In the appendix of a recent report regarding the Department of Energy, the Government Accountability Office use the following checklist for assessing project plans, which I’ve added two broad grouping to
1. Build an accurate plan that reflects the project
- Capturing key activities
- Sequencing key activities
- Establishing the duration of key activities
- Assigning resources to key activities
- Integrating key activities horizontally and vertically
2. Manage project risks
- Establishing a critical path for key activities
- Identifying the float time between key activities
- Performing a schedule risk analysis
- Distributing reserves to high risk activities
Of course, this is a very schedule-centric checklist. There is no mention of talking with your stakeholders, managing partner relationships or assessing feasibility of the work to be undertaken. However, as a checklist for building a project plan, I think it’s a good list, and the risk management section is particularly useful, because it demonstrates what can be achieved when a solid plan is in place.
