Appendix A: Document checklists
The following checklists are given alphabetically for ease of reference.
A.1 BRIEFING MEETING AGENDA
The objectives of a briefing meeting are to understand the project, the type of study that is needed, study logistics and how any feedback arrangements will be handled. The study leader should raise questions to meet each of these. As a guide, the following will normally give most of the right information, but should always be tailored to need.
About the project or programme:
What will it do? Define the scope.
What are the objectives?
What improvements would you expect to see? What specific measures and targets are there?
What is the structure of the organization being affected? Who are the stakeholders?
Are there any specific issues that need to be addressed?
When must the study deliver?
What data needs to be shared by the study team?
What point in the project lifecycle has been reached?
What value drivers or primary functions are relevant? Value drivers are integral to successful delivery.
What basis should be used for whole-life costing and over what period will it be applied?
About this particular study:
What are the objectives for the study? What is in scope?
Are there any givens that should not be challenged? Are there any specific issues that should be discussed?
How will you judge if the study was a success?
Where can the data needed by the study team be found?
How should the data be analysed and later presented?
Is it possible to fix a date for presenting results?
To whom and how often should the study report be made?
Considerations for study working:
Who are the recommended team members? Do they know each other? Are all necessary skills/disciplines represented?
How should the study be structured?
Where should it be held? What facilities are needed?
How should team members communicate with each other?
Who will manage the communications process?
Development work and feedback mechanisms:
How will progress be monitored and reported?
Can measures used in initial evaluation be adapted to form measurable targets? How will these be monitored?
How often should project reviews occur? Who will lead these reviews?
A.2 COMMUNICATIONS CHECKLIST
Reference to the ‘Five Ws and an H’ method provides a good checklist for any communication. The important points are to visualize the exact circumstances in which the information is to be received. This will then suggest the best way to receive it: for example, should it be heard by everyone at the same time in order to avoid later distortion through other people, or is it sensitive and best shared with a small group or transmitted individually? Consider what you want to happen next and how you will determine whether it does happen.
It is also helpful to reward good communication and also to promote a two-way communication flow as much as possible, in order to generate involvement. Remember to audit communication success and encourage experimentation as far as possible, rewarding activities that worked.
Key questions are:
Why are you communicating?
Who is the target audience?
Who will deliver the message?
What are you trying to say? Can you explain the essence of it in two lines or fewer? (If you cannot do this, it is likely that others will find it difficult.)
When are you going to tell people? Timing can be crucial in change processes.
How much information will you give?
How is the message to be conveyed?
How accurate and presentable is the information? If any data measures were given, encourage people to think about how understandable they were
Which medium will you use to convey the message?
What effect has it had? How will you gather feedback?
A.3 EQUIPMENT LIST FOR AN EFFECTIVE STUDY/WORKSHOP
The majority of studies will require that presentations are made, and all will need some equipment to record discussions and decisions. This checklist covers the most common requirements: care should always be taken when using checklists to ensure that the specific needs of the study are met.
Study handbook, invitation and study information
Paper, pens, whiteboards (interactive can be very useful), flipcharts, transparencies, highlighters
Sticky notes, putty adhesive, drawing pins, sticky tape (all the aforementioned relate to what is available at the location)
Consider the layout of the room when conducting presentations and workshops – if possible, visit the venue before compiling the handbook, as it may be that you will prefer to organize the study differently as a result
Breakout spaces
Data projector, connection leads
Laptop and power lead, mouse, printer/fax if available
Software, storage media
General and study-specific presentation files
Feedback from pre-study consultations and analysis
Enlargements of function analysis (if available) or other material requiring close examination
Attendance forms and evaluation forms
Proposal development forms
Sample report
Refreshments.
A.4 INVITATION TO JOIN THE STUDY TEAM
Certain information is essential to ensure that participants are well prepared from the start:
Name of the study
Purpose of the study
Scope of the study
Outline of the process to be followed
Location and timing of workshop (if one is planned to start the study)
Agenda
Specific instructions for preparation by participants
Listing of what information should be contained in the handbook (see section A.9), which participants will need to be familiar with.
A.4.1 Pro forma invitation
Dear [name][can be an individual or a group]
[State why the study is being held.] You have been selected as [nature of anticipated contribution].
I would therefore like to invite you to contribute to [name of study], with its first session [amend as necessary] on [date] at [location]. This workshop will be facilitated by [study leader]. It starts at [time] and finishes by [time] or by agreement with the team, depending on progress. [There may be more than one day spent at a time: if this is necessary, ensure that it is clearly stated.]
Please be on time: in this workshop each session builds upon earlier activities, so we simply cannot accept any late arrivals or premature departures. A detailed agenda is attached.
This study is an investment for [name of organization] and you must come prepared to gain maximum benefit from it. You should come with a completely open mind, ready to generate ideas and learn from those of others. Please locate and familiarize yourself with the following material:
[Item]
[Item]
[Item].
I have no doubt that you will find this exercise highly beneficial and I look forward to seeing your contributions.
Regards,
[Sponsor]
A.5 OPTION EVALUATION MATRIX
Often it is necessary to choose between a few options to assess which provides best value for money. Table A.1 provides a format for doing this.
Table A.1 An example of an option evaluation matrix
A.6 PLAN THE STUDY
There are a number of MoV studies commonly applicable to a given project, from need verification to project review. Each of these differs somewhat in its requirements, but a generic plan of activities for a single study will generally include the following:
Conduct briefing meeting
Compile study handbook
Invite contributors and contributions to the study
Hold workshops/consultations as necessary
Construct value profile or FAST diagram and value profile
Select options (if this is a study objective)
Identify areas with most potential to add value
Generate ideas for value improvement
Evaluate ideas and select a number for full proposal development
Generate study report
Monitor implementation of ideas.
