ABSTRACT

Projects are hard. By definition, projects are about non-routine activities. Many of them are large and complex; they may involve many people, often from different backgrounds and increasingly with different languages and cultures. Amongst all of this, it is easy to get lost, to overlook important trends or to misunderstand each other. So projects fail. Graham Oakes' Project Reviews, Assurance and Governance is about learning from your mistakes and understanding what's really going on with your projects. In order for reviews and assurance to provide you with this information and learning, you need to perform them effectively and that is the purpose of this book. The core of the book is built around a number of models of project review processes and governance, all derived from practice and interspersed with case studies drawn from practitioners, project management literature and from practices in other industry. The result is the blend of the conceptual and the practical needed to make your project assurance process sympathetic, relevant and rigorous for your organization and the range of projects and programmes which you undertake.

part I|52 pages

Introduction

chapter |6 pages

Case Study

Earthquakes in the Project Portfolio

chapter 1|14 pages

Project Success; Project Failure

chapter 2|24 pages

Project Reviews

chapter |6 pages

Case Study

Formal Gateways in the Public Sector

part II|124 pages

Project Review Process

chapter 3|12 pages

The Review Process

chapter |4 pages

Case Study

Lesson from Problems in the Past

chapter 4|12 pages

Review Parameters

chapter |6 pages

Case Study

Post-project Reviews and Retrospectives

chapter 5|30 pages

Reviews and organizational Learning

chapter |4 pages

Case Study

Weeding the Project Portfolio

chapter 6|30 pages

The Importance of Evidence

chapter |4 pages

Case Study

Assuring Fixed Price Implementations

chapter 7|16 pages

Logistics Matter

chapter |4 pages

Case Study

Programme Reviews in a Merged Environment

part III|40 pages

Reviews and Governance

chapter 8|20 pages

Triggering Effective Action

chapter |4 pages

Case Study

Software Review and Inspection Techniques

chapter 9|8 pages

Gaps and Overlaps in Governance

chapter |4 pages

Case Study

Review Techniques in the Education Sector

part IV|42 pages

Running an Assurance Team

chapter 10|22 pages

Organizational Issues

chapter |4 pages

Case Study

Assuring Quality in a Global Application Portfolio

chapter 11|8 pages

Team Issues

chapter |2 pages

Case Study

Completion Bonds in the Film Industry

chapter 12|4 pages

Conclusion