Good Practices for Making Decisions

 

In the rail transit domain, detailed operating plans and standard operating procedures are well-used, exercised and updated to achieve business goals  -  safety, on-time performance and customer comfort.  While decisions in an operating capacity are routine, their frequency dictates a comprehensive procedure, extensive training, and prescriptive actions on  “what if then scenarios” for all potential events. 

Decisions on projects, particularly at critical milestones, should follow an objective process that assures the best data is available and synthesized to arrive at a responsible and timely determination for action.   Project Managers are responsible and accountable for decisions during a project life cycle.   The decisions can cover the full spectrum of situations including:

• Determining division of work, scope of work packages, and procurement acquisition plans
• Selecting responsive and responsible contractors from bids and request for proposals
• Implementing value engineering changes
• Executing project changes requested by Owners
• Assessing changes in work sequencing for proposed schedule recovery
• Updating construction design for alternate means and methods

Critical decisions are most often required to resolve problems encountered during project execution.    Under these circumstances, it is essential that the Project Manager follow a process that is thoughtful,  thorough and that provides a record documenting the rationale for selecting solutions for implementation.      It also serves to create knowledge for use in resolving similar problems on other active projects and for creating Lessons Learned that can be accessed for review to avoid  the problem during development on future project.

In general, the Project Management Plan (PMP) should provide the framework and criteria for evaluating and making changes to the project scope, schedule, budget and quality requirements.   A typical PMP may indicate that the cost of the solution should be outweighed by the value of the anticipated benefit to the project, the lifecycle costs and the long term operating and maintenance costs for the business.    

Problem solving is a skill required by all project managers and staff, and it includes consideration of several solutions and a systematic and rationale process, tools and techniques for identifying, evaluating, selecting and implementing the solution that provides the best value to the project and any interdependent project affected from implementing the solution.

The framework for making decisions typically includes statement of problem, description of solutions, cost for implementation, schedule for execution, advantages/disadvantages relative to the project, risks with implementation plan, impacts on interdependencies with other projects, and influence on other projects or organizational assets.  

Measuring the quality of decisions – bad or good, can only be determined after execution.     Analyzing the outcome of the decision to the anticipated benefits should also be part of periodic management reviews for the Quality Management System.    The reviews should assure that bad decisions are not repeated and good decisions are repeated. 

Good Practices for Decision Making

• Specify the project conditions at the time the solution is selected
• Identify the problem that the solution will solve
• Describe the criteria for selecting the solution
• List the expected benefit/outcome from implementing the solution
• Establish realistic dates the decision and the realization of benefit
• Determines/specify the inputs needed for the decision process
• Record the Decision in a document that covers all proposed solutions and the conclusion
• Assure that subject matter experts within the project and from the organization are providing input

TIP:    Perform the process by balancing urgency and diligence

TIP:   Always ask if something is missing from the criteria for selecting the solution.

TIP:   Avoid decisions that can not be reversed if it turns out wrong.

TIP:   Establish the order of selection criteria.