This document outlines five principles, five practices, and five processes for project success according to Niwot Ridge Consulting. The principles focus on defining what success looks like, how to achieve it, ensuring adequate resources, identifying impediments, and measuring progress. The practices involve identifying capabilities and requirements, establishing and executing a performance baseline, and performing continuous risk management. The processes are organizing work, budgeting and scheduling, project accounting, performance analysis, and change control.

1. Niwot Ridge Consulting, LLC
Five Principles, Practices, And Processes For Project Success
Performance-Based Project Management℠, Copyright ® Niwot Ridge Consulting, LLC, 2013

2. 5 Principles of Project Success
What does done look like?
How do we get there?
Are there enough resources?
What are progress impediments?
How do we measure progress?
Performance-Based Project Management℠, Copyright ® Niwot Ridge Consulting, LLC, 2013

3. Deliver capabilities for stakeholders defined through Scenarios and Use
Cases, assessed with Measures of Effectiveness (MoE) for each deliverable,
that fulfills the mission or business case. Capabilities state what Done looks
like in units meaningful to the end user.
Define the Master Plan and Master Schedule that periodically assesses the
increasing maturity of the project through Measures of Effectiveness (MoE).
Schedules describe the sequence of work assessed using Measures of
Performance (MoP).
Define and allocate staff, facilities, materials, and external dependencies
for each deliverable. All conflicts are identified and mitigation plans put in
place. Periodic assessments of these dependencies, the probability of
future conflicts, and their mitigations are shown in the master schedule.
Embed risk management in all activities to identify the probability of
occurrence; probabilistic consequences; impacts on cost, schedule, and
technical performance; handling plans and residual risk handling; and
overall probability of project success is part of the business rhythm.
Measure physical percent complete with tangible evidence of progress to
plan. Measures of Effectiveness (MoE), Measures of Performance (MoP),
Technical Performance Measures (TPM), and compliance with cost and
schedule plans define the probability of success.
Performance Based Management(sm), Copyright ® Glen B. Alleman, 2013

4. 5 Practices That Increase the Probability of
Project Success (PoPS)
4
Identify
Needed
Capabilities
Identify
Baseline
Requirements
Establish
Performance
Measurement
Baseline
Execute
Performance
Measurement
Baseline
Perform Continuous Risk Management (CRM)
Performance-Based Project Management℠, Copyright ® Niwot Ridge Consulting, LLC, 2013

5. Identify the Capabilities needed to achieve a project objective or end
state. Define these capabilities through scenarios or Use Cases from the
customers Point of View. The success of these capabilities are defined
through Measures of Effectiveness (MoE) for the business.
Identify both technical and operational requirements that deliver the
needed capabilities at the planned time, for the planned cost, with the
planned performance. Assure each requirement is traceable to the needed
capability and each capability has a defined requirement.
Develop the Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB) showing the
sequence of work, the planned budget for that work, the outcomes from
the work effort, the risk reduction activities for each outcome. Measure
these the progress of these activities in Measures of Performance (MoP).
Execute the PMB in the planned order, assuring all work is completed
before moving to next step in the plan. During execution measure project
performance with adherence to cost, schedule, and Technical Performance
Measures (TPM) and their Key Performance Parameters (KPP).
Perform Continuous Risk Management during all steps by Identifying Risks
that impede success, analyze them for their impact, make plans to handle
the risks, track the effectiveness of these plans, control the work of the
handling efforts, and Communicate with everyone on the project.
Performance-Based Project Management℠, Copyright ® Niwot Ridge Consulting, LLC, 2013

6. 5 Processes Needed to Implement the
Principles and Practices
Organizing
Budgeting &Scheduling
Project Accounting
Performance Analysis
Change Control
Performance-Based Project Management℠, Copyright ® Niwot Ridge Consulting, LLC, 2013

7. Describe the work performed during the project, the functional
organizations executing this work and how they are related. Define the
authorized work, identify the resources needed to deliver this work, and
how integration of the work delivers value to the customer.
Use tools and processes to create the schedule and the budget for the
work, so it can be performed in the planned sequence. Identify significant
interdependencies required to meet the physical delivery requirements to
the customer and the risk handling processes needed for success.
Define, track, report, and adjust funding, budgeting, and staff to assure
the project maintains its planned production of value to the customer.
Capture all costs to match the budget and identify the variances between
plan and actual cost and project performance.
Measure progress to plan in terms of cost, schedule, and technical
performance by comparing planned expenditures to actual expenditures,
planned schedule to actual schedule, and planned technical performance
to actual technical performance. All three are needed for success.
Identify variances, take corrective actions to close gaps. Record these
corrective actions in the Performance Measurement Baseline and use these
to forecast future cost, schedule, and technical performance.
Performance-Based Project Management℠, Copyright ® Niwot Ridge Consulting, LLC, 2013

8. Performance-Based Project Management℠, Copyright ® Niwot Ridge Consulting, LLC, 2013