Appendix C: Health check

C.1     PURPOSE

Chapter 7 describes the processes involved in introducing and embedding MoV into an organization. To maintain and improve the practice and culture of MoV it is necessary to undertake regular maintenance of the processes that have been put in place so that they are continually refreshed.

The health check is designed to review the status of MoV across the organization, assess its effectiveness and diagnose where it might be improved. It should be refined as organizations become more experienced in the use of MoV.

Regular health checks may also be used to develop plans for increasing organizational or individual maturity which is discussed in Appendix D.

Health checks may be applied at organizational, programme, project or operational levels.

The frequency of undertaking health checks should be described in the MoV implementation plan.

A health check may be useful:

  As a regular review of the embedding of MoV to protect the original investment and realize the full potential benefits from that investment

  As an integral part of business planning activity

  When preparing annual operating plans

  When considering a significant investment or embarking on a major project or programme

  In response to major changes that may be required, for example by changes in legislation

  As part of the preparation for OGC Gateway Reviews

  As part of the process of improving MoV maturity.

C.2     PROCESS

The process for undertaking health checks at any level should form part of the MoV plan but, in general, should include the following steps.

C.2.1     Preparation

The health check should be initiated by the senior MoV practitioner with the support of the support office, if available or, since it is effectively a quality check, those charged with quality assurance. The senior MoV practitioner should appoint a health check team leader if not leading the review personally.

The first task is to set the terms of reference, the objectives, the scope and the timing of the exercise

Next, select a suitable review team or individual (hereafter referred to as the team to avoid repetition) and define the roles and responsibilities of those involved.

The review team leader will then brief the team, including refining the health check process to fit the specific circumstances, explaining the structure, the reasons for it and the outputs that are sought.

The team will develop questions that are specific to the aspect of MoV under check and the purpose of the health check, using the questions listed under the framework (see section C.3) as a basis. Questions should be open wherever possible to force a response to be based on supporting evidence.

The review team leader should identify who should interview whom, develop a schedule of interviews, identify any other sources of information and how best to capture them.

The review team or individual will then gather information on the aspect of MoV that is being checked (this could, for example, be the status of its embedding over the organization or how it is set up for a major project or programme).

The review team leader should plan the format of the report and its audience. Once the review is complete, the report should be compiled and submitted to the appropriate people.

C.2.2     Data collection

The team should review the written documentation such as the project MoV plan, seeking additional information if necessary, make notes on the responses and discussion topics arising from the interviews and seek out additional information as required to fill any gaps that become apparent.

C.2.3     Data analysis

The team should then identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and analyse responses using a SWOT analysis and identify trends and patterns.

If the health check is being used to improve maturity, the team should assess steps needed to achieve this (see Appendix D).

The review team leader should then develop findings and recommendations, and draft an implementation plan.

C.2.4     Report and review

The review team leader will then compile a report outlining the processes followed, the findings and recommendations and present these, together with the draft implementation plan to the senior MoV practitioner or the sponsor.

Following the review with the senior MoV practitioner or sponsor, the review team leader will finalize and submit the report.

C.2.5     Implementation

Implementation of the recommendations in the report will be undertaken by suitable people in the organization, who should be identified in the implementation plan. The senior MoV practitioner should brief those who are responsible for following through on the recommendations so that they understand and can act on the implementation plan.

The senior MoV practitioner will also define the mechanism for monitoring implementation progress and changing the plans as necessary to maximize the benefits arising from the investment in the health check.

C.3     FRAMEWORK

This framework provides a checklist of questions upon which to build, structured around the seven principles of MoV. Figure C.1 indicates how performance against each principle may be assessed in line with the organizational maturity, discussed in Appendix D

Figure C.1 MoV maturity histogram

The health check is conducted by assessing responses to a number of questions that relate to each MoV principle, built upon the examples set out below, and should be open to discussion if possible.

Affirmative responses confirm that an aspect of each of the principles has been applied. Negative or equivocal responses indicate that the aspect is not fully applied, if at all. Sometimes a question may lead to a discussion on a related topic. Such discussion can be extremely useful in diagnosing areas for improvement and should be recorded.

It is important that the questions are answered realistically; reflecting actual circumstances, rather than being skewed to what people may believe is the ‘right answer’. A number of peers from different parts of the organization should be involved in the review to provide an objective ‘peer review’ of the status to avoid overly optimistic and misleading interpretations of the status of MoV practice.

Questions under each principle should be selected and adapted to suit the specific requirements of the health check. This should be done by the leader of the health check rather than the heath check team members. Where applicable, the questions should probe expertise, experience and capability at business, programme, project and operational levels, whether or not this is explicit in the lists below.

