The article “#119 Traffic Light Performance Reporting for Capital Projects”, was detailed how PMWeb is used to report on six key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess the seventh KPI being the overall Project Performance Index (PPI). The six KPIs were the Lost time injury frequency rates (LTIFR), Budget Performance Index (BPI), Cost Predictability Index, Project Completion Date, Pending NCRs, and Pending Issues.
Those KPIs will be usually calculated from the robust, reliable, relevant, auditable, appropriate, attributable, traceable, transparent, and trustworthy data captured in the different PMWeb project management processes by the right team member, in the right format, and in the right sequence. Nevertheless, when it comes to formally reporting those KPIs to other stakeholders, the project manager needs to confirm that he/she agrees with those KPIs as well as provide an explanation of the reported KPIs values in a narrative format so that senior stakeholders can understand the implication of the reported KPIs values on the project’s successful delivery.
PMWeb custom form builder will be used to create a form that formalizes the submission of the project’s key performance indicators. The form will include a field to identify the reported performance period, project manager name, project control system (PCS) manager/engineer name along with the particulars of the project. In addition, for each KPI, the form will include a field to add the reported KPI score value as well as where the project control manager will add the calculated values for each KPI and a field to provide the details of the reported performance. The form can also be used as an interim solution if the organization did not implement the complete PMWeb processes to calculate those values or depend on a third party providing the score values of those KPIs. In this case, the organization can use this form to provide the data needed for the project performance dashboard.
The form attachment tab will be used to attach supportive documents used to calculate the reported KPI values. This will be a must requirement when the reported performance KPIs are not calculated by PMWeb. This would require uploading and storing the project’s safety report, cost report, updated schedule, NCR log, Issues Log, and progress photographs among others into the PMWeb document management repository and then attaching them to the KPI Narrative Report form. This will ensure that the reported KPI’s performance values are auditable. It is highly recommended that a folder is created for each reported progress period to ensure that all supportive documents for the reported performance period are properly organized and can be easily accessed and reviewed.
The KPI Narrative Report form will have a pre-assigned workflow to ensure that the reports are formally reviewed and approved as detailed in the project management procedures. The custom form can be configured to enable each team member who is part of the workflow steps to only provide the score data for the KPI assigned to him or her. This will further enforce accountability in reporting the KPI performance score values.
By having the formally approved progress data submitted for the current progress period, PMWeb can be used to create the project’s monthly performance report. The report will display the score values for KPI for the current period in the format of a tachometer along with the narrative provided by the project manager or any other assigned project team member to provide the report reader an insight into the KPI performance. Since PMWeb will capture and store the KPI score values for all progress periods, a three-month trend chart can be also added for KPI. The trend chart will show the pre-agreed performance tolerance levels as green for favorable performance, cyan for average performance, and red for unfavorable performance. At the summary level of the progress report which will display the Project Performance Index KPI, the report could display the geospatial location of the project on the ESRI map and the progress photographs for the current period.
About the Author
Bassam Samman, PMP, PSP, EVP, GPM is a Senior Project Management Consultant with more than 35-year service record providing project management and controls services to over 100 projects with a total value of over US $5 Billion. Those projects included Commercial, Residential, Education, and Healthcare Buildings and Infrastructure, Entertainment and Shopping Malls, Oil and Gas Plants and Refineries, Telecommunication, and Information Technology projects. He is thoroughly experienced in complete project management including project management control systems, computerized project control software, claims analysis/prevention, risk analysis/management (contingency planning), design, supervision, training, and business development.
Bassam is a frequent speaker on topics relating to Project Management, Strategic Project Management, and Project Management Personal Skills. Over the past 35 years, he has lectured at more than 350 events and courses at different locations in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, and South America. He has written more than 250 articles on project management and project management information systems that were featured in international and regional magazines and newspapers. He is a co-founder of the Project Management Institute- Arabian Gulf Chapter (PMI-AGC) and has served on its board of directors for more than 6 years. He is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) from the Project Management Institute (PMI), a certified Planning and Scheduling Professional (PSP), an Earned Value Professional (EVP) from the American Association of Cost Engineers (AACE), and Green Project Management (GPM).
Bassam holds a Master’s in Engineering Administration (Construction Management) with Faculty Commendation, from George Washington University, Washington, D.C., USA, Bachelor in Civil Engineering – from Kuwait University, Kuwait, and has attended many executive management programs at Harvard Business School, Boston, USA, and London Business School, London, UK.