being checked. Jobs and career progress may be at stake and informal alliances may be formed to ensure that the "correct results" are obtained by the review.
Bias due to role
The UK government OGC gateway review is an externally focused health check which concentrates on the extent to which the project is still required and could deliver the benefits sought by stakeholders. It is also quite reasonably designed to protect a purchaser ( because the UK government almost always has this role ), rather than the creator or supplier of the project. This affects the questions and can lead to a situation in which the project is affirmed as meeting all the criteria for the purchaser but is doomed as a result of events being suffered by the supplier ( e.g. commercial losses, staff turnover etc. )
Bias due to reviewer's background
There can be subtle issues arising from the background of those carrying out the project review. Some reviewers will be much more technologists than project managers, whilst others will be the reverse. Although it makes competent practitioners much harder to find there is a good case for insisting on both sets of skills.
Bias due to distance
Reviews are sometimes undertaken by those who inhabit a world of reports. If they then communicate with project managers and others who are somewhat distant from the actual tasks then the overall effect may be that the blind are leading the blind. Remember that real people, somewhere, should be actually doing the work to deliver the tasks required by the project. A competent reviewer needs to find them, understand them and discover what they think. This necessitates not only people and managerial skills but also some understanding of the skills employed by the project staff.
Checklists
These are useful for ensuring appropriate coverage but it is equally important that the reviewer can think freely and explore the implications of the information that the project team give. This information is normally messy and ill organised. Coherent results pointing in a single direction are unlikely and the reviewer needs to be able to cope with
So what should the balance be ?
Project skills in medium or large projects are certainly critical as the need to be organised is a critical success factor. 'Ready aim fire' expresses the simple truth that without those competent to first aim the project team members in the correct direction there is little chance of the target being hit. It is important that clear business justification and rules for project control are created and maintained during the life of the project. Appropriate risk and planning are also vital to enable the overall project to achieve its intended results.
That the reviewer also possesses a reasonable level of subject related understanding is also critical so that those who are undertaking the work can be questioned rigorously about the quality and assumptions underlying the work they are undertaking. This isn't about the facility to do the work, but the ability to discuss designs, build dependencies, test conditions and the like in the detail that will establish whether the sequence of work intended is viable.
Reviews can be very important, but deciding who should carry them out, and how they should be undertaken is not simple. The most important determinant of success is your choice of reviewer.
Article Source: http://www.articleblender.com
Vernon Riley reviews IT projects as a project manager and technical consultant. He has 20 years experience of major IT projects, and the difficulties of delivering complex projects. Visit Kutchka to find out more.
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