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The OGC’s Portfolio, Programme and Project Office (P3O) guidance includes some information about project management maturity. Maturity is measured on a 5 point scale from Level 1 (not very mature) to Level 5 (very mature) against 7 areas – in P3O speak, ‘perspectives’.
One of the perspectives is financial management. Here’s how you should be performing at each of the different levels.
Level 1
There is a “general lack of accountability” for monitoring what project budgets are spent on. Projects have few, if any, financial controls and generally don’t have formal business cases. This means it is hard for the company to properly assess potential projects and decide where the organisation’s funds should be spent.
Level 2
There are a few more business cases around, although there is no standard template. The best business cases will explain the rationale for the project but not necessarily have a lot of financial information in. Still, it is something to go on when deciding what investment decisions to make.
Project managers are applying financial controls haphazardly, depending on their previous experience and skill level. Contingency planning and risk management are done without much consideration of costs. For example, contingency budgets are just made up, instead of being calculated on the basis of likely risk.
Level 3
There are standards for business cases and how to get business cases approved. Business cases have one owner. Project managers manage cost and expenditure – and there are corporate guidelines that show how to get these done. There will be links to the Financial department or other teams who carry out financial controls.
Level 4 (this is where you should be aiming, if you aren’t already here)
There are processes in place to enable the organisation to prioritize investment decisions. In other words, the financial information available prior to a project starting is good enough to work out whether it is a strategically important project, given the available funds and resources. Project budgets are managed well by project managers, and there are tools in place to enable tracking and comparison of financial information.
Level 5
Level 5 maturity is a significant jump up from Level 4 and really focuses on complete management and control at an organisational or portfolio level. Financial controls are integrated with the company’s general financial management plans and approaches. Estimates are accurate and produced using estimation techniques which are regularly reviewed: the information feeds into generating better estimates in the future. Most importantly, the organisation can show that project management and the projects that are delivered offer value for money.
I think most companies are a long way from Level 5, but in many cases they don’t need to operate at that level to be effective and to do a good job. Where do you think your company falls within the financial maturity model? Let us know in the comments.
Posted on: October 19, 2011 03:22 PM |
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