I found surveys are very helpful and am using them on different stages of the projects. Our surveys contain the base questions and cover all project stages from creation of a business case to closure. It is very practical and handy using these questionnaires to make sure the overall aspects of the project status are captured.
Here is an example of questions that we use in project initiation. The examples of answers will give your some clue for the start point and help to form a clear and concise picture.
- What problem this project to solve?
– automate processes;
– reduce processing time;
– understand relations between data – data analysis/mining;
– ease data analysis for planning and performance management;
– add new or enhance existing business logic;
– extend or optimize computing capabilities;
– upgrade existing or install new infrastructure components or equipment;
– get rid form the obsolete infrastructure (decommission); - Why solving this problem is important?
– expensive or inefficient processing;
– takes too much resources;
– takes long time;
– need to increase customer satisfaction;
– increase competitiveness in the market space. - What are the goals of this project?
– increase market share;
– reduce staff overturn;
– minimize or eliminate manual processing;
– reduce or eliminate human errors;
– shorten processing time;
– save on processing;
– increase customer satisfaction. - What are the measurable objectives of the project and their priorities? OR What issues will be solved by reaching objectives of this project?
– number of participants in the process from 3 to Zero, priority 1;
– reduce processing time from 5 days to 1 minutes, priority 1;
– save $1.2m during the first year of operation, increases this numbers as the volume of processed items is increased, priority 1;
– minimize or eliminate users complains related to processing time and accuracy of data, priority 1. - Which objectives may have intangible values?
– enhanced user experience by simplifying the process;
– enhanced experience of the business and technical personnel;
– having well documented processes in technical and user manuals. - Why these project objectives are important?
– being more competitive in the market niche;
– savings on operating expenses. - What is in scope of the project?
– a list of “must to have” features of the product, services or result;
– a list of “must to be done” deliverables of the project;
– deliver a solution that meets the measurable objectives of the project. - What is out of scope of the project?
– coordination of the content of communications with end user.
– selection of the infrastructure for all development, testing, staging, and production. - What are assumptions of the project?
– business to provide content for online and printed reports;
– infrastructure provider to select of provide the required infrastructure. - What risks of the project?
– infrastructure is no ready due to delay with logistics;
– availability of internal resources;
– delay in coordination of final business requirements. - What are the project success factor criteria and priorities?
– agreed business processes are automated at the agreed extend;
– process time reduction objectives have met. - Are there any sensitive aspects to be addressed on this project?
– the project is confidential; project materials are available only to authorized project team members and authorised stakeholders;
– as the result of automation, a number of positions will be terminated;
– work with Human Resources department on relocation of the released resources. - Are there any legal aspects to be address as a part of this project?
– coordinated with legal department any changes in the content communicated with end users;
– possible changed in the content communicated with users: personal data in fulfillment processes, online reports, printed reports. - Are there any specific or general known legal, company, or industry standards or requirements this projects needs to be compliant with?
– currently maintained company standards: list of the related standards and links to the original documents. - Have this organization been already involved in solving this or similar problem? If yes, what is the status?
– the business case was created two years ago, but the project on hold due to priorities;
– all the available material are located in shared repository, dedicated specifically for this confidential project. - How this project meets company’s strategic goals?
– the project is the part of the program;
– meets requirements for improvement of customer satisfaction. - How important is this project?
– category 3;
– priority 2. - What dependencies this project has?
– absence of infrastructure;
– training of users. - Have this organization done any similar project?
– a similar project was done 4 years ago by another department of this organization: “Automation of process fulfillment”. - Are any skilled resource from previous experienced can be used?
– architect form previous project can be partially allocated for this project;
– business analyst form previous project can be partially allocated for this project. - Are the lessons learned along with other project material available from other similar projects?
– all the materials are available in the archived repository. - Who are the stakeholders of the project (roles, names, contact information, communication preferences, expectations from the project, influence on the project?
– end users;
– system users;
– project sponsor – name;
– project owner – name;
– infrastructure provider – name;
– resources vendors – list;
– project team – matrix organization. - How the current solution related to this project works?
– overall description of the current mode of operation is available in the appendix. - How the project funding is assigned?
– project sponsor is assigned to provide funding via line of business. - What are the constrains and justification of the project?
– the project costs should not exceed $3m;
– the project should be be implemented within 6 months after start;
– project should start not later than March 1st;
– the product should be deployed in third quarter;
– the budgetary constrains were preliminary evaluated and planned;
– the product of the project should be released in September due to mandatory quarterly scheduled system releases;
– delay of the product release will costs company over $300k monthly. - Is this project a part of a program? If yes, what part of the program is covers?
- What governance structure should work best on this project?
- What role and responsibilities on these project?
- Who should be assigned into the steering committee on the project?
- What performance metrics, how and when should be taken, analyzed?
- Any other general and project specific questions..
I encourage the reader to share your personal experiences on LinkedIn Pulse or Project Management Network Group your experiences; this is a good opportunity to contribute to project management and make difference.
Let me know if you are interested in my surveys for creating business cases, selecting projects, forming and evaluating project portfolios, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing of projects.