The Committee of Public Accounts stated that “A regular feature of many government projects has been for them to incur increased costs or be completed later than planned. Many do not realise their full benefits in terms of better public services. Reports by the Committee have identified that a significant contributory factor to such poor performance is a lack of reliable project management” [PAC 17th Report 05-06, para 15]. The Committee identified the following factors which should be addressed or for which greater progress is needed.
Please click one of the factors below to go to a list of questions for organisations to use to review their progress against each factor.
| Factors which need to be addressed or where greater progress is needed | Signs of success* |
|---|---|
| 1. More realistic business cases and timescales. | The realistically planned project does not suffer constant and substantial slippage (see also Careful Planning) |
| 2. Better assessment and management of risk. | Good risk management makes for
timely and effective response to unplanned events. Where risks are well managed there will be a Risk Log (or Register) which: evaluates risks; records ownership of them; indicates mitigating actions and contingency plans. It will be regularly reviewed and updated. |
| 3. Breaking large complex projects into smaller more manageable components. | Where large complex projects are
broken into manageable components there is a reduced risk of
failure. Project planning documents show how the project has been broken into manageable components. |
| 4. Having reliable contingency arrangements in place. | The Risk Log records the existence
of contingency plans for major risks. Testing of contingency plans is recorded in the Risk Log or elsewhere in project documentation. |
* The “Signs of Success” are intended to help senior management to quickly determine whether the factor identified by the Committee has been addressed in their organisation.
