Project Review Process

 

The most important tool for making sure that the Sheffield approach to project management is working is the Project Review process. Reviews take place at each of the key stages in the lifecycle of the Project and provide an opportunity to take stock of the project and check: 

 

 

It is an opportunity to press the pause button. If the project does not appear to meet a business need or to be viable, then the Sponsor could and should conclude that the project stops.

 

Each of the Reviews comes at a specific time in the project’s lifecycle and has a specific focus.  These are the minimum reviews that should be held during the project lifecycle:

 

This takes place at the end of the Start Up phase and checks that the project fits with what the Council wants to do overall.  The key document for this will be the Strategic (or 1st draft) Business Case.

 

This review takes place near the end of the Planning Stage and checks that those things needed to make the project work - are in place or will be, such as the finance. The key document for this review is the Outline (or 2nd draft) Business Case (In very small projects, reviews 1 and 2 may be combined).

 

This is the final review before the project is actually delivered. It’s main purpose is to check that the Full Business Case is still viable, and that everything is lined up, fit for purpose and ready to go – technical issues, contracts etc.

 

As soon as possible after the project is delivered, a review is held to confirm that the project is completed and has delivered what it said it would. This review will also cover any handover arrangements for the project to be incorporated into business as usual (if that’s to happen).

 

This review will take place months or even years after the end of a project.  The crucial thing is that it is held when the benefits of the project have been (or should have been) realised. It looks at whether the Project has achieved what it intended to do and the lessons learnt.  The benefits review plan will be managed and tracked by the programme.

 

It is important to plan when, during the project, each of the five Reviews need to take place.

 

Who will be involved in a Review will depend on the size of the project. For smaller projects the review will probably be undertaken by the Project Sponsor, the project manager and maybe a few other stakeholders and board members. In large Projects , the review may be supported by external people to ensure that everything is on track.

The next section introduces the first and most important step in delivering a project, the Start Up Phase