Some of these questions may need to be amended if the organization is running agile projects.

C.3.1     Align with organizational objectives

Consideration:   how is MoV applied to strategic, programme, project and operational issues in the context of the organization’s objectives?

Possible questions to pose:

  How do the MoV policy and plan reflect the organization’s objectives and priorities?

  Are these represented by an organizational value profile?

  Do the MoV policy and plan make it clear which activities should be routinely subjected to MoV and when?

  Where have the organization’s value priorities been defined and are they current?

  Has the management team fully bought into the policy and plan?

  How are senior management kept informed of the effectiveness of the MoV activities?

  Have the programme/project objectives been defined in a simple SMART manner such that all involved in its delivery have access to it and can understand it?

  How do the programme or project objectives relate to the organization’s business objectives?

  How has it been demonstrated that the programme/project is the best way in which to deliver the expected benefits?

  What is the method that the organization adopts to inform the MoV team of changes in programme or project objectives and the resultant changes in the brief?

  How are project objectives within a programme coordinated to contribute to the programme objectives?

  Are decisions at all levels based on value?

C.3.2     Focus on function and required outcomes

Consideration:   are MoV activities firmly based on identifying the functional requirements of programme and project objectives?

Possible questions to pose:

  Are programme and project objectives expressed in a SMART format stating the required outcomes rather than outputs?

  Does the organization understand the concept of value drivers (functions that are, in aggregate, necessary and sufficient to deliver the programme or project objectives in full)?

  Are members of the organization familiar with the concepts of function as applied in MoV?

  Do people recognize that not all benefits have a monetary value, and how do they take account of these?

  What types of function diagram are used to express business, programme, project or operational values?

  How does the organization demonstrate that it strives to maximize value for money?

  How are different stakeholders’ value priorities captured and shared?

  Are function diagrams used to encourage innovation and development of value-improving proposals?

  Has the organization developed generic value drivers that may be refined to suit individual circumstances for the projects it frequently carries out?

  When making decisions based on value, are all value and cost drivers assessed?

  How are design standards and quality aspirations expressed?

C.3.3     Balance the variables to maximize value

Consideration:   maximizing overall value requires that three sets of variables are balanced to achieve the optimum outcome. The sets of variables are: benefits gained against resources used, reconciliation of benefits according to different stakeholders’ priorities and achieving the optimum balance between the use of money, materials and time.

Possible questions to pose:

  Is the concept of the value ratio well understood throughout the organization?

  What is the organization’s approach to identifying and managing stakeholders?

  Have the senior management visibly given their support to embedding and improving MoV?

  Have the main stakeholders who may have an impact on the project, both internally and externally, been identified?

  Have the stakeholders, including the end users, been consulted in arriving at the project objectives?

  Has their attitude, interest and influence on the project been analysed and an engagement plan been developed?

  How are differing stakeholder expectations managed?

  How do people deal with widely differing stakeholder expectations at project, programme and business levels?

  How is the optimum balance between differing stakeholder expectations, including environmental and community policies, expressed?

  Are the organization’s priorities across time, cost and quality clearly understood?

  What methods are used to balance the use of time, money, energy and materials?

  Is the organization’s sustainability policy clearly understood?

  What methods are used to optimize the balance between the delivery of benefits and the use of resources?

  Are decisions based on clear statements of value for the organization and their maximization?

  Do the teams use scenarios to maximize value?

  How are resources balanced to maximize value on a project?

  Are project reviews conducted at key milestones and at the end of the project to assess the effectiveness of incorporating the value-improving proposals and the resulting improvements in value?

  How are improvements in value, taking account of monetary and non-monetary benefits, measured and monitored?

C.3.4     Apply throughout the programme or project

Consideration:   are MoV activities planned and delivered at all project stages?

Possible questions to pose:

  Are the different management stages clearly identified from the outset?

  Are the different technical stages clearly identified from the outset?

  Are the MoV activities for each management or technical stage identified from the outset?

  Are the MoV activities and necessary, appropriate, resources clearly identified on the master schedule?

  Are the MoV team members competent and experienced in conducting MoV studies at all the relevant milestones and stages, taking into account the different focus for these activities?

  Are appropriate MoV activities planned for OGC Gateway Reviews and other key programme or project milestones?

  Is MoV used regularly as part of project reviews, including post-project reviews, to assess performance and ascertain whether expected benefits were delivered?

  Is MoV used to improve operational performance after a project has been commissioned or to improve operational performance for ‘business as usual’?

  Are the value-improving proposals and the status of their incorporation in the project included in the regular project reports and reviewed at project meetings?

