There are many lists describing the reasons for project failure. That’s easy to do. Assuring the success of an IT project is much harder. This success starts with assessing the capabilities of the project delivery process and participants

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Project Success Assessment
There are many lists describing the reasons for project failure.That’s easy to do.
Assuring the success of an IT project is much harder.This success starts with
assessing the capabilities of the project delivery process and participants

2. Copyright ©, 2014, Niwot Ridge LLC, Performance-Based Project Management®
+ Organization
n Are the required program management functions identified and
is an adequate Program Management Plan in place?
n Are the key members of the performing organization identified
and in place and committed?
n Do the key members of the performing organization have the
right experience to be successful?
n Has an organization structure been established that can
successfully execute project?
n Is there evidence of good communication with the customer
regarding project status, open actions, and closure plans?
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3. Copyright ©, 2014, Niwot Ridge LLC, Performance-Based Project Management®
+ Requirements
n Are the customers
requirements clear,
complete and well
documented?
n Is the level of detail of the
requirements appropriate
to the project and
schedule?
n Is there a shared
understanding on the
requirements?
n Is there a plan for dealing
with changes in the
requirements?
n Is the Concept of
Operations of the resulting
software developed and
validated by the user
community?
n Is the proposed solution
traceable to the
customer’s
requirements?
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4. Copyright ©, 2014, Niwot Ridge LLC, Performance-Based Project Management®
+ Project Plans
n Is an adequate plan in
place for staffing the
project in a timely manner
with the needed talent?
n Is an appropriate set of
integrated technical,
schedule and cost
baselines in place?
n Are adequate test plans
and independent test
organization in place or
planned?
n Does the proposed test
approach include proven
test elements?
n Have all test facilities,
qualified personnel, and
equipment required for
this project been
identified or planned?
n Has an adequate
Performance
Measurement Baseline
been established?
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5. Copyright ©, 2014, Niwot Ridge LLC, Performance-Based Project Management®
+ Product and Project Risk
n Is an adequate process in
place for managing
technical risks?
n Have risk handling
activities been addressed
in the master schedule
and basis of estimate?
n Has the risk of achieving
what the customer wants
been qualified?
n Has a programmatic
performance assessment
plan been developed?
n Is there an adequate basis
of estimate, supported by
history?
n Is there budget, supported
by history to find, track
and fix errors introduced
during development?
n Does the quality assurance
organization have
adequate authority and
reporting independence
to ensure the project
conforms to its
specifications?
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6. Copyright ©, 2014, Niwot Ridge LLC, Performance-Based Project Management®
+ Schedule Risk
n Is there an Integrated
Master Schedule (IMS)
that describes all the
deliverables, staffing, and
risk mitigation activities?
n Have the probabilistic
critical path(s) been
identified?
n Are there risk handling
plans for the critical path
items?
n Is the amount of work on
the critical path(s)
realistic?
n Does the IMS show
dependencies between
the critical project
elements?
n Does the IMS provide
adequate margin and
slack?
n Does the IMS show all key
milestones?
n Are startup inefficiencies
addressed in the IMS?
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7. Copyright ©, 2014, Niwot Ridge LLC, Performance-Based Project Management®
+ Quality Assurance
n Is there evidence that a Quality Assurance organization is in
place for this project?
n Does the Quality Assurance organization have authority and
reporting independence to ensure the deliverables conform to
their specifications?
n Is there an independent quality function?
n Have adequate resources been identified and funded to
provide Quality Assurance
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