ISO 21502:2020 Clause 4.5.5 Project assurance

Project Management 6 Minutes

While the project sponsor is accountable for audits, reviews and assurance , these activities may be assigned to one or more persons who are independent of the project manager and team, and who act on behalf of the project sponsor.

Project assurance, in the context of project management, refers to the set of activities and processes designed to provide confidence to stakeholders that a project is being conducted effectively and is likely to achieve its objectives. Project assurance is a form of independent oversight and assessment conducted by individuals or teams separate from the day-to-day project management functions. The goal is to ensure that the project is on track, risks are being managed, and quality standards are being met. Here are key aspects of project assurance:

  1. Independent Assessment: Project assurance involves an independent assessment of the project’s processes, plans, and deliverables. This independence ensures objectivity in evaluating the project’s performance.
  2. Objective Evaluation: The project assurance function evaluates whether the project is being managed and executed in line with established standards, methodologies, and best practices. This includes assessing adherence to project management processes and the organization’s policies.
  3. Risk Management: Assurance activities focus on the project’s risk management. This includes assessing how well risks are identified, analyzed, and mitigated. Assurance helps in ensuring that potential issues are proactively addressed.
  4. Quality Assurance: Project assurance includes evaluating the quality of project deliverables. This involves checking whether the project’s products and outcomes meet the specified quality standards and conform to the project requirements.
  5. Compliance with Standards: Assurance ensures that the project complies with relevant industry standards, regulatory requirements, and internal organizational policies. This helps mitigate legal and compliance risks.
  6. Health Checks and Audits: Periodic health checks and audits are conducted to assess the overall health of the project. These assessments may cover various aspects, including project plans, schedules, budgets, and stakeholder engagement.
  7. Performance Monitoring: Assurance monitors the project’s performance in terms of progress against the schedule, budget, and key performance indicators (KPIs). It helps identify any deviations from the plan.
  8. Governance and Decision-Making: Assurance evaluates the project’s governance structure and decision-making processes. This includes ensuring that decision-making is effective, transparent, and aligns with the project’s objectives.
  9. Reporting and Communication: Project assurance contributes to effective reporting and communication. It ensures that project status reports are accurate, transparent, and provide relevant information to stakeholders.
  10. Continuous Improvement: Assurance activities often include recommendations for continuous improvement. This involves identifying lessons learned from the project and suggesting improvements to enhance future project performance.
  11. Project Closure Assurance: Towards the end of the project, assurance activities may focus on the closeout phase, ensuring that all project deliverables are accepted, lessons learned are documented, and the project closure process is effectively executed.

The specific nature and scope of project assurance activities may vary across organizations and projects. The assurance function may be carried out by internal teams or external consultants, depending on the organizational structure and requirements. Overall, project assurance plays a crucial role in providing confidence to stakeholders and supporting the successful delivery of projects. The Project Sponsor plays a crucial role in ensuring project assurance by providing leadership, oversight, and support to the project. Here are key ways in which a Project Sponsor can contribute to project assurance:

  1. Establish Clear Governance: Define and communicate a clear governance structure for the project. This includes roles and responsibilities, decision-making processes, and reporting mechanisms. A well-defined governance structure sets the foundation for effective project assurance.
  2. Select Competent Project Managers: Ensure that the project manager and project management team are competent and experienced. The Project Sponsor should be involved in the selection process and ensure that the team has the necessary skills to manage the project effectively.
  3. Define Project Objectives and Success Criteria: Work closely with stakeholders to clearly define project objectives and success criteria. Understanding the project’s purpose and expected outcomes is essential for guiding assurance activities in the right direction.
  4. Set and Communicate Expectations: Clearly communicate expectations regarding project performance, quality standards, and compliance with organizational policies. Ensure that the project team understands the importance of meeting these expectations.
  5. Provide Adequate Resources: Ensure that the project is adequately resourced in terms of budget, personnel, and technology. Lack of resources can be a significant risk to project success, and the Project Sponsor should address resource needs promptly.
  6. Monitor Project Progress: Regularly monitor the project’s progress against the schedule, budget, and key performance indicators. The Project Sponsor should stay informed about the project’s status through periodic updates and reports.
  7. Address Risks and Issues: Proactively address and escalate risks and issues. The Project Sponsor should work closely with the project manager to ensure that risks are identified, assessed, and mitigated in a timely manner. Addressing issues promptly helps prevent them from escalating.
  8. Engage with Stakeholders: Actively engage with key stakeholders to understand their concerns and expectations. This ensures that the project remains aligned with stakeholder needs and minimizes the risk of misunderstandings.
  9. Support Project Manager: Provide support to the project manager in terms of decision-making, issue resolution, and stakeholder management. The Project Sponsor serves as a resource and advocate for the project manager.
  10. Review and Approve Project Plans: Review and approve key project documents, including the project plan, budget, and risk management plan. The Project Sponsor’s approval signifies alignment with the project’s approach and strategy.
  11. Ensure Compliance: Confirm that the project adheres to relevant industry standards, regulatory requirements, and organizational policies. Address any compliance issues promptly to mitigate risks.
  12. Promote a Culture of Quality: Advocate for a culture of quality within the project. This includes emphasizing the importance of delivering high-quality products and ensuring that the project team follows established quality assurance processes.
  13. Participate in Assurance Activities: Actively participate in project assurance activities. This may involve reviewing assurance reports, attending project health checks, and providing input to the assurance process.
  14. Facilitate Lessons Learned: Encourage the project team to conduct lessons learned sessions at key project milestones. Use these sessions to identify areas for improvement and ensure that lessons learned are incorporated into future projects.
  15. Demonstrate Leadership: Lead by example and demonstrate strong leadership. The Project Sponsor’s commitment to project success and adherence to high standards sets a positive tone for the entire project team.

