When one project leads into another without a clear break, or when extra tasks that were not identified at the beginning are added to a project, this is called project drift. Ideally, significant changes should be treated separately as a follow-on project. If the project is allowed to drift into provision of addi- tional outcomes they may not be properly resourced because they were not included in the plans at an early enough stage. Project drift can have adverse consequences for the motivation of the project team, and difficulties may be encountered if staff are expected to take on additional work once their planned involvement in the project is complete.
170 Managing projects in human resources
Example 14.3 A drifting project
The project was to review and revise the HR strategy and then to amend and update all HR policies. In the first two weeks of the project the team focused on identifying the key issues in the new organiza- tional strategy, in order to ensure that the HR strategy would continue to recruit, retain and develop the employees needed to implement the organization’s new strategy.
Within a month, however, it was announced that the organization was to be taken over by a large multinational company but that jobs and work were expected to continue much as before. The project team realized that both strategy and policies would probably have to be changed to align with the new ownership, and felt that they had in- sufficient information to continue the work effectively. The project drifted until the new parent company insisted that all ‘live’ projects be reviewed and reassessed to ensure that they continued to be rele- vant. This project was discontinued with the intention of setting up a new similar project once the revised strategy was agreed.
If project drift leaves aspects of the project unfinished or continuing without a planned completion time, it may be impossible to carry out the normal closure activities. It might be possible, and helpful, to consider closing off the phase of the project that has been achieved. For example, you might hold a review to establish what could be considered finished and what needs to remain in place to allow the next stages to progress. It is often helpful to use such a review to close off what has been done so far. This may then allow a fresh start, to approach the new possibilities as if this was the beginning of a new project. Taking this approach helps stakeholders to return to the funda- mental questions about the purpose and goals of the project, to define the anticipated outcomes and to set new boundaries for the timescale, budget and quality requirements.
Completing the project 171
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Evaluating the project
Evaluation involves making a judgement about value. An evaluation usually takes place at the end of the project, but one can be held during a project if a need is perceived for something more substantial than a review. Sometimes evaluations are held quite a long time after the completion of a project to see whether the long-term aims were achieved effectively.
If it is to be effective, evaluation needs to be focused in some way so that it is clear what is to be judged and what needs to be considered.
PAUSE FOR THOUGHT
Make a note of what you might evaluate at the end of a project.
You might want to carry out an overall performance evaluation to consider the economy and efficiency of the performance through which the outcomes were achieved or not against the planning pro- cess. There might also be evaluation of inputs into the project, to review whether the resources were adequate in quality and quantity for the job.
You would usually evaluate the outcomes to identify the extent to which all of the intended outcomes were achieved. The outcomes
might be wider in scope than the objectives if the purpose of the project was to carry out a change through achievement of a group of objectives. This might review the overall effectiveness of the outcomes and might also seek to identify any unintended outcomes. Of course, an evaluation might be planned to consider several of these factors at once.
It is very important to determine the purpose of an evaluation before setting up a process. Evaluations are often held to report on the value of outcomes achieved in relation to the value of investment of resources to achieve that outcome. Where value is concerned, opinions often vary, and one of the key questions to ask at an early stage is who should carry out the evaluation and whose opinions should be taken into account. Evaluations have to be reported in some way, and often make recommendations for future projects as well as reporting on the one being evaluated. In this sense, there is often a lot of learning that can be captured by carrying out an evaluation so that future projects can benefit from that previous experience.