Project Value Delivery Updates

Upcoming global webinar on scheduling on 15 June

Jun 4, 2023PVD adminUncategorized

In partnership with the scheduling software editor Planisware, our founder Jeremie Averous will be live in a webinar on scheduling practices on 15 June. Two timings are planned on the same day to accommodate Asia as well as Americas, in addition to Europe.

In addition to the possibility to ask questions live, participants will receive a free extract of the new second edition of our book on scheduling.

Don’t miss this opportunity to exchange on the latest principles of industrial project scheduling for large, complex projects!

Link for registration: Register here.

If you can’t access the link in the post here is the full link that you can copy and paste in your browser: https://planisware.com/advanced-scheduling-large-complex-projects

Why Industrial Project Definition Needs to be Split in Stages

May 21, 2023PVD adminWhite Papers

Splitting project definition in several stages is a common approach for industrial project owners. There are generally as a minimum 3 main stages: concept, preliminary feasibility and detailed feasibility (also called bankability). Why is the project definition phase thus split in stages and what are the rationale and benefits of such a practice? How can agile project management suggest improvements to the current practice? Our new White Paper [2023-02] ‘Why Industrial Project Definition Needs to be Split in Stages’ discusses the philosophy of splitting the project definition phase in stages.

Project definition stages can be seen as runs in an agile iterative approach, where the opinion of key clients and stakeholders is obtained at the end of each run to adapt the objectives of the next. It is useful to consider project definition in that manner because it explains much of the actual practices implemented and highlights the need to be strict on the actual duration of each stage and on the clarity of the deliverables that are expected. It also emphasises how stakeholder feedback at the end of each stage will inform the expectations for the next stage of project definition.

From this perspective, agile practice can provide useful experience. For example, agile teaches us specifically that it is essential to be very strict on the timing of each iteration and to let sufficient time to determine the exact objectives of the next run. This is an example of good practices for project definition stages that need to be taken into account in the staged approach.

Read our new White Paper [2023-02] ‘Why Industrial Project Definition Needs to be Split in Stages’ to understand why this approach is essential, how many stages should be considered, and what we can learn from agile practices to enhance this approach.

If you can’t access the link to the white paper, copy and paste the following link in your browser: https://www.projectvaluedelivery.com/_library/2023-02_why_stages_project_development_v1.pdf

New Edition of our Project Scheduling Handbook for Project Managers

Apr 30, 2023PVD adminbooks

We are proud to announce the publishing of the 2nd edition of our reference handbook on project scheduling for project managers. It has been written by Jeremie Averous with the help from Thierry Linares and Farhang Pakzad for certain chapters.

This updated, must-have practical handbook for Large, Complex Projects originated in the trenches of actual Project execution. It differs markedly from most handbooks on Project scheduling by taking the Project Manager’s point of view. It thus fills a gap between Project management and Schedule professionals to create useful conversations in organizations.

It is not a heavy and detailed bible, but rather a practical reference for Project practitioners in Large Projects. Those Projects require specific approaches to deal with size and complexity.

Project Scheduling needs to reflect accurately the condition of the Project, coordinate effectively the work of all contributors and be used to define execution strategies. It is also used to support commercial claims. This handbook presents groundbreaking methods and principles to improve significantly the benefits and reliability of the Project Scheduling process.

In this practical Handbook specifically written by and for the Project Manager, discover how to upgrade significantly the effectiveness of Project Scheduling for Large Complex Projects.

The handbook is available both on paperback (on your favorite e-bookshop) and kindle format (on Amazon). Here are the links for Amazon.com (paperback, kindle), Amazon.co.uk (paperback, kindle), Amazon.fr (paperback, kindle). Enjoy the read!

If you can’t access the links, just look for the book or the authors on your favorite online bookshop.

When is Agile Project Management Suitable for Industrial Projects?

Apr 9, 2023PVD adminWhite Papers

Abundant literature exists that confront agile and waterfall (predictive) approaches to projects. The two approaches to project management are not necessarily exclusive, and a project plan can benefit from both. Like tools, it is important to know when and how they can be used. In our new White Paper [2023-01] ‘When is Agile Project Management Suitable for Industrial Projects?’, we expand on how to use agile or waterfall on large, complex industrial projects.

Because long lead time hardware is involved which often cannot be modified without substantial consequences on the project, industrial projects are mainly executed in waterfall project management mode and will remain so in the future. However, agile project management approaches could be used more frequently and explicitly during the project definition phases, and to tackle certain issues during execution, in particular to respond to unexpected situations. Therefore, lessons learnt and practices from agile project management could still be deployed with substantial value in those areas.

Read our new White Paper [2023-01] ‘When is Agile Project Management Suitable for Industrial Projects?’, to understand better in what circumstances agile project management can be deployed and how.

