Chapter 6: Commissioning Improvement Initiatives At this point we have assembled all of the tools we will need to implement a continuous project management process improvement program. Our next task is to put all of this together into a coherent program that moves our project management culture from its current maturity level to a desired end state. That end state may encompass all 39 project management processes, all nine knowledge areas, or only a selected number of processes or knowledge areas. The choice is more a matter of responding to the business situation that has been created by a higher than expected. | 6 Commissioning Improvement Initiatives At this point we have assembled all of the tools we will need to implement a continuous project management process improvement program. Our next task is to put all of this together into a coherent program that moves our project management culture from its current maturity level to a desired end state. That end state may encompass all 39 project management processes all nine knowledge areas or only a selected number of processes or knowledge areas. The choice is more a matter of responding to the business situation that has been created by a higher than expected project failure rate than anything else. Characteristics of an Improvement Program An improvement program is a collection of improvement initiatives that are related to one another because they are all focused on the processes within a single knowledge area. Multiple improvement programs each focusing on a different knowledge area may be conducted concurrently. This multiple program effort is undertaken to raise the maturity level of the entire project management environment. Such programs are high risk and should be undertaken only in dire circumstances. The goal of a single improvement program is to raise the maturity level of a single knowledge area to some specific level. That will happen through a number of projects that are all dependent upon one another and by focusing on different processes within the knowledge area. In order for the knowledge area to reach a certain maturity level all of the processes within that knowledge area must be at or above the targeted maturity level. 127 128 Project Management Process Improvement Long Duration Improvement programs may be budgeted for a specific time and cost but to reach the goal level of maturity the actual program may be longer or shorter than planned. Improvement programs always involve change and it is hard to timebox how long it will take for the change to be integrated into the organization and affect
