It Works: Applying Project Management Techniques to Due Diligence Efforts

Rob Seiler, MBA, PE, PMP, has over 20 years of experience in construction and project management leading capital improvements. He has held a variety of leadership positions from United States Army company commander to project manager to vice president of field services involved in billions of dollars of construction work worldwide. He is also an Iraqi war veteran who volunteers as a financial instructor for a local charity and as a PMI Knowledge Shelf reviewer.

  Lessons Learned   Schedule Management   Scheduling   Work Breakdown Structures (WBS)   Knowledge Shelf  

The basic techniques of project management, when applied in their rawest form, provide a framework for informed decision making for even the most complex and potentially predetermined organizational actions.

Executive Summary
Project management techniques establish order and clear responsibilities in the conduct of an organizational-level, strategic, due diligence effort. The application of these concepts by business leaders in their rawest form provide invaluable tools for successful implementation of due diligence efforts. The use of a work breakdown structure (WBS) assists in developing a structured review framework in a rapid, organized, and cost-effective manner.

The developed structure from the WBS can also prevent organizational biases in one area of the company from influencing the decision-making process across the whole organization, resulting in a collaborative, research-based opinion. Additionally, the use of traditional organizational communication paths leveraged by project coordinators can reduce the time it takes to develop a due diligence team within an organization.

Due Diligence
The use of project management techniques that are expanded past the traditional project environment can serve as a framework for a due diligence review effort. The concepts of...

1. Work breakdown structures (WBS),
2. Project schedules,
3. Reporting structures,
4. Reporting…

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