Auditing Projects and Project Risk

No-one wants to squander money on under-functional or over budget projects. And, increasingly, those with risk related roles are being asked to give assurance that project risks are assessed, governed and minimised.

This course provides an intellectually simulating introduction to the subject of projects and project risk.

 

Suitability and duration

Suitability: Beginner - Intermediate

Duration: 2 days

 

Who should attend

Anyone responsible for assessing or auditing project or programme risk that needs to establish whether project risk is being properly controlled.

This course tackles the Audit of Projects and Project Risk through case work. At the end of the course all delegates will have become highly project-risk-aware and be able to add significant value to the project review process.

 

Benefits

Skills

After completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Identify the critical differences between Programmes and Projects
• Review the roles and services that support Programmes and Projects
• Evaluate the interplay between risk, cost and time in projects
• Plan for project and programme audits
• Describe the types of review that are used to assess projects
• Identify when to assess Project and Programme risk
• Perform project risk reviews
• Report on project risks

 

Support Materials

This course is accompanied by an extensive and indexed manual for use on return to work.

 

Programme

Terminology, players and methods

• Defining project and programmes – essential differences
• Key players and roles
• Project management methods
• Project diversity – different project types

 

Managing successful projects and programmes

• How projects and programmes put organisations at risk
• The risk profile of a typical project
• The audit role in projects and programmes
• The auditor’s involvement in projects – a suggested working framework
• Planning for audit action

 

First steps

• How projects are initiated – where and how does risk assessment figure?
• How to assess initial project risk
• Factoring in complexity: consortia, partnership operations, process restructuring and culture risk
• Performing an independent risk assessment at project start-up

 

Planning

• Good and bad business cases: tangible and intangible; costs and benefits
• Project plans: the good and the bad
• Key performance targets, critical success factors and indicators
• Risk stemming from technical issues

 

Teams, metrics and money

• The Project Team: people and risk factors associated with pace and stress
• Understanding project metrics: independent project auditors, project offices and project accountants
• Communications and quality issues

 

Hidden dependencies

• Encountering and dealing with snags – projects at intermediate stages – risk proximity, opportunity and impact
• Problem inflation and deflation
• Controlling additional costs and time penalties
• Plan reassessment

 

Documentation, change and quality

• Project documentation
• Change management
• Quality management

 

Testing, acceptance and rollout

• Late project corrections
• Testing and acceptance
• Rollout

 

Benefits and outcomes

• Benefits and realisable outcomes
• Deciding on project contributions
• Measuring success and failure 

 

End of project reviews

• Post project reviews and lessons extraction
• Post implementation reviews

 

 

Course designed, developed and presented by MindGrove.