30 minutes introduction to Project Auditing Project Management & Project Audits.

2 PRINCE 2 : Directing a Project

3 Agenda for today :  How do we define an Audit?  What we don’t Audit  Common Project Failures  Tools and Techniques  SAMARA  Conclusion

4 How do we define an Audit  A project management Audit is a formal health check and report on the state of an identified project at a particular point in time. It consists of:  WBS verification and integrity  Risk identification and mitigation  Measurement of Risk impact  Compliancy check against accepted norms.  The Audit should also verify the usage of PM tools and techniques.  Note that it is the project that is being Audited, not the Company!

5 How do we define an Audit (2) We will Audit the project on (1):  The project Work Breakdown Structure and it’s relevance  Risk identification, costs, levels and severity  The mitigation measures and costs  The impact of the risk and remanance  Progress vs. Objectives (independent appraisal using MS project) We will Audit the project on (2):  A 300-point “key Criteria” questionnaire on project compliance  Individual questionnaires at detail level  Work Package / major Task budgets and Costs  Project Governance  Management Deliverables.

6 Not included in the Audit - Business appraisals Financial Audit Technical appraisals of the work itself People - although could be identified as risks, etc. Vendor control – other than at a project level Activity outside of the project scope.

7 Common Project Failures No project governance or systemic management of the project No or inadequate risk assessment or analysis Poor budgeting and contingency planning Resource shortages, or inadequate project resourcing No project stage definitions, with closures and sign off No or inadequate issue identification, tracking, escalation and resolution Quality definitions, IKOs, KPIs, milestones and deliverables not clear Customer expectations not established or managed Actions not managed, logged, tracked, and escalated to resolution No or inadequate financial incentives on the project team Business cases, Project Mandates, management demands badly expressed Return on Investment (ROI) not compared with TCO – Total Cost of Ownership Suppliers not subject to adequate vendor control And many more !

8 Reasons to have Audits. Audits may be one-off events or regular occurrences. They can be called for a variety of reasons, such as; Project already “in the red” Dead-lines missed, budget over-runs, high material losses, staff issues. Independent appraisals of true project status – “benchmarking” Assist the Project Manager or sponsor to get objective clarity Determine contingency requirements Analysis of risk and plan the mitigation of the risk Present the project status to Management in a clear and non-technical manner.

9 Tools and Techniques of the Audit. PRINCE II – the chosen methodology SAMARA – System for Audit Management and Risk Assessment MS project – for typical project plans – CPA, achievement v deadlines Interviews with key staff. Issue Log, Risk Log, Action Log – create or verify. Project Walk-throughs. Application of experience Powerpoint Presentation software.

10 Samara Screen Dumps - Project Information -

11 Samara Screen Dumps - WBS Levels -

12 Samara Screen Dumps - WBS Entries -

13 Samara Screen Dumps - Risks -

14 Samara Screen Dumps - Mitigations -

15 Samara Screen Dumps - Stages -

16 Contacts - For further information, call Quantum Business Partners Or