If you can’t access the link to the white paper, copy and paste the following link in your browser: https://www.projectvaluedelivery.com/_library/2023-01_when_agile_suitable_compared_waterfall_v1.pdf

Review of the book ‘Contract Strategies for Major Projects’ by E. Merrow

Mar 26, 2023PVD adminUncategorized

Another book by Edward W. Merrow the founder of Independent Project Analysis IPA, has just come out early 2023: “Contract Strategies for Major Projects – mastering the most difficult element of project management”. This book like previous books by the author relies on statistical analysis of the vast database of IPA to analyse the success factors of various contracting strategies and other influential parameters.

This book is probably bound to become one of the important reference books for large industrial projects, because it provides important insights on the advantages and drawbacks of various contracting schemes. In particular, it clearly shows that “EPC lump sum” approaches to contracting have severe disadvantages contrary to common belief by decision-makers not fully aware of large industrial projects.

The worst contracting strategy appears to be alliancing, while the best appears to be separating Engineering & Procurement on one side, with Construction on the other. This separation appears to provide significant benefits, provided the owner project team is sufficiently capable to handle the interface.

Other considerations will be of interest to the project practitioners: the importance of contractor prequalification, to understand what are really their proven capability and limits; the limited interest of using incentives in addition to those fundamentally included in the contracting model (they never seem to work!). The book also presents some results that depend on the actual scale of the project, as certain contracting approaches may appear to work well for relatively modest projects but much less for very large projects.

Of interest is the provision of observable performance of various contracting strategies not only in terms of cost and schedule slippage, but also on cost and schedule performance compared to the benchmark for the facility to be built: certain approaches may provide less slippage, but with an initial planned performance in terms of cost and schedule which may be above the average. This then questions the overall profitability of the infrastructure.

This book will find its place as a major reference book in your project management library and we can only engage the project practitioner to read it.

Project Value Delivery joins Archery Strategy Consulting Group

Mar 19, 2023PVD adminUncategorized

Project Value Delivery announces joining Archery Strategy Consulting Group, which has acquired a majority shareholding. Read the press release here.

Project Value Delivery, which will remain a separate entity and brand, will thus be provided with new development and growth opportunities to create value for its clients in its areas of expertise, as well as in synergy with Archery Strategy Consulting in the Aerospace&Defence and Transportation sectors.

Archery Strategy Consulting is a consulting firm specialized in three industrial sectors of large projects and large contracts (Aerospace-Defence-Security, Transportation-Logistics-Mobility and Energy-Environment). Through this strategic partnership, Archery Strategy Consulting strengthens its offering in the management of large projects / programs and extends its capabilities to new sectors at the center of the strategic autonomy challenge such as Renewable Energies, Mining and Oil & Gas. The footprint of Project Value Delivery in Singapore will also allow Archery Strategy Consulting to support its clients on Asian markets.

Stéphane Albernhe, founder of Archery Strategy Consulting: “We are delighted to welcome Project Value Delivery and its team within Archery. Their track record and recognized expertise in the management of complex projects complement our ability to effectively support our clients in the management of their industrial projects. In addition, Project Value Delivery’s international presence strengthens our ability to support our clients in Asia and provides additional growth opportunities for the Group.”

Jérémie Avérous, founder of Project Value Delivery: “This partnership will allow PVD to provide its clients with additional capabilities thanks to Archery expertise and Archery clients will be able to benefit from our competences. It will also allow PVD to rely on Archery platform to grow and offer its expertise to new customers, particularly in Archery areas of Aerospace, Defence and Transportation.”

Read the press release here, which also includes a detailed description of the capabilities of both organisations.

How to Measure Success for a Project

Feb 26, 2023PVD adminUncategorized

Definitions of project success can vary according to the circumstances and stakeholder viewpoint. A clear definition of expected project success, translated in terms of project objectives, is however essential at the outset to ensure that actual performance can be compared to expectations. In our new White Paper [2022-12] ‘How to Measure Success for a Project’, we review different possible definitions and how they can be combined to support performance target definition.

Project success can be defined in multiple ways depending on the viewpoint, and success factors can often be contradictory. Definition of project success thus requires the usage of balanced scorecards to be established as a reference set of targets. Key stakeholders, including key suppliers, should be aligned on the most important objectives. In addition, a clear prioritisation of success factors needs to be defined at the outset to drive decision-making when the project is faced with evolving circumstances. Final evaluation of project success compared to initial expectations is also not straightforward as circumstances and markets may have changed significantly in the meantime, but it remains a useful exercise for continuous improvement of the decision-making process.

Read our new White Paper [2022-12] ‘How to Measure Success for a Project’ to understand better how to define a project success balanced scorecard.

If you can’t access the link to the white paper, copy and paste the following link in your browser: https://www.projectvaluedelivery.com/_library/2022-12_different_measures_project_success_v1.pdf

How to Overcome 3D Model Issues and Limits for Industrial Projects

Feb 5, 2023PVD adminWhite Papers

3D models are increasingly used during the design of industrial facilities. However, their implementation in that field is much less advanced than in other industries such as aerospace or automotive where this tool has proven to deliver significant value, most of it linked to increased collaboration with the entire supply chain. Industrial facility design 3D models are often incomplete and as-build model data is not comprehensively gathered. In our new White Paper (2022-11] ‘How to Overcome 3D Model Issues and Limits for Industrial Projects’ we explore the current situation, its causes, and what can be done to improve and release the value of modern 3D modelling in the field of industrial projects.

Usage of 3D models in industrial infrastructure projects appears to be rather in its infancy leading to the inability to exploit the potential value of such integrated collaborative platforms that can digitally gather valuable data. The main issue is the digital gaps across the value chain. Only a decisive investment by owners and main contractors will allow to develop workable approaches. A substantial change management and incentivisation will also need to be deployed across the value chain (suppliers and subcontractors) to ensure they adopt new ways of working using a common platform. We expect this to be a major issue in the next few years possibly leading to differentiation in terms of competition across the industrial infrastructure project value chains. In particular, the digital discontinuity across the project value chain appears to be the main issue to be addressed

Read our new White Paper (2022-11] ‘How to Overcome 3D Model Issues and Limits for Industrial Projects’ to understand better how the usage of 3D models can be significantly improved in large industrial projects!

If you can’t access the link to the white paper, copy and paste the following link in your browser: https://www.projectvaluedelivery.com/_library/2022-11_3D_model_issues_limits_v1.pdf

How to Prepare for Very Long Industrial Projects

Jan 8, 2023PVD adminWhite Papers

Some industrial projects or programmes can span over very long periods of time for their development phase or even for their execution phase, much more than the typical 3-4 years cycle. Typical examples include nuclear power plants, or very large energy or infrastructure developments. Extreme examples of projects spanning over several decades include nuclear decommissioning or waste disposal facilities. Such long projects generally show a lower success ratio. Specific measures must be contemplated when setting up those projects to address the challenge of their expected duration. Our new White Paper 2022-10 ‘How to Prepare for Very Long Industrial Projects’ exposes some of those challenges and how to prepare for them.

Specific caution should be exercised when contemplating projects which development or execution phases exceeds 3 to 4 years because of the additional complexity involved. Measures must be planned and included in the estimate to cater for the major impacts in terms of human resources, governance, preservation and maintenance, and information systems, that can be sometimes significant both in terms of project resources and budget. In addition, the challenges will easily span across the entire supply chain requiring extensive coordination of all contributors. Because of the importance and reach of the actions needed we believe that a specific executive position should be designated within the project organisation with sufficient overview and authority to address such challenges in a proactive manner.

Read our new White Paper 2022-10 ‘How to Prepare for Very Long Industrial Projects’ to understand better what needs to be anticipated when your project exceeds 3-4 years in execution.

If you can’t access the link to the white paper, copy and paste the following link in your browser: https://www.projectvaluedelivery.com/_library/2022-10_Special_XXLong_duration_projects_v1.pdf

How to Foster Digital Data Capture during Project Construction to Enable Powerful Dashboarding

Dec 11, 2022PVD adminWhite Papers

Capture of relevant digital data is the first step to enable the implementation of improvements generated by data analysis. Digitalisation for the execution of large projects encounters two main obstacles. The first is that it is difficult to encourage on-the-ground live data capture. The second is the management of organizational boundaries across the many contributors (contractors, sub-contractors) engaged in project realization, which are also digital boundaries. Solutions emerge that enable consistent data capture and management across the entire project, allowing reactive dashboarding at the project and even portfolio level; and paving the way for future transformations of project execution. Our new White Paper 2022-09 ‘How to Foster Digital Data Capture during Project Construction to Enable Powerful Dashboarding’ explores current possibilities to dramatically increase project execution digitalisation.

foreman in the construction site controls the project on tablet

To allow digitalisation, timely capture of accurate data, suitably completed by metadata is essential. All words are important in the sentence: capture needs to be timely – this ensures reactiveness and also avoids data being reported in hindsight. Accuracy is also essential not to feed misleading data in the system; this requires a minimum level of oversight and checks. Finally, data needs to be enriched through e.g. pictures and all metadata that can be captured passively from a modern mobile device: GPS location, time, user secure identification, etc. Different solutions can be implemented from automated capture of data to manual capture on connected devices.

Most IT applications are limited by organisational boundaries. Reasons include conventional IT architecture restrictions, data protection and access restrictions, and the reluctance to share data with potential (future) competitors. In projects where the contracting strategy always involves many simultaneous contractors at several levels, this is a strong impediment to seamless digital process work. Different approaches are implemented.

Read our new White Paper 2022-09 ‘How to Foster Digital Data Capture during Project Construction to Enable Powerful Dashboarding’ to have more insight on the different practices, their advantages and drawbacks.

Digitalisation of construction will definitely bring substantial competitive advantage to those companies that embark on the journey, allowing a finer allocation of resources, significant increase in reactivity and tracking of issues. The key to this transformation lies in effectively capturing site data at the source. Proven solutions exist today that enable this crucial step and therefore, all the subsequent value propositions. Implementing those solutions should be a priority in an increasingly competitive construction market.

If you can’t access the link to the white paper, copy and paste the following link in your browser: https://www.projectvaluedelivery.com/_library/2022-09_digital_capture_dashboarding_v1.pdf