Using the Tools in Your Performance Excellence Toolbox: Part 11 Project Status

Using the Tools in Your Performance Excellence Toolbox: Part 11 Project Status

 This is the eleventh in a series of posts on using performance excellence tools.  It outlines the necessity for and options for deciding whether or not to move forward.

When working on a project it is essential that periodically you review its progress.  This should be done at specific points in the project and if necessary ad hoc at other points if circumstances require.

A project review or status report provides the opportunity for the team leader and its sponsor(s) to determine how things are going.  It is a time to discuss identified issues, change the requirements, decide whether to proceed, etc.

There are several ways to conduct these reports.

• Tollgate – In Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma these are formal meetings scheduled between the team leader and the project sponsor at the end of each stage.  Other members of the team and interested parties can attend but only the leader and sponsor are required.

At the tollgate the team leader reports on the progress of the stage.  It summarizes the various measurements conducted and where the project stands against plan.  In the review you discuss progress, issues, barriers, etc.   If a change is required, a scope change process should be followed.  This includes changes to the project charter.

A storyboard should be used to facilitate discussion.  A storyboard summarizes the key aspects of the stage’s work.  These can be constructed in a number of ways.  I use a PowerPoint template that looks like this.

Figure 1 Example of a Tollgate Storyboard

• In a Stage Gate Innovation process you conduct a decision diamond review.  These are more complex than a tollgate, involving numerous individuals.
• Formal and informal review sessions.  These include perhaps being part of a normal review meeting with your boss if they are also the sponsor where the project is one of several items on the agenda.

This approach is better suited to brief updates and FYI for your boss if they are not directly involved in the project.

The critical deliverable for the status reviews and is paramount in the tollgate and decision diamond meetings are the determination of the next steps for the project.

There are four possible outcomes to the status reports.

• The sponsor is satisfied with the deliverables for the stage and authorizes the project to move forward.
• The sponsor is not satisfied with the deliverables for the stage and requires you to do additional work before authorizing the project to move forward.
• The sponsor is not satisfied with the deliverables for the stage, determines that it is necessary to go back to an earlier stage.
• It is determined that the project is to be terminated or shelved.  This can be for a number of reasons including the team has discovered that the desired results cannot be achieved, resource cutbacks, the market are not ready, there is a technology gap, etc.

It is important to remember that the cancellation of a project is not a negative reflection on you, the team or the work done.  In fact one of the great benefits of a status report is that it helps the organization conserve its resources and apply them to the most promising projects.

In summary, I have been the recipient of all of the potential outcomes.  In some cases, I have recommended to the sponsor that the project be cancelled, with others fought to keep them going (always with data – not personal whims in all cases).  The point being that a project with merit, led, staffed, and supported properly will stand up to scrutiny.  If it doesn’t meet the criteria let it go.  Nothing hurts an organization more than wasting resources on unnecessary projects or those with unattainable goals.