Your work on the BUDGETING CHECKLIST should have yielded an initial chart for the project. Ideally, this will have progressed through different iterations, starting with life as a basic project plan of the tasks, then becoming an 'Activity Assigner Chart' with names and assignments, then developing into a 'Budget' or 'Costed Roadmap.' All the while, this plan should be examined for waste, inefficiency, and justifiable savings. Now your plan is ready for the final stage of its evolution, as a fully formed Process Chart. This will be the reference tool that is used throughout the execution stage of the project.

Checklist:

  • As always, gather in your planning work so far and project knowledge. The focus will be on the Costed Roadmap (or 'Budget') that is to be converted into a Process Chart.
  • Review the Costed Roadmap or any other more current planning tool for robustness and fitness for purpose.
  • Ensure that the plan and all of its components are clear and self-explanatory, or else explained.
  • Verify that the plan is lean.
  • Validate the plan with the project team. This enhanced and validated plan can now be treated as a Process Chart.
  • Share the Process Chart with the team and appropriate external players and stakeholders.
  • Report to the client.

Lean Routine:

  1. Have you verified that every main task has been captured? Has each one been broken into sensible and meaningful subtasks? Are these all tasks that you have personally done or seen others do successfully?
  2. How likely is it that each task will be successfully performed in full and on time? If so, how well would that meet the client's expectations as to the finished project? Have you left any margin for error or unforeseen circumstances? Have you verified that all of the contributors are still available, ready, and willing to participate?
  3. Do you have backup plans if one or more of the team becomes unavailable? Have you crosschecked the overall cost estimates against the client's expectation?
  4. Have you considered whether the overall plan is clear and makes sense as a whole? Is each task and subtask clear and obvious? Do any of them need explanation to ensure they can be done accurately and successfully the first time? If any explanation is needed, have you thought through how this will be handled? Would it be worth writing some bullet points in an email or maybe meeting the fee-earner to make sure it is understood? Is there some part of the plan that would be better depicted in some other way, such as a mind map, flowchart, or decision tree?
  5. Have you sequenced the tasks and subtasks in the optimum way? Have you thought about which jobs have to be completed before others can start and factored that in (such as with gateways)? Have you lined up individuals of appropriate skill and talent for each task? Have you checked again for waste, inefficiency, and justifiable savings? Are the estimated task times and deadlines manageable without being overgenerous? Do you have contingency buffers for the unexpected?
  6. Have you checked with all important contributors to the project to be sure that they understand what is expected? Do they all agree that their role is appropriate and manageable? Have you considered any suggestions arising during these conversations?
  7. Have you documented this work and the discussion and decisions?
  8. Has anything in this work impacted your view of the feasibility of performing the project on time, on budget, and with the right outcome? If so, have you told the client what has changed your view and gauged their comfort level?

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