A.7 RECORDING IDEA SELECTION
A method is needed to capture all ideas and evaluate them, so that a proportion can be selected for further development. The most important features to capture for any idea are the ways in which it offers improvement and to what extent. As there should be a good many ideas, the most convenient layout would include the following:
Name of the study from which the idea comes
Criteria for evaluation
Method by which ideas are ranked
A unique identifier for each idea (if possible, ensure that this incorporates an identifier for the study also – see cross-references below)
Outline of the idea
Ranking resulting from the evaluation process
Estimated impacts (cost savings, extra value, others according to need)
Cross-references to similar ideas. (NB: as time passes and more documentation is available in this format, it will be possible to cross-reference ideas from other studies. However, this is unlikely to be possible in the early stages.)
A.8 REPORTING STUDY OUTPUTS
The outcomes of an MoV study must always be recorded and fed back to its sponsors. This allows ideas to be progressed, implemented and learned from. Below is an outline for a generic MoV report, with all content that should be considered against its audience, i.e. not all parts will necessarily apply to all versions of the report.
Project (if relevant) and/or study title
Introduction, which needs to include:
Description of how the study fits into the context of the overall programme
Explanation of why the study or project is needed
Explanation of the purpose of the study
List of those involved in the study, both internal and external to the organization
Methodology followed, e.g. meetings, consultations
Study process
Information used by the study
Information generated by the study, including analysis of consultations, presentations made and documents shared
Summary of outcomes
Details of value-improving proposals in progress, their owners and dates for delivery of a business case (where available).
A.9 SCOPING THE STUDY
The study scope documents the name and purpose of the study and lists the study sponsor and stakeholders. It also lists assumptions, constraints and givens. The primary source of information on these points is the briefing meeting.
Assumptions: statements that are believed to be true. These can always be challenged by the team, but many will simply be statements of work that can be done elsewhere.
Constraints: restrictions placed on the study, e.g. the outcome must conform to specific parameters. (See also ‘theory of constraints’ in Appendix B for a slightly different interpretation.)
Givens: aspects of a study that are not open to challenge.
Scope: area remaining to explore opportunities for challenge and improvement.
A suggested template for the study scope follows:
[Study name]
[Study objective]
[Drivers for change] [Describe in business terms and in some detail.]
[Key stakeholders] [List study sponsor and steering group.]
[Other stakeholders] [Include their role in the study.]
[Boundaries to the study] [State givens, assumptions and constraints with clear separation. If there are any dependencies on other studies/projects, state them here.]
[Desired targets] [Again, described in business terms, preferably using the same measures as the drivers for change.]
[Critical success factors].
A.10 STUDY OR WORKSHOP HANDBOOK
In order to function effectively, the study team will need certain guidelines and information. This is normally attached to the invitation and should be proportionate to the scale of the study. The study leader will use some of this information to decide how best to conduct the study. Most common items will include:
The project brief, or terms of reference, incorporating the scope
Study objectives and requirements
Background to the development of these requirements
Current performance information and any underlying issues
Other information describing the current situation (this can include diagrams, organization charts, models, process flow charts etc.)
Feasibility studies and option studies
Revenue and cost information (capital, operating and whole-life costs)
Feedback from existing project, if relevant, or feedback from similar studies
Planning and other statutory approvals, if these are relevant
List of study team members and communication plan, both within the study and to feed back to the rest of the organization
Any other information identified in briefing meetings.
A.11 VALUE-IMPROVING PROPOSAL FORMS
Some sort of standard form is necessary for summarizing and presenting the outputs from a value study in a way that allows them to be compared. This means that they can be prioritized against available funds. Below is a checklist of items for inclusion in the template:
Unique reference number
Summary of the study from which the proposal originates
Date of form generation and name of owner
Reference of the idea generating the proposal and description of the idea
Outline of the existing situation that the proposal is intended to improve, with the functions carried out
Description of the proposed improvement and how it impacts on the functions stated above
Advantages of the proposal
Drawbacks of the proposal
Costs, preferably on a whole-life basis
Impacts on time, performance and other qualities
Recommended implementation method
Other solutions considered with their relative advantages and drawbacks
Effects on normal output measures for this area (e.g. delivery time, supply cost, whole-life cost)
Date presented for discussion
Outline record of the discussion, with decision and supporting rationale.
Additional supporting information for clarity should be attached to the form.
A.12 VALUE IMPROVEMENT TRACKING REPORT
A suggested form for monitoring progress in implementing the agreed changes following a study is given in Table A.2.
Table A.2 Example of a value improvement tracking report
It saves a great deal of time if this is run in a spreadsheet, with dropdown lists of the value drivers and owners etc. Also, it will be necessary to score how easy it is to implement, the likely capital investment (later, this will be the amount actually used) and the operating cost (whether or not this is a measure).
A high, medium, low scale is normal for implementation needs, with a calibration chart to indicate what this means. These three scores, combined with the authority to proceed, can be converted to a number that defines the colour in the status column. The virtue of a ‘traffic light’ chart is that it is simple to follow and can be published to management regularly with little difficulty. Once authority to proceed has been granted, a new unique identifier can be assigned, to distinguish the nature of that stage of implementation from later progress where the measures themselves are of more importance and can also be incorporated to the status measure.
Each of these changes, together with new proposals, can be built into a benefits realization plan, and monitoring can take place there, which avoids setting up a separate spreadsheet. The advantage of this (if benefits realization is a normal process for the organization) is that there will be somebody responsible for reviewing progress at regular intervals and the senior MoV practitioner can simply get information from them. Also, there is merit in all changes being tracked together.
The drawback is that these intervals are not under the senior MoV practitioner’s control and might not correspond to the reporting schedule agreed with stakeholders, so duplication of effort may occur.