Lumi HASANAJ - CHECKLIST MODEL

CHECKLIST MODEL 

A checklist is a list of criteria applied to possible projects.

 Requires agreement on criteria Assumes all criteria are equally important Checklist Model :

     Uses a list of questions to review potential projects and to determine their acceptance or rejection.   
     Fails to answer the relative importance or value of a potential project and doesn’t to allow for comparison with other potential projects.

Checklist Model: The simplest method of project screening and selection is developing a checklist, or a list of criteria that pertain to our choice of projects, and then applying them to different possible projects. Let’s say, for example, that in our company, the key selection criteria are cost and speed to market. Because of our strategic competitive model and the industry we are in, we favor low-cost projects that can be brought to the marketplace within one year. We would screen each possible project against these two criteria and select the project that best satisfies them. But depending on the type and size of our possible projects, we may have to consider literally dozens of relevant criteria. In deciding among several new product development opportunities, a firm must weigh a variety of issues, including the following:

 • Cost of development: What is a reasonable cost estimate? 

• Potential return on investment: What kind of return can we expect? What is the likely payback period? 

• Riskiness of the new venture: Does the project entail the need to create new-generation technology? How risky is the venture in terms of achieving our anticipated specifications? 

• Stability of the development process: Are both the parent organization and the project team stable? Can we expect this project to face funding cuts or the loss of key personnel, including senior management sponsors?

 • Governmental or stakeholder interference: Is the project subject to levels of governmental oversight that could potentially interfere with its development? Might other stakeholders oppose the project and attempt to block completion?

 For example, environmental groups commonly referred to as “intervenor” stakeholders have a long history of opposing natural resource development projects and work in opposition to project objectives.

 • Product durability and future market potential: Is this project a one-shot opportunity, or could it be the forerunner of future opportunities? 

A software development firm may, for example, develop an application for a client in hopes that successful performance on this project will lead to future business. On the other hand, they may perceive that the project is simply a one-time opportunity with little potential for future work with the customer. This is just a partial list of criteria that may be relevant when we are selecting among project alternatives. A checklist approach to the evaluation of project opportunities is a fairly simple device for recording opinions and encouraging discussion. Thus, checklists may best be used in a consensus-group setting, as a method for initiating conversation, stimulating discussion and the exchange of opinions, and highlighting the group’s priorities.

 EXAMPLE : Checklist Let’s assume that SAP Corporation, a leader in the business applications software industry, is interested in developing a new application package for inventory management and shipping control. It is trying to decide which project to select from a set of four potential alternatives. Based on past commercial experiences, the company feels that the most important selection criteria for its choice are: cost, profit potential, time to market, and development risks. Table  shows a simple checklist model with only four project choices and the four decision criteria. In addition to developing the decision criteria, we create evaluative descriptors that reflect how well the project alternatives correspond to our key selection criteria. We evaluate each criterion (which is rated high, medium, or low) in order to see which project accumulates the most positive checks— and may thus be regarded as the optimal choice. 

SOLUTION Based on this analysis, Project Gamma is the best alternative in terms of maximizing our key criteria—cost, profit potential, time to market, and development risks.

Of course, the flaws in such a model include the subjective nature of such ratings as high, medium, or low. Such terms are inexact and subject to misinterpretation or misunderstanding. Checklist screening models also fail to resolve trade-off issues.

 What if our criteria are differentially weighted—that is, what if some criteria are more important than others? 

How will relative, or weighted, importance affect our final decision?

Let’s say, for instance, that we regard time to market as our paramount criterion. Is Project Gamma, which rates as low on this criterion, still “better” than Project Beta or Delta, both of which rate high on time to market though lower on other, less important criteria? Are we willing to make a trade-off, accepting low time to market in order to get the highest benefits in cost, profit potential, and development risks? Because the simple checklist model does not deal satisfactorily with such questions, let’s turn next to a more complex screening model in which we distinguish more important from less important criteria by assigning each criterion a simple weight.

Checklists require decision makers to develop a list of the criteria that are deemed important when considering among project alternatives. For example, a firm may decide that all project alternatives must be acceptable on criteria such as return on investment, safety, cost of development, commercial opportunities, and stakeholder acceptability. Once the list is created, all project alternatives are evaluated against the list and assigned a rating of high, medium, or low depending upon how well they satisfy each criterion in the checklist. Projects that rate highest across the relevant criteria are selected. Checklists are useful because they are simple and require the firm to make trade-off decisions among criteria to determine which issues are most important in selecting new projects. Among their disadvantages are the subjective nature of the rating process and the fact that they assume equal weighting for all criteria when some, in fact, may be much more important than others in making the final decision. Simple scoring models are similar to checklists except that they employ criterion weights for each of the decision criteria. Hence, all project alternatives are first weighted by the importance score for the criterion and then final scores are evaluated against one another. The advantage of this method is that it recognizes the fact that decision criteria may be weighted differently, leading to better choices among project alternatives. Its disadvantages are due to the difficulty in assigning meaningful values to scoring anchors such as “High = 3, Medium = 2, Low =1.” The results of simple scoring models using weighted rankings lies in the uncertainty of their interpretation. Further, these models depend upon the relevance of the selected criteria and the accuracy of the weight given to them if they are to be useful.

