There is no doubt that Darwinism has set in for some programs and projects. These initiatives were perhaps “nice-to-haves” that had some traction in the good times, but have been de-prioritised as the new and harsh light of “must do to survive” has been thrust upon them. There are also others that are “still must do” but not now given the same examination, and then there are projects that come to the front, the ones that need priority, commitment of scarce resources and are “bet the farm or bust” priorities.
Assurance has always had a strength in teasing out what programs and projects can (or should) survive, that they are performing well and should continue to stay alive and continue life to their next life cycle stage. Assurance also runs at the portfolio level, and is therefore the ideal tool to not only pick the survivors but assist put these into a sequence and priority.
Importantly, employing external assurance has several advantages:
- it can quickly inject highly experienced people into your planning (who have gone through these harsh times before);
- it is 100% independent and uses objective and rigorous tools and techniques, including agile;
- they have the best interests of the project and their teams in mind;
- it is anonymous and makes recommendations not edicts;
- it is fast and can generate an earlier view of what the new normal should look like;
- they are used to operating remotely and can process your project and portfolio information quickly and efficiently; and
- they are used to asking questions that your own people may not be able to
PM Solutions Australia have a wealth of Queensland and NSW experienced and available assurance professionals who can help projects, teams and organisations (big and small) better understand “what is first and what is next” – within their specific and current operating environments.