It's time (beginning of the 2nd Quarter) to remind ourselves of the basics of project success criteria:
- Identify the Needed System Capabilities - define the set of capabilities needed to achieve the program objectives or the particular end state for a specific scenario. This can be defined in a Concept of Operations document, where the Who, Where, and What are presented. This is a natural place for Use Cases and Scenarios. The activity answers the question: What Capabilities Are Needed to Fulfill Concept of Operations, the Mission and Vision, or the Business Case?
- Establish the Requirements Baseline - define the technical and operational requirements that must be in place for the system capabilities to be fulfilled. First, define these requirements in terms that are isolated from any implementation of technical products. Only then bind the requirements with the technology.
- Establish the Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB) - Build a time-phased network of schedule activities describing the work to be performed, the budget cost for that work, the organizational elements the produce the deliverables, and the performance measures showing this work is proceeding according to plan.
- Execute the Performance Measurement Baseline - Execute the work packages descried in the PMB, while assuring all performance assessments are 0%/100% complete before proceeding. No rework, no forward transfer of work activities to nurture work packages. Assure every requirement is traceable to work and all work is traceable to requirements.
- Performance Continuous Risk Management - Perform the 6 process areas of SEI's Continuous Risk Management (CRM) for each of the above process areas to identify, analyze, plan, track, control, and communicate programmatic and technical risks.
With these processes as guidance, the probability of project failure is reduced. Not eliminated, just reduced.