C.3.5     Tailor to suit the programme or project

Consideration:   the extent and depth of MoV involvement should be adjusted to suit the circumstances to achieve maximum value whilst avoiding unnecessary process-driven activities. It is vital to avoid ‘tick-box’ activities.

Possible questions to pose:

  What methods are employed to assess the level of effort and resources to be deployed in MoV activities at each stage throughout a project?

  Are MoV practitioners familiar with a broad range of MoV involvement to suit the circumstances?

  MoV includes a range of techniques. How do practitioners select what is appropriate for the circumstances?

  In a programme comprising multiple projects, how is an appropriate balance of MoV activity assessed across each contributing project?

  How is MoV integrated with other project management activities?

  Does the MoV plan clearly set out the circumstances and levels of MoV that should be applied?

C.3.6     Learn from experience and improve

Consideration:   are there strategies in place for continuous performance improvement and is their implementation achieving results?

Possible questions to pose:

  Is there a person responsible and accountable for improving MoV practice across the organization?

  What processes are in place to learn and share lessons learned between similar projects or projects within a programme?

  How do you gauge the level of MoV effort needed for individual projects?

  How do your MoV practitioners improve their competence from new to experienced practitioner?

  Is there a system in place for improving individual practitioners’ personal competence?

  Is regular feedback received from practitioners to improve processes and techniques?

  Are MoV processes reviewed against a maturity model to determine the maturity level and the resulting benefits that may be expected?

  How often do you update your written processes to keep pace with advances in MoV practice?

  How do your MoV practitioners ensure that they are familiar with the latest developments in MoV?

  How do you adapt your MoV processes and techniques to improve performance and ensure that you are reflecting best management practice?

  How do you allow individual MoV practitioners to tailor their techniques to suit their characters whilst remaining consistent with MoV principles?

  Is the maturity of MoV practice improving?

  Is individual MoV competence monitored and reviewed?

  Is there a plan in place for progressing MoV maturity from one level to the next for the organization and individuals?

  Is the plan resourced and being actively managed?

  Is there a culture that encourages continual raising of the MoV bar by learning and disseminating known measures that improve value and by constantly seeking new ones?

  Is MoV practice included in the criteria for the relevant staff to advance their careers?

  What system do you have in place for recording lessons learned and enabling easy sharing of both factual and tacit knowledge to improve individual and organizational performance in MoV?

  How do you avoid MoV becoming a ‘tick-box’ activity?

  Are key value-improving proposals captured and disseminated within the organization to benefit other similar projects?

C.3.7     Assign clear roles and responsibilities and build culture

Consideration:   in common with all management activities, it is vital that individuals’ roles and responsibilities are clear. For MoV to be effective, it is essential that a culture exists that supports and encourages the maximization of value. Are roles clear and does the appropriate culture thrive?

Possible questions to pose:

  Is there a properly structured management approach to implementing MoV that includes key roles and responsibilities, a policy and plan for its implementation?

  Is there a dedicated sponsor for MoV with direct access to the executive board?

  Are the named individuals in the MoV plan truly accountable?

  Is there a centre of excellence that can provide appropriate support for the delivery of the tools and techniques?

  Have the management team bought fully into the MoV policy and plan?

  Are senior management in regular communication with the delivery of MoV?

  Are all staff aware of the roles they should play in the effective application of MoV?

  Are there clear guidelines and criteria in place for the selection of those who will be involved in the introduction, embedding and delivery of the MoV programme?

  Is there a programme in place to bring about necessary changes in attitude and behaviour to deliver the MoV programme?

  Is delivery of value for money reinforced by the examples set by line managers’ behaviours and explicit MoV-related reward systems?

  Are clear MoV roles defined for all organizational objectives including all programme, project and operational activities?

  Are there clear guidelines in place on how to report proposals to improve value and learn lessons to continuously improve performance?

  Are roles and responsibilities for delivering MoV processes clearly articulated and defined?

  Are the required qualifications and capabilities of those responsible for MoV delivery and reporting clearly defined?

  Who is responsible for ensuring that the implementation of the value-improving proposals is monitored and the benefits realized?

  Are MoV delivery actions allocated to appropriate parties? Is the effectiveness of delivery monitored?

  Are the recommendations contained in this guide communicated to those involved in the setting up and delivery of the MoV programme?

  Can the organization apply MoV across all sectors of their activities?

  How has the organization demonstrated that it can apply MoV at business, programme, project and operational levels?

  Is there a culture embedded in the organization to challenge the status quo, to innovate and develop new ways to do things, and to overcome possible resistance?

  How are the organization’s value priorities articulated and disseminated to all levels of management and staff?

  Is MoV integrated into key planning activities?

  How are management and staff encouraged, incentivized and committed to improve value for money?