Independent Project Oversight

Why we need independent project oversight?

At a minimum, an independent review of a project should consider the technical scope, proposed technologies, cost estimates, schedules, underlying assumptions and supporting data, and the management and contracting strategy for delivering the project. The independent review should consider all life cycle costs, as applicable. The assessment should be sufficiently detailed and rigorous to permit an objective, independent reviewer to reach a supportable conclusion about the project's justification in light of the current circumstances and about whether the project represents a technically valid, cost-effective, realistic means of accomplishing its stated objectives. These criteria are also intended to identify projects that have a long history but which have been overtaken by world events or changes in administration policy and, therefore, are no longer supportable by the organization's mission. This includes ongoing projects that may be performing well but are no longer needed. Reviews of these projects might show that they should be re-scoped or even terminated.

Each review should be augmented by two specific actions. First, assessments should contain a finding of whether, in the judgment of the reviewer, the project can be delivered within the cost, scope, and  schedule baselines established by the leadership or whether alternative solutions may be preferable. Second, in the event that this finding is negative or there are other significant differences between the results of the independent review process and the original project documentation, leadership must make a timely disposition of the findings.