Project Priority Calculator

The Project Priority Calculator (PPC) can be used by all project participants working on a capital improvement project so long as they are primarily interested in achieving the owner’s goals. When the PPC is employed by the project team, it can provide an objective analysis of typically subjective elements of the job.

The PPC provides an objective measurement of achieving the owner’s priorities. It provides project management an opportunity to reflectively analyze current management practices and make adjustments in an effort to achieve established project objectives.

The PPC is most beneficial when upper level management uses the tool, understands its output, and uses this information to develop management strategies to achieve the project objectives. It has limited potential when employed only on the job site without upper level management support.

The PPC can be used at any time during the project lifecycle to provide a snapshot of the project in relation to achieving the owner’s project objectives. It is most beneficial when used throughout the entire lifecycle of the project providing continuous feedback to the project team permitting the team to make adjustments in their management practices.

The upper level management in close coordination with the project manager or owner’s representative completes the questions presented in the PPC beginning with setting the following objectives in a priority order: cost, business, quality, safety, duration. Each of these five areas has a separate tab in the PPC with 10 evaluation questions. Answering all the questions provides the project manager with a comparison of each objective area to the original priority ranking. If the priority orders do not match, then the project manager should further analyze the areas not meeting expectations.

If an overall assessment is requested, an additional “project success” tab is provided with 12 questions. This tab yields a single number between 0 and 5. The project manager must evaluate the result and determine if the project is progressing as expected, or if further, in-depth analysis is required. A number between 4 and 5 usually indicates the project is progressing as expected.