ABSTRACT
This chapter provides some best practices around identifying early warning red flags on projects or programs. The health check should look for these in each of the major project dimensions of: People–Technology–Process. The assessment team, in some ways is playing detective, reviewer, and referee. The goal is to align with executive management’s definition of project success and to assess whether that is happening and collaboratively arrive at solutions to drive more business value. The recommendations coming out of the health check review stopped the death march the project was on and stopped it from outright cancellation. Project planning must be based on traceable and transparent estimates. It is true that things can go very well and so the project could beat expectations, just as it is true that a lot of risks could materialize and people could end up with the pessimistic scenario. There are a common set of emotions many team members feel when a program is started.
