Topics You Should Cover in a Project Management Review
Before the review, you should make arrangements with the review team leader to set the schedule for the review. Typical activities to plan for a smooth review include: the project manager's presentation, interviews with key project members (including subcontractors), interviews with key customer project team members and the project sponsor, project documentation analysis, and review debrief with the project manager.
In the typical project management review, you have an opportunity to present your view of the project at the beginning of the review. You should cover the following topics that overview:
- Project overview. This is where you can orient the review team to your project scope, objectives, major milestones, customer organization, project staffing (including subcontractors), and planning baselines.
- Highlight project accomplishments. This is a great opportunity for you to describe all the good things that are happening on your project.
- Give an overview of the project management processes you are following. This is where you can describe the plans you have created and are using to track your project and what tools and methodologies you are using on the project.
- Identify project-related risks and problems. This is your list of the risks and problems with the actions that you are taking to mitigate the risks and solve those problems. Also, report the results of any earlier project management reviews or solution or deliverable reviews and the status of their associated action plans.
- Provide an objective assessment of the health of the project. Here you get to tell the reviewers how you think the project is going. Be objective. Keep in mind they are going to talk to several other people and go through your documentation; they are not just going to take your word for it.
Following your presentation, the reviewers will want to see your plans and status reports and talk to the other members of your team. They want to gather as much information as possible so they can make their own assessment of the health of your project. It is important for you to have all your project plans, status reports, and other data readily available in your project control book.