Project audit is a formal type of project review, most often designed to evaluate the extent to which project management standards are being followed. Going beyond practice verification, project audits are also performed as a “check and balance” to evaluate project quality, necessity, value, and to examine the root cause of known project problems and reported failures.
Project management audits are rarely welcome and often contentious, but when done correctly, they offer unparalleled opportunity to learn from mistakes and rescue troubled projects.
A project audit selection can be based on overall project performance for scope, schedule, budget, project quality as it relates to project plans, specifications, estimates, project complexity and project risk assessment.
A project audit provides an opportunity to uncover the issues, concerns and challenges encountered in the execution of a project. It affords the project manager, project sponsor and project team an interim view of what has gone well and what needs to be improved with the project to successfully complete it.
If done at the close of a project, a project audit can be used to develop success criteria for future projects by providing a forensic review. This review will provide an opportunity to learn what elements of the project were successfully managed and which ones presented some challenges. This will help the organization identify what it needs to do so that mistakes are not repeated on future projects.
Regardless of whether the project audit is conducted mid-term on a project or at its conclusion, the process is similar. It is generally recommended that an outside facilitator conduct the project audit.
Some benefits of contracted project audit are:
Quality Management Audits can be performed at any point in a project’s life cycle (Design through Construction close-out). In general, we will be making field observations, talking to customers and project personnel, and reviewing QA/QC records and reports.
We will work with you to develop the audit success criteria, questionnaires and audit questions. We ensure confidentiality and also provide the team members and other stakeholders with the opportunity to be candid. We will value their inputs and the final report will be developed to ensure effective review and lesson learned that help you with your decision moving forward for your next project.
Talk to us and we would be happy to answer your questions and provide quotation.