47PD0224R0048 PDRI Explanation and Implementation Requirements and Recommendations.pdf

PDRI Explanation and Implementation Requirements and Recommendations

Project Definition Rating Index (PDRI)

What is it?

The Project Definition Rating Index (PDRI) is a risk management tool focused on project definition and scope control. An easy-to-use tool, it measures the extent of scope development as a project progresses through planning and design phases.

Why use it?

Use it while developing a project’s scope to minimize risks and maximize opportunities.

Use it to get the right project (scope, schedule, budget) for the right product (workplace) in the right way (delivery achieving desired outcomes and an experience participants would willingly repeat).

This is important. A poorly defined scope exposes a project to risks, like costly change orders during construction. It costs less to fix scope inadequacies earlier than later.

The PDRI exists to help project teams identify, manage and control scope risks.

How does it work?

Use of it involves conducting PDRI project reviews at key milestones. Through these reviews, a project team can gage the quality of its project’s scope “definition” as it advances from inception through planning and design.

To get the benefits of the PDRI tool, a project team gathers for methodically guided discussions to review the project’s definition. During these, the team evaluates a project scope’s comprehensiveness by rating 64 critical project definition elements. A weighted mathematical formula aggregates these ratings into a single score that is compared to an index. These review sessions can take from two to four hours.

The PDRI’s index provides ideal project definition completeness ranges at various stages of a project’s development. Each progressive phase of project development defines scope in more detail, until it is ready for construction. The PDRI helps teams monitor this project definition progress and gage its maturity by comparing it to the index.

What it does Facilitated PDRI project reviews help teams gage their project scope’s developing comprehensiveness as it moves through its planning and design phases. A

The Office of Project Delivery, Center for Construction Excellence Page 1 of 11 well-defined scope leads to greater potential for a project’s success since the PDRI tool assists in identifying and mitigating risks.

Three Primary Benefits Performed at key project milestones, PDRI project reviews yield three primary benefits.

They:

1) Align stakeholders’ expectations with the project’s scope, schedule, budget, and the project’s goal and objectives

2) Document necessary actions and the responsible parties to perform them

3) Identify project risks and opportunities and place them on the risk register

By assessing the scope at key milestones and by measuring its definition against the index, a project team exerts control over the scope, keeping it aligned to its purpose.

Three Secondary Benefits The PDRI project review discussions and elements’ evaluations also accomplish three secondary benefits, an:

1) Evaluation of how project definition is progressing – “At its current phase, is our reason for doing it retained, our scope appropriately defined, and our execution strategy correct?”

2) Onward workload planning – “What items do we need to work on, and by whom, to define them better?”

3) Asking about risks team culture – “What are threats to the project’s success we must manage? What opportunities exist that we can take to improve it as a product – optimize our delivery process?

How it’s done A facilitator trained and experienced in conducting PDRI reviews guides a project team through discussions of critical project elements using “discussion prompts”. After discussing each element, the team evaluates how sufficiently it is defined and incorporated in the project.

To indicate its comprehensiveness and completeness they score it with a rating from 0 to 5, zero being not applicable, and one to five being a sliding scale of definition:

1 = Complete Definition, fully defined, fully documented accurately, no further front end planning work required 2 = Minor Gaps in Definition, almost fully defined, one or two minor issues, some inaccuracies in documentation 3 = Some Gaps in Definition, defined but not fully defined, no “showstoppers” but numerous minor issues that need to be completed

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4 = Major Gaps in Definition, not well defined, need more work, discussion, and thought to the project’s requirements5 = Poor Definition, not defined, need to put in more thought

The discussion prompts spur thinking and conversations about the critical elements of project formation, scope adequacy, and project execution. By discussing them, project teams discover important considerations to make, and verify important decisions already made. This activity in and of itself helps a project team control the scope by assisting them align their understanding of the project’s goal and its objectives. This helps to mitigate the negative risk of missing something during planning and design, which would need to be corrected during construction at more cost.

