Seven Steps to Success

"Most projects fail at the beginning," says Energy Department Deputy Secretary Daniel Poneman. To address long-standing cost and schedule overruns and build on previous efforts to improve contract oversight, Poneman last spring sent senior department officials a memo outlining seven management principles.

Design maturity Construction should not proceed until facility designs are mature enough that the program has developed a cost estimate and all relevant organizations are highly confident the design will endure to project completion.

Project size and structure To improve oversight, program offices should consider breaking larger projects into smaller, more discrete projects that meet the mission need. Every project must be led by a certified federal project director.

Staffing Programs must use a validated methodology to determine the project team size and required skill set. Program budgets must reflect the staffing level determined.

Funding stability Changes to funding for the life cycle of the project must be approved by the projects acquisition executive, not the program budget officer. The chief financial officer and Office of Engineering and Construction Management must be notified.

Peer reviews Project reviews by independent experts must be conducted annually for large or high-visibility projects and more frequently for complex or troubled projects.

Project management information To ensure project information is timely, accurate, consistently reported and auditable, the Office of Engineering and Construction Management will administer the Project Assessment and Reporting System II as a central repository for critical information.

Cost estimates Independent cost estimates will be required for major projects before milestones 1 and 2.