Understanding the Project Track Record
What is your organization’s project track record? How do you measure your project track record? If you measure this by the percentage of projects that were completed on time and within budget, you are missing a huge piece of the picture. Think back, or look back, to why we do projects. We take on projects so that we can add value to our business. So in viewing your project track record you have to ask, “Did the project realize the value that was expected?” Given that context, I’ll ask again, what is your organization’s project track record? There is a good chance that you really don’t know. Most organizations do not consistently track the value returned on the projects their organization has invested in. Some organizations may do this for the high-cost, high-profile projects, but this approach ignores the cumulative value of the many small investments made over time.
Project portfolio management needs to move beyond selecting and monitoring the projects of the organization and extend to understanding the value that has been achieved, or not. If we focus more on the value to be realized, and less on the out-of-pocket expenses, we will be more profitable in the long term. Understanding this track record goes well beyond the scope of the role of the typical project business analysts, and looks to the need for more strategic, business-oriented business analysis.
We spent a considerable amount of time in Chapter 4 talking about how to make sure we select the projects that are going to bring the most value to our organizations. Now we need to take it a step further and track these results by project. We need to go back and check the record on the projects we have implemented.
There are a few check points here to consider. First, early after implementation, does it appear your assumptions will hold true? If not, why, and what is the difference? Are there enhancements that should be made that will be cost-beneficial and help the solution achieve its goals? It may not even be a needed system enhancement. A solution will not bring the anticipated value if no one is using it. Instead, we may be able to close the gap by “selling” the solution within the organization or to our customers. This may require some money in terms of training, meetings, or other, but if it is going to mean improving the value of the solution in excess of the costs … do it! It’s far worse to let an investment flounder than to give it a little boost that will help it move from a bad or flat investment into a profitable one.
A project that was completed on time, on budget, and with the required scope and that does not get used is not a success in terms of the value to the business.
Understanding the success of our projects in terms of the value they bring to the organization will help us get better at making investment decisions that increase our profitability. It’s about capturing metrics on our current investments to support our future investment decisions.
• Do projects that provide solutions to customers provide more value than projects that provide solutions internally?
• Is there a common factor in the most successful of projects (sponsors, business analyst, project manager, technology, business supported)?
• Do you see a strong correlation between projects with a strong business case and change control processes and benefits achieved? Will this provide you with the data needed to support further portfolio investment and change control processes?
• Do you get more value from Agile projects than from waterfall projects?
Figure 21 Example of Project Track Record
The example provided illustrates qualitative analysis of each project’s track record. Consider using quantifiable metrics data for planned and actual results for even better information to support future decision making.