What results from the discussion prompts guided PDRI conversations?

The discussions result in ratings of the critical project success elements and produce three outputs:

1) An aggregated score: of the team’s evaluation of all elements’ completeness.

This score represents the comprehensiveness of the project’s definition. This score compared to the index helps teams gage the project’s development to date and in subsequent stages. As the project progresses a more fully defined scope scores lower. Ideal scoring ranges per project phase are:

a. Inception = 800 - 1000 (do at Idea/Intake/Request, before project planning begins) In GSA at this stage a PDRI is not typically performed, but it is highly recommended because use of its discussion prompts strongly supports pre-planning project definition efforts with clients that can enhance early customer experience confidence that builds trust.

b. Planning = 600 - 800 (do as feasibility study’s preferred alternative forms for prospectus projects, or at project kickoff time with clients for non-prospectus small or lease projects of sufficient complexity to warrant it). In GSA for CILP funding call for work this is the first required PDRI project review discussion and scoring session.

c. Concept design = 400 - 600 (do as a final concept design forms). In GSA prospectus Design Excellence procurements this is the second required PDRI project review discussion and scoring session. It must be completed as part of Regions’ project readiness assessment for a Commissioner Concept Presentation.

d. Mid design = 200 - 400 (do as design development moves into construction documentation, typically at 50% to 65% completeness). In GSA this is an optional PDRI. It is highly recommended for projects experiencing:

i. many changes requested by client or caused by external forces

ii. increasing uncertainty on its validity and viability

iii. wide pricing variation from early to late designs’ cost estimates.

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e. Final design = 000 – 200 (do as construction documents are nearly done, or fully completed for bid, or proceeding to construction notice to proceed in a Design Build delivery method or Construction Manager as construction contractor). In GSA this is an optional PDRI. It is recommended for projects that experienced:

i. many changes

ii. wide pricing variation caused by unstable market conditions

iii. or face major changes in client’s mission or stakeholder officials

2) Scope items needing further development, and by whom, as the project advances. These get tracked by the project manager until fully addressed.

3) Scope items harboring risks—threats to alleviate and opportunities to take—Threats and hazards will need response strategies to manage, particularly those that expose the team to them during the construction phase. Per the PM Order, Opportunities need quantifiable ways to measure them to justify their pursuit. Risks and opportunities should be written into the Project Management Plan (PMP) risk matrix, and subsequent risk register.

As a repeated process the PDRI affords a project team a method to gage their progress in defining the scope of their project as its delivery progresses.

At the end of design, scores of 200 or less predict a success for a project: on budget, in time, per policy (high performance, sustainable, easily operated & maintained, resilient asset with excellent customer satisfaction). Conducting PDRI project review discussions and scoring sessions results in better project definition, measurement of scope completeness evolution, work plans, and controlled scope and identified risks.

How long does a PDRI discussion and scoring session take?

Each session lasts 2 to 4 hours. Duration depends on the:

1) project team composition and number of participants (yes, more stakeholders are better for hearing the many diverse perspectives, which is a goal of integrated project delivery and an aspect of global Project Management, gPM, as we strive to engage and provide customers a quality customer experience of making, repairing, or altering their workspaces)

2) amount and intensity of discussion required in assessing the elements and preparing a consensus score

3) number of elements requiring attention, and their recording

4) number of risks recognized, and their recording

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What is used to Conduct a PDRI project review?

Use:

1) GSA Specific Discussion Prompts for 64 critical project definition elements found in the:

Facilitator’s Guide = (need Link once available on InSite) Includes helpful hints for facilitator and discussion prompts.

Participant’s Guide = (need Link once available on InSite) Includes the discussion prompts.

2) CII’s PDRI Score Sheet and Session Report = (need Link once available on InSite)

“PDRI Buildings_v4.xlsm” includes a macro-connected workbook of tabs.

It auto calculates element scoring for each PDRI review session onto a summary sheet and produces a summary chart that indