By Phil Smith
It is always wise to use preventative measures to keep your IT project on track. Assigning a great project manager, utilizating formal risk management, utilizating of a system development process with tollgates, and implementing health checks are all examples of proactively working to keep things on track.
In this article I will discuss a few simple points to consider regarding the use of health checks for your project. A health check is a valuable tool for any project manager or business consultant. I welcome readers to respond back with additional thoughts or counterpoints.
Definition of a Health Check
While I’m open to other definitions, I need to capture at least a basic definition here to support the remainder of the article.
Health Check: An independent, unbiased review of the condition of a project. Ideally multiple health checks will be executed at various points in the project, with each one focusing on appropriate, critical success factors for the project, and appropriate critical maturity factors for the organization. The scope of a health check should be limited to a preset questionnaire that is designed to help the project and the project manager. Results should be reported in the context of degrees of compliance with required and recommended process steps. Results should also capture corrective follow-up steps, and should highlight risks and/or issues that require attention from the PM. Continue reading
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