Managing Public Sector Projects: A Strategic Framework for Success in an Era of Downsized Government

by Kassel; David S.

• ISBN13: 9781420088731
• ISBN10: 1420088734
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-03-17
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

In line with the principles of Total Quality Management (TQM) and of the PMBOK ® (Project Management Body of Knowledge), Kassel establishes a framework that managers in the public sector can follow to bring projects to successful conclusions. The book clearly explains both technical concepts and political issues, from properly allocating risks in drafting contracts to dealing with downsized staffs and privatized functions and operations. The concepts are illustrated by more than 30 real-life examples, from infrastructure reconstruction in Iraq to the Big Dig in Boston.ã

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. xv
Preface	p. xix
Introduction	p. xxi
Acknowledgments	p. xxvii
Introducing Public Sector Project Management	p. 1
Public Sector Project Management-Getting beyond the Confusion	p. 2
What Are Public Projects?	p. 2
Journalists' Questions	p. 3
What Is Public Sector Project Management?	p. 5
The Project Vision	p. 5
Financing Public Projects	p. 6
Project versus Program and General Management	p. 7
Who Are the Public Sector Project Managers?	p. 8
Types of Public Sector Project Managers	p. 9
Skills, Attributes, and Requirements of Public Sector Project Managers	p. 11
Continuity and Change in Public Sector Project Management	p. 11
Leadership and Managerial Competencies	p. 11
Ethics and Internal Controls	p. 13
Rules and Regulations	p. 14
Downsized Government and ôthe Hollow Stateö	p. 15
Bashing the Bureaucracy	p. 16
Managerial and Political Pushback	p. 16
Political Ideology	p. 17
How Public Projects Succeed and Fail	p. 18
Endnotes	p. 19
A Strategic Framework for Public Sector Project Management	p. 23
The Framework and the Principal-Agent Challenge	p. 25
Starting with the Right Plan	p. 25
Selecting the Right Agents	p. 27
Selecting the Most Experienced and Motivated Agents	p. 28
Entering into the Right Agreements	p. 29
Allocating Contract Risk	p. 30
Contracts and Asymmetry of Information	p. 33
Monitoring and Controlling the Project Execution	p. 33
Ensuring Adequate Information about the Project Work	p. 34
Enforcing Appropriate Agreements	p. 35
Maintaining Active Involvement in the Operation and Maintenance of the Asset or Assets Created by the Project	p. 36
Placing the Strategic Management Framework in Context	p. 37
Endnotes	p. 38
Project Planning, Part 1: Getting the Concept Right	p. 41
Getting It Right: The Preliminary Steps of Public Sector Project Planning	p. 43
Identifying the Correct Problem	p. 45
Questioning Presumptions	p. 47
Understanding the Project Context and Stakeholders	p. 51
Understanding and Complying with Legal Requirements	p. 52
Developing Realistic Preliminary Project Cost Estimates	p. 56
Analogy-Based and Parametric Cost Estimating	p. 57
Life-Cycle and Independent Cost Estimates	p. 58
Concluding the Preliminary Project Planning Phase with a Feasibility Study	p. 59
Endnotes	p. 61
Project Planning, Part 2: Developing and Refining the Process	p. 65
The Project Accountability Structure	p. 66
Establishing the Right Project Internal Control Structure	p. 66
The GAO's Five Standards for Internal Controls	p. 67
Control Environment	p. 67
Risk Assessment	p. 67
Control Activities	p. 68
Control Activities Specific for Information Systems	p. 68
Information and Communications	p. 68
Monitoring	p. 69
Project Documentation	p. 69
Preventing Fraud in Public Projects	p. 74
Developing Clear Project Specifications	p. 75
Specifications and Alternative Project Delivery Methods	p. 78
Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity Contracts	p. 80
Performance versus Design Specifications	p. 82
Concluding the Intermediate Planning Stage	p. 84
Endnotes	p. 85
Project Planning, Part 3: Finalizing the Process	p. 89
Developing the Project Schedule	p. 89
Owner's Schedule in a Design-Bid-Build Public Construction Project	p. 91
Scheduling the Project Work	p. 95
The Work Breakdown Structure	p. 95
Development of a Logic Diagram	p. 97
Determination of the Schedule's ôCritical Pathö	p. 98
Putting It All Together: The Importance of Realistic Scheduling	p. 100
Refining Project Cost and Risk Estimates	p. 100
Refining the Cost Estimate	p. 101
Refining Risk Assessments	p. 102
Technology Risks	p. 103
Brainstorming and Sensitivity Analysis in Assessing Risks	p. 104
Putting It All Together: Developing Realistic Presumptions behind Cost and Risk Estimates	p. 105
Questioning Presumptions	p. 106
Moving from a Realistic Cost Estimate to an Affordable Project Budget	p. 107
Presenting Cost Estimates and Budgets to Project Stakeholders	p. 108
Pulling Together the Planning Steps	p. 109
Endnotes	p. 112
Selecting the Best Agents, Part 1: Building the Project Team	p. 115
Who Is on the Project Management Team?	p. 116
What Are the Team Dynamics?	p. 116
Establishing a Cohesive and Committed Team	p. 117
Ensuring That Team Personnel Are Qualified	p. 121
The Need for Clear Lines of Authority and Communication	p. 123
Maintaining Clear Lines of Authority When Using Contractors	p. 123
Ensuring an Appropriate Managerial Accountability Structure	p. 126
Coaching the Team on Legal Requirements and Ethical Practices	p. 130
Motivating the Project Team	p. 131
Endnotes	p. 134
Selecting the Best Agent, Part 2: Contractors and Consultants	p. 137
Procuring Contractors and Consultants	p. 138
Public Sector Procurement Rules	p. 138
Key Characteristics of a Successful Procurement System	p. 139
Transparency	p. 140
Accountability	p. 141
Integrity	p. 143
Competition	p. 146
Barriers to Competition in Long-Term Contracting	p. 149
Proprietary Specifications	p. 151
