Projects Authority chief endorses new APM guide

The latest book published by APM has been endorsed by a leading figure from the government’s Infrastructure and Projects Authority. Tim Banfield, Interim Head of Government Project Delivery Profession and Director, Strategy, provides the foreword for A Guide to Conducting Integrated Baseline Reviews (IBR), which launched today.

He wrote: “I have worked in and around major projects for 30 years and, in my experience, success comes down to having the experience and confidence to make sound judgements to consistently ‘do the right project right’.

“The book guides the reader through the review process, suggesting what the review should be looking for, and how the output should be used, not only to improve the project under review, but rather how outputs can be collated to prevent common issues from re-occurring.”

A Guide to Conducting Integrated Baseline Reviews describes the process of performing a technical and schedule review to establish a balanced understanding of the planning maturity of the project. The IBR includes:

• the project management plan;
• the methods and metrics used to measure contract performance or progress;
• the management control processes that operate during the project’s execution;
• the technical merits of the schedule;
• the risk associated with the baseline.

The guide is based on tried and tested techniques developed by the military and has been expanded and updated to widen its appeal.

Stephen Jones, chairman of APM’s Planning, Monitoring and Control (PMC) Specific Interest Group (SIG), the group that oversaw its development, said: “The APM PMC SIG has reviewed and updated the guide to improve its clarity, applicability and accessibility resulting in this pan-sector, pan-industry version, whilst adhering to the original guide’s intent.”

Its release follows the publication of Planning, Monitoring, Scheduling and Control, a comprehensive guide for anyone involved in project controls. The planning book references a number of the terms in the IBR process and is a useful starting point for anyone new to the subject.

To buy the guide or learn more about APM publishing visit apm.org.uk/books.

A 10% discount is available to APM members.