Planning and Tracking Quality, Progress, Risk, and Value in Complex Projects

Projects and programs should create value. That is the desire and plan, but uncertainties cloud the paths to this destination. Conventional techniques such as earned value management (EVM) focus on time and cost but do not address technical performance (quality), uncertainty, risk, and opportunity. This workshop introduces a project/program value, risk, and opportunity (PVRO) framework that integrates systems engineering with project management and marketing. PVRO incorporates the concepts of key performance indicators (KPIs), technical performance measures (TPMs), measures of effectiveness (MoEs), risk reduction profiles, value/utility functions, probability distributions, and activity networks to account for progress and added value in product development as a function of the useful information produced. PVRO supports planning, monitoring, control, and tradeoff decision support across both technical and management objectives. An example project, developing a drone aircraft, demonstrates the framework’s application to project design and tracking, including setting project goals that balance risk and opportunity. New indices for opportunity, learning, and the portion of a project's value being put at risk are introduced that focus all project participants on common objectives and measures of progress that increase a project’s resilience to uncertainty.

This workshop introduces the PVRO framework and example applications useful to product developers, systems engineers, and project/program managers. Examples are presented from several industries. Participants will engage in hands-on exercises and come away with a clearer understanding of the drivers of project/program value in the presence of uncertainty. Participants will leave with a notebook of descriptive materials and free tools that can be applied immediately to projects. Longer versions of the workshop include opportunities to customize and tailor the PVRO framework to an organization's specific projects.

The workshop does not attempt to sell any commercial tools or services. Public domain and company-approved examples are used. Some commercial tools are mentioned but none are specifically recommended. Versions and portions of the workshop have been given at Boeing, Lockheed Martin, MIT, Seagate, the 2018 INCOSE International Symposium, and other conferences in the US, Europe, and Asia. The presented methodology has been applied in real companies with practically beneficial results. The workshop is designed to give participants real insight, understanding, and methods to take back with them to their jobs. The methods can be applied immediately for quick results and added value.