Delivering major projects is complex and we often don’t get it right. Cost escalation and delay are common issues. The National Audit Office recently noted that major projects often encounter problems in their early stages, running over time and over budget before plans have been properly tested. Whilst there will always be uncertainties and forecasting errors, programme and project delivery can be dramatically improved using robust assurance and approvals processes alongside enhanced programme and project management capabilities.
To help meet this need, the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) has produced a Routemap providing decision-making support during project initiation. This guidance is based on experience from the delivery of Major Projects. The Routemap helps project sponsors and those responsible for project delivery to properly assess the complexity of the project and put in place the necessary capabilities to help deliver a more successful outcome.
In this part of the Guidance Tool we consider programme and project assurance and delivery.