5.20 Post-Implementation Review

Preface

A Post Implementation Review is different from a Project Evaluation.  A Project Evaluation focuses on the project management process and aims at learning how to improve project management processes by learning from project experience.  It asks, in essence, "What did we say the project would produce and did we, in fact, manage the project so as to produce that result?"  A Post Implementation Review, on the other hand, asks whether the project results constituted an effective response to the challenge or opportunity the project was chartered to address.

Process Inputs

A Decision Document or Business Case

Project Charter

6 – 12 months experience of the project result being in operation

Process Outputs

A Project Post Implementation Review Report

Rationale

By comparing the actual functioning of the project result to the original formulation of the challenge or opportunity it was intended to address, project managers and the organization can learn about the effectiveness of their problem definition and solution processes.  Where it is discovered that the implemented project result has not provided an effective response, the need for both process improvements and further project work can be discovered and documented.

Procedures

1. Review the original formulation of the challenge or opportunity the project was intended to address as contained in the Decision Document or Business Case.Enter the project rationale and proposed deliverable functions and features in the appropriate parts of Section 2.0, Review Findings.

2. Using the information entered in #1, above, interview individuals knowledgeable about conditions before and after implementation of the project result to determine the extent to which the project result effectively achieves the objectives set for it.If not, determine whether the difference is material.Enter the results of this information-gathering effort in the appropriate parts of Section 2.0, Review Findings.

3. Where a material difference is found, determine whether the difference needs to be addressed – is this a problem that needs a solution or is the existing situation acceptable – and, if so, determine how urgent it is to address the problem and what approach stakeholders or other knowledgeable individuals propose.Enter the results of this analysis in the appropriate parts of Section 3.0, Review Conclusions.

4. Summarize the identified problems and proposed solutions in Section 4.1, Issues and outline a proposed course of action in Section 4.2 Next Steps.

Initiate a Decision Document or Business Case, as appropriate.