As projects become more complex and project teams become more diverse with resources originating from the owner, the engineering contractor, the execution contractor, vendors, suppliers, service providers, etc., it is apparent that we need a well-defined project plan to establish not only the roles and responsibilities across all team functions but also the approach the team will take to address these project delivery requirements. Project control is one of these project planning and execution areas. To implement effective project control, the team needs to decide on the methodology, specify the tools and data to be monitored, and assign responsibilities for each task.
The industry utilizes a variety of established project assurance processes and tools. The most recognized are the Construction Industry Institute’s (CII) Project Definition Rating Index (PDRI) and the Construction Readiness Assessment (CRA). The PDRI assesses the readiness of the project to proceed to the next Front End Development stage, and the CRA assesses the readiness of the project to enter Construction activities. These tools were developed to establish industry best-practice criteria within their respective areas of focus. Industry professionals consider this type of assessment tool crucial for managing projects.
In response, Pathfinder has established a Project Control Readiness Assessment (PCRA) process and tool. We’ve created the PCRA to assess whether the project team is ready to handle the necessary project control tasks for any given project. Standard project control requirements for creating solid project baselines and associated controls are outlined in the diagram below.
Questions in the PCRA target project control processes, tools, and systems for efficient task execution. The PCRA also challenges the roles and responsibilities for each task in its evaluation. The tool does not dictate the answers. The evaluation assesses the team’s maturity level in defining their approach for each key area. Below are some example questions.
Scope Management
- Has an agreed to Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) been established?
- Has a change management process been defined?
Schedule Management
- Has a work calendar been defined?
- Has the schedule system/tool been agreed to?
- Has the contractor's responsibility been communicated in the contract?
Similar to the CRA, a weighted scoring system is implemented for each question, with the overall target score determined by the project environment’s predefined criteria prior to authorization. Like the CRA, the questions are simple “yes/no,” but the assessment happens during FEL 2 and FEL 3, similar to the PDRI. Results can be shown individually in a spider chart, as described below.
A “no” answer to any question necessitates a gap closure recommendation throughout the assessment process. The result is an action plan for closing gaps and implementing effective project controls.
Pathfinder is aware CII is exploring the possibility of developing a tool resembling a PCRA. Should CII take on this project, Pathfinder will collaborate with the research team to integrate its tool with any CII tool they create.