that allows for easy reading by both the stakeholders as well
as the team. The report should clearly show the findings from the health
check and provide the solutions to allow for the required decisions to be
made for the project/s undergoing a project health check
Finalise the table
of contents
Send out draft
copy of report
Update report
with feedback
Finalise the
report
Walkthrough the
report with the
full team
Otain stakeholder
approval
Documentation
• Audit report
• Implementation Plan
• Minutes of meetings

10. IMPLEMENT THE APPROVED PLAN
Once the health check findings have been agreed it will be necessary to
implement the approved findings. The implementation of the approved
plan must be conducted as a normal project following the agreed process
and governance. Training may be required to introduce the agreed
changes for project delivery.
Confirm the
actions to be
carried out
Setup a project
plan and timeline
Kick off the
project
Track into the
project roadmap
and programme
Move into the
agreed project
methodology
Close out the
project audit
Documentation
• Approved Health Check Report
• Revised project plan
• Revised project roadmap
• Updated release programme
• Close out document for project audit

11. GUIDELINES FOR QUESTION AND ANSWERS
 In order to accurately assess the findings of the questionnaires the questions posed
to the stakeholders and project teams should be clear and not confusing.
 All of the answers should be easily uploaded into a control matrix to show where the
problem areas are and what needs to be focussed on. Microsoft Excel is a great
document to use for this and can easily be adapted as required
 Provide a method for the questions to be answered and this should be done in a
quiet place away from the normal day to day work routine
 Communicate back to the responders to let them know how things are progressing

12. EXECUTIVE SUPPORT QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES
Project Sponsor Buy-in The project sponsor is fully committed to the project success
Business Case There is a clear, written, approved business case for the project
Project Budget The entire project has been financed and the budget approved
Accountability The project sponsor shares accountability with the project team to ensure
success
Success criteria The steering committee have adequate authority and have approved what
constitutes the success criteria for the project
0 Strongly disagree or don’t know
1 Disagree
2 Neutral
3 Agree
4 Strongly disagree

13. SCOPE QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES
Objectives The objectives are the project are clear to all stakeholders and project team
Business Alignment The objectives of the project are in line with the corporate goals and standards
Documentation There is adequate documentation for the project requirements and performance
Stakeholder Input The stakeholders are given opportunity to provide inputs throughout the project
Tolerances There is an understanding of the tolerances for the scope of the project
0 Strongly disagree or don’t know
1 Disagree
2 Neutral
3 Agree
4 Strongly disagree

14. PROJECT MANAGEMENT QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES
Stakeholder representation Are all the stakeholders represented by the steering committee? Is there
representation for the business the users and the vendors?
Project Plan There is a detailed plan including critical path, resource schedule, milestones for
the completion of the project to track releases?
Project Meetings There are regular minuted project meetings?
Lessons Learnt Have lessons from previous projects been identified and if necessary applied
Project Methodology There is an approved project methodology for the project
0 Strongly disagree or don’t know
1 Disagree
2 Neutral
3 Agree
4 Strongly disagree

15. COMMUNICATION AND TRAINING QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES
Written Plans There is a written approved change management and communication plan
Communication Plan The communication plan clearly outlines the delivery mechanism for all lines of
communication
Training Plan There is a training plan with the agreed budget and approach for training
Documentation There is a clear understanding of where and how all documentation for the
project will be stored to provide easy access for the project team and
stakeholders
0 Strongly disagree or don’t know
1 Disagree
2 Neutral
3 Agree
4 Strongly disagree

16. RESOURCE MANAGEMENT QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES
Manpower There is sufficient manpower to complete the project
Resource Plan Is there a resource management plan integrated into the project plan to show
public holiday and resource constraints including resource levelling
Roles and responsibilities There are clear and concise roles and responsibilities for the project team
Training Training for resources have been included in the project plan
Technology All project management technology to be used in the project is understood by
the project team
0 Strongly disagree or don’t know
1 Disagree
2 Neutral
3 Agree
4 Strongly disagree

17. RISK MANAGEMENT QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES
Risk Management Project risks are tracked and appropriate responses are assigned and monitored
Risk Assessment Project risks have been assessed with the Impact and proximity of each risk and
the correct mitigation strategies assigned
Owner There are clear roles and responsibilities assigned to the risks
Communication The risks are being communicated both internally within the project and
externally to stakeholders as well as vendors
Risk Improvement All risks are being moved into a continuation improvement model for reducing
risks in future projects
0 Strongly disagree or don’t know
1 Disagree
2 Neutral
3 Agree
4 Strongly disagree

18. HOW THE RESULTS WILL BE PRESENTED
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
Executive
Support
Scope
Project
Management
Communicatio
n and Training
Resource
Management
Risk
Management
Project healthcheck
Score Confidence
Executive Support 13% Very low
Scope 56% Medium
Project Management 63% Medium
Communication and Training 88% High
Resource Management 100% High
Risk Management 88% High
This is just an example and not an accurate depiction of results. It is used to
give you an idea of how the results can be presented using accurate
information.

19. PROJECT HEALTH CHECK BENEFITS
For The Project Manager
 The project manager receives immediate information in all areas of the project and can optimise
processes and project deliverables
 The project manager can zone in and very quickly put in an action plan to turn the project
around
 The project manager receives the right level of feedback from the team and stakeholders
For The Company
 Immediate option to mitigate the risk for the project failing
 Able to identify the need for action on the project a well as at organisational level
 Can look at current project practice to see how this an be improved
 Identify quality concerns and address them