Chapter 5

Concluding Remarks

Previous literature suggests government projects tend to have long duration, large budgets, multiple stakeholders, and a great deal of uncertainty. This study has identified additional key characteristics of government projects and programs, which are:

• Non-financial benefits;
• Susceptibility to political environment and dynamics;
• Mandated project management process;
• Large and complex megaprojects;
• Long product life cycle; and
• Multiple stakeholders.

Stakeholders should examine the aforementioned positive and negative aspects of government projects in order to understand potential pitfalls and advantages of pursuing particular paths. This is especially important for time-sensitive projects, because improper choices can result in delays. The research team has analyzed the audit reports of 39 projects and programs. Twenty-eight key recommendations from this study are summarized in Table 4.

These recommendations are discussed and illustrated in our study. Their implementations can support policy makers, government officials, project managers, and the general public. This research supports the importance of adopting project management principles, tools, and techniques for governmental projects and programs that would result in enhanced performance. The project management community can use this study to extend knowledge of government projects and programs. For example, the next edition of the PMI's Government Extension to the PMBOK^® Guide Third Edition can integrate some of the recommendations included in this study.

We would like to recommend project audit reports as a useful source of information for teams implementing new endeavors. By examining past errors, it is possible to encounter or develop ways to make a process more efficient. In other words, although some physical aspects of projects may be more easily controlled (cost of goods) and result in time decreases, systems are much more difficult to quickly establish.

Additionally, without proper systems in place to facilitate the progression of these inputs to the final product, acceleration of the over-all project timeline becomes impossible. For example, an Australian audit report of the FiReControl Project revealed elements that led to that project's complete failure. The project's mission was to improve the resilience, efficiency, and technology of the Fire and Rescue Service by replacing 46 local control rooms with a network of nine purpose-built regional control centers using a national computer system to handle calls, mobilize equipment, and manage incidents. Although it was terminated without being completed, the project team was able to develop a comprehensive list of suggestions for future management personnel that apply to all government efforts:

• Hold contracts to account;
• Work to align project and purpose;
• Develop appropriate management capacity;
• Understand and resolve cultural and technical obstacles;
• Ensure users are fully invested in the project;
• Ensure reports/proposals are not overly biased;
• Ensure that expected costs/benefits and timetables are realistic;
• Establish a critical path; and
• Develop transparent control procedures.

This comprehensive list not only summarizes key points made by other auditing groups, but also solidifies and simplifies them. By following the nine points mentioned above, project managers will experience increased success rates. By continuing to explore various project management issues and publish the findings through audit reports, governments will be able to learn from past successes and failures and adapt the best practices for future projects and programs.