Some activities undertaken by the DHS team managing the state's involvement in the project are in the nature of project management activities. Accordingly a project management budget has been approved by government. At the end of the design and construction phase the project team will hand over management of the state's involvement in the project to a contract management team.
In these circumstances and particularly given the absence of a fully developed CAM, we sought evidence of conventional project management documentation to support the 'what', 'how', 'who' and 'when' relating to the discharge of the state's role during the design and construction phase.
Typically, these activities would be captured in key documents such as a project management plan, a project work breakdown structure, and a project schedule. Such documentation is relevant because not all of the important tasks and activities to be performed by the state's project team are set out in the project agreement.
We found minimal project management documentation, with management of the project heavily reliant on the use of informal processes and the knowledge of key staff. While these key staff clearly have significant relevant expertise and experience in managing PPP projects and contracts, a lack of project management documentation is a significant risk to project continuity in the event that any of the key staff either left the project or became unable to work.
The following project management systems and processes-based on the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) developed by the Project Management Institute 2- were assessed for the design and construction phase of the project. This assessment was made in the context of the state's involvement in the 'larger' project that encompasses the construction of the new hospital and involves parties other than the DHS project team:
• integration-effective and accountable governance/supervision systems in place
• scope-well defined and specified in detail, with variations actively managed
• time-realistic and achievable milestones and deadlines in place
• cost-budget versus actual costs are analysed and variations minimised wherever possible
• quality-active quality assurance of materials, design and construction
• human resources-capable and skilled personnel employed in key areas
• communications-effective strategy for all identified stakeholders
• risk-comprehensively identified, documented and actively managed.
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2 More information about the Project Management Institute can be found at <http://www.pmi.org>.