Construct a project checklist model for screening these four alternatives. Based on your model, which project is the best choice for selection? Why? Which is the worst? Why?

Quick start your project!

A project management checklist is an essential tool to "quick start" any project. Whether you're starting a project from the beginning, or you're taking over one that's already been started, you'll need to check that everything you need is in place. The questions in this project management checklist are designed to help you manage your project successfully.

The first step is to ensure you follow a clear project management model, which will help you identify clear aims, objectives are desired outcomes. Follow our project management guidelines to help you get started. The next thing you'll need to do is to check that you have everything in place. That's where our project management checklist will help.

The checklist is a useful questioning technique, adapted from our problem solving activity it's based on the principle of asking the right questions in the right way - a structured way Questions are perhaps the best management tools at your disposal.

This project management checklist uses the " pecking order " of questions with the more powerful questions ( why , how and what ) asked first, followed by the less, but perhaps more specific questions ( who, where and when )

                                                          What

·         What (exactly) do I want to achieve?

·         What really matters to me?

·         What are the objectives and outcomes of the project?

·         What issue/problem or opportunity is the project addressing?

·         What resources have been allocated to the project?

·         What are the risks involved in the project?

·         What assumptions do you need to test?

·         What is the budget for the project?

Why:

·         Why is the organization investing in the project?

·         Why have I been asked to manage the project?

How:

·         How will the situation be different when the project is successfully completed?

·         How do I contribute to the organization?

·         How will changes to the project be reported and approved?

·         How was the budget created?

·         How was the project plan created (or the timescale for the project determined)?

When:

·         When does the project start?

·         When is the planned finish date?

Where:

·         Where are the resources for the project?

·         Where will the project team be based?

·         Where is the project plan?

Who:

·         Who is the sponsor of the project?

·         Who cares about the project?

·         Who is on the project team?

·         Who is affected?

·         Who knows most about the situation?

·         Who can help with the solution?

·         Who needs to be informed?

These questions may be just a starting point and you may to personalize the tool by adding your own specific questions. The important thing is that you ask the right questions before starting work.

Once you have done this you need to clarify the aims, objectives and outcomes for the project. Resist the tendency to jump straight into action. Initial time spent clarifying the project's parameters will save you much more time in the long run. Make sure you are clear which way you want to go before you start!

The checklist model illustrates these steps in a tool you can use as is or customize as needed:

Before you begin the selection process there are some steps that have to be done :

•   Business owner/project champion assigned
•   Business case completed
•   Project charter completed
•   Assemble technology or service selection team
•   High-level business and customer experience requirements established
•   Technical integration plan established
•   Technology solution model determined
•   Determine your vendor shortlist
•   Field RFI (request for information) to obtain key information
•   Develop scenarios for scenario-based evaluation process (STEP)
•   Communicate project vision and scenarios with vendors
•   During the selection process:                                                                                                      
•   Conduct scenario-based evaluation labs (STEP)
•   Conduct reference, background, and analyst checks
•   Conduct technical architecture or integration evaluation
•   Develop ongoing support and resourcing plan
•   Scope and pricing discussions
•   Get business sponsor and senior management buy-in                                  
•   After the selection process is completed:
•   Validate through a proof of concept (POC) (optional)
•   Finalize procurement process and negotiation
•   Final contract approval
•   Hold a project kickoff workshop

      What are the benefits and drawbacks of project checklists for screening alternatives?

      Project Checklists are easy to use, based on a simplistic visual model with a basic scoring system.  Using a checklist enhances the input and discussion during the screening process.  Unfortunately, the model also has its shortcomings.  The two most significant are the subjectivity of the rating system and the lack of a weighting system.  The weighting system is important in establishing trade-offs between criterion.

       Now that's solve a Problem: 

     Checklist.  Suppose that you are trying to choose which of two IT projects to accept.  Your company employs three primary selection criteria for evaluating all IT projects: 1) proven technology, 2) ease of transition, and 3) projected cost savings.  

        One option, Project Demeter, is evaluated as:

            Technology                                                    high

            Ease of transition                                           low

            Projected cost savings                                   high

         The second option, Project Cairo, is evaluated as:

            Technology                                                    medium

            Ease of transition                                           high

            Projected cost savings                                   high

  

      Construct a table identifying the projects, their evaluative criteria, and ratings.  Based on your analysis, which project would you argue in favor of adopting?  Why?

       Solution:

       Performance on Criteria

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      High      Medium        Low

        Project                                   Criteria                                                                                                                                                                                                 

  

         Project Demeter                Technology                                      X

                                               Ease of Transition                                                                 X

                                            Projected Cost Savings                          X

                                  

                                                                                                                                                              

          Project Cairo                  Technology                                                         X        

                                           Ease of Transition                                   X

                                             Time to Market                                      X

       On the basis of this checklist, and assuming that all criteria are equally weighted, Project Cairo is marginally superior to Project Demeter.  Cairo scores two highs and one medium, while Demeter scores two highs and one low.

       http://goanimate.com/videos/0fwbvAe59OLc