By actively engaging in these activities, the Project Sponsor contributes significantly to project assurance, fostering an environment where risks are managed, quality is maintained, and the project is well-positioned for success. Assigning audits, reviews, and assurance activities to individuals or teams independent of the project manager and team is a best practice to ensure objectivity and impartial evaluation. Here’s an elaboration on this concept:

  • Independent individuals or teams are not directly involved in the day-to-day operations of the project. This independence ensures a more objective assessment of project performance, processes, and deliverables.
  • By having individuals or teams independent of the project manager and team, conflicts of interest are mitigated. This separation helps avoid situations where those conducting assessments might be influenced by personal or team-related factors.
  • Independent reviews and assurance activities enhance the credibility of the assessment process. Stakeholders, including the project sponsor and senior leadership, are more likely to trust the results when conducted by unbiased parties.
  • Independent assessors can provide a fresh perspective and a holistic evaluation of the project. They may bring insights and considerations that may not be apparent to individuals deeply involved in the day-to-day project activities.
  • Independent reviews contribute to comprehensive risk management. Risks and issues that may not have been identified or fully understood by the project team can be highlighted by external assessors, contributing to effective risk management.
  • Independent assessments often include recommendations for quality assurance and continuous improvement. These recommendations can lead to enhanced project management processes and practices.
  • Independent assessments provide objective information that supports decision-making by the project sponsor and senior leadership. This information helps in making informed decisions about the project’s current status and future directions.
  • Individuals or teams conducting independent audits and reviews can ensure that the project adheres to established standards, methodologies, and organizational policies. This is crucial for maintaining consistency and compliance.
  • Independent assessments contribute to transparency in project management. Stakeholders have confidence that the project’s performance is being objectively evaluated, which fosters a culture of openness and accountability.
  • Independent assessors can evaluate the effectiveness of project controls, ensuring that the project manager has implemented appropriate measures to monitor and control project activities.
  • Independent individuals or teams, acting on behalf of the project sponsor, plan and execute audit and assurance activities. This includes defining the scope, conducting assessments, and reporting findings.
  • Independent assessors can tailor evaluation criteria based on the unique requirements of the project and the organization. This customization ensures that the assessment aligns with the specific goals and context of the project.
  • Reports generated by independent assessors are expected to be objective and unbiased. This documentation provides valuable insights to the project sponsor, senior leadership, and other stakeholders.

By assigning audits, reviews, and assurance activities to independent individuals or teams, the project sponsor enhances the effectiveness and reliability of the assessment process, contributing to overall project success.

Published by Pretesh Biswas

Pretesh Biswas has wealth of qualifications and experience in providing results-oriented solutions for your system development, training or auditing needs. He has helped dozens of organizations in implementing effective management systems to a number of standards. He provide a unique blend of specialized knowledge, experience, tools and interactive skills to help you develop systems that not only get certified, but also contribute to the bottom line. He has taught literally hundreds of students over the past 5 years. He has experience in training at hundreds of organizations in several industry sectors. His training is unique in that which can be customized as to your management system and activities and deliver them at your facility. This greatly accelerates the learning curve and application of the knowledge acquired. He is now ex-Certification body lead auditor now working as consultancy auditor. He has performed hundreds of audits in several industry sectors. As consultancy auditor, he not just report findings, but provide value-added service in recommending appropriate solutions. Experience Consultancy: He has helped over 100 clients in a wide variety of industries achieve ISO 9001,14001,27001,20000, OHSAS 18001 and TS 16949 certification. Industries include automotive, metal stamping and screw machine, fabrication, machining, assembly, Forging electrostatic and chrome plating, heat-treating, coatings, glass, plastic and rubber products, electrical and electronic equipment, assemblies & components, batteries, computer hardware and software, printing, placement and Security help, warehousing and distribution, repair facilities, consumer credit counseling agencies, banks, call centers, etc. Training: He has delivered public and on-site quality management training to over 1000 students. Courses include ISO/TS -RAB approved Lead Auditor, Internal Auditing, Implementation, Documentation, as well as customized ISO/TS courses, PPAP, FMEA, APQP and Control Plans. Auditing: He has conducted over 100 third party registration and surveillance audits and dozens of gap, internal and pre-assessment audits to ISO/QS/TS Standards, in the manufacturing and service sectors. Other services: He has provided business planning, restructuring, asset management, systems and process streamlining services to a variety of manufacturing and service clients such as printing, plastics, automotive, transportation and custom brokerage, warehousing and distribution, electrical and electronics, trading, equipment leasing, etc. Education & professional certification: Pretesh Biswas has held IRCA certified Lead Auditor for ISO 9001,14001 and 27001. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering and is a MBA in Systems and Marketing. Prior to becoming a business consultant 6 years ago, he has worked in several portfolios such as Marketing, operations, production, Quality and customer care. He is also certified in Six Sigma Black belt .

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