Organizational Alignment and Leadership	p. 151
Human Capital Management	p. 152
Knowledge and Information Management	p. 152
Due Diligence in Selecting Contractors and Consultants	p. 154
Selecting the Best Agents: Putting It All Together	p. 154
Endnotes	p. 155
Enacting Advantageous Agreements	p. 159
The Essential Elements of Contracts	p. 160
Allocating Contract Risks	p. 160
The Contract Pricing Structure	p. 161
Firm-Fixed-Price Contracts	p. 162
Fixed-Price Incentive Contracts	p. 162
Cost-Reimbursement Contracts	p. 163
Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee Contracts	p. 163
Cost-Plus-Incentive-Fee and Cost-Plus-Award-Fee Contracts	p. 164
Getting the Incentives Right	p. 164
Cost-Plus-a-Percentage-of-Cost Contracts	p. 166
The Contract Pricing Structure and Project Planning	p. 166
Contract Provisions and Project Risk	p. 168
Implied Warranties and Duties	p. 171
Express Contractual Guarantees and Warranties	p. 172
Breach-or-Contract Provisions	p. 174
Clear Scopes of Work	p. 174
Endnotes	p. 176
Controlling Public Projects	p. 179
Measuring Project Progress	p. 179
Updating Project Records	p. 181
Analyzing the Project Data Using Earned Value Management	p. 183
Evaluating and Correcting Project Problems	p. 187
Focusing on Quality in Projects	p. 188
Controlling Cost Growth and Cost Overruns	p. 190
Enforcing Agreements	p. 193
Partnering and Change Orders	p. 195
Keeping Stakeholders Informed of the Project's Progress	p. 195
Endnotes	p. 196
Project Closeout and Beyond	p. 199
Final Steps in the Closeout Process	p. 200
Evaluating the Contractor	p. 200
Publicizing the Completed Project	p. 201
The Project or Program Operational Stage	p. 201
Maintaining Public Projects over the Long Term	p. 203
Conclusion	p. 207
Endnotes	p. 208
Discussion Examples Used in This Book	p. 211
Master List of Tips for Success for Public Sector Project Managers	p. 215
Project Planning: Getting the Concept Right	p. 215
Correctly identifying the problem	p. 215
Questioning presumptions	p. 216
Understanding the project context and stakeholders	p. 216
Developing realistic preliminary project cost and risk estimates	p. 216
Developing and Refining Project Planning (internal controls and project specifications)	p. 217
Establishing the right project internal control structure	p. 217
Two important project control activities	p. 217
Developing clear project specifications	p. 217
Specifications and alternative project delivery methods	p. 218
Performance versus design specifications	p. 218
Finalizing Project Planning (schedule and cost estimation)	p. 218
Developing the project schedule	p. 218
Scheduling the project work	p. 219
Refining the cost estimate	p. 219
Refining risk assessments	p. 219
Developing realistic presumptions behind cost and risk estimates	p. 220
Building the Project Team	p. 220
Establishing a committed and cohesive team	p. 220
Ensuring the team personnel are qualified	p. 220
The need for clear lines of authority and communication	p. 221
Ensuring an appropriate managerial accountability system	p. 221
Coaching the project team on legal requirements and ethical practices	p. 221
Motivating the project team	p. 222
Procuring Contractors and Consultants	p. 222
Successful public procurement characteristic: Transparency	p. 222
Successful public procurement characteristic: Accountability	p. 222
Successful public procurement characteristic: Integrity	p. 223
Successful public procurement characteristic: Competition	p. 223
Successful public procurement characteristic: Knowledge and information management	p. 223
Successful procurement characteristic: Due diligence in selecting contractors and consultants	p. 224
Enacting Advantageous Agreements	p. 224
The contract pricing structure	p. 224
Contract provisions and project risk	p. 224
Clear scopes of work	p. 225
Controlling Public Projects	p. 225
Measuring project progress	p. 225
Updating project records	p. 225
Analyzing the project data	p. 225
Evaluating and correcting project problems	p. 226
Focusing on quality in projects	p. 226
Controlling cost growth and cost overruns	p. 226
Project Closeout and Beyond	p. 227
Final steps in the closeout process	p. 227
The project or program operational stage	p. 227
Maintaining public projects over the long term	p. 227
Websites of Interest to Public Sector Project Managers	p. 229
American Academy of Certified Public Managers	p. 229
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)	p. 229
American Management Association	p. 230
American National Standards Institute (ANSI)	p. 230
American Public Works Association	p. 230
American Society for Quality	p. 230
The Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE International)	p. 230
Building Design and Construction	p. 230
Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO)	p. 231
Construction Management Association of America	p. 231
The Construction Specifications Institute	p. 231
Defense Contract Audit Agency	p. 231
Defense Contract Management Agency	p. 231
Federal Acquisition Institute	p. 231
Federal Acquisition Regulation Homepage	p. 232
Federal Business Opportunities	p. 232
International Cost Engineering Council	p. 232
The International Council on Systems Engineering	p. 232
The International Journal of Project Management	p. 232
The National Center for Public Productivity	p. 232
The National Certified Public Manager Consortium	p. 233
Past Performance Information Retrieval System	p. 233
Project Management Institute	p. 233
The Public Manager	p. 233
Public Works Management and Policy	p. 233
R.S. Means	p. 233
The Society of Cost Estimating and Analysis	p. 234
The United States Government Accountability Office	p. 234
The University of Wisconsin Certified Public Manager Program	p. 234
References	p. 235
Index	p. 245
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