Project Value Assurance: Closing the Gap
The purpose of an Project Value Assurance assessment is to determine the current state of a project relative to the required status in accordance to the value and the significance of the project. The key outputs from the assessment are shared awareness of any gaps in the project, areas for development, and a plan of action endorsed by the multi-disciplinary team involved in the assessment process.
A PVA Assessment should be conducted during the planning phase of a project, well in advance of project execution or operation phases. This ensures that there is sufficient time remaining to implement the assessment outputs and position the team to successfully execute the project and ultimately deliver the business results as promised.
The assessment is not an external audit but a self assessment by a multi-disciplinary team. The assessment is first of all an honest and in-depth review of the current reality and ultimately leads to a team endorsed plan of action to remediate the gaps in advance of the high cost 'execute' and 'operate' phases of the project.
Typical Assessment Objectives:
- Provide an overview of the project status and forward plans
- Determine whether a project team is set up for success
- Identify the gaps as in an open, honest and transparent way
- Help teams organise their project by recognising gaps
- Help teams prioritise and allow the appropriate actions to be taken
- Conduct 'integral to stage' gate reviews
- Ensure the quality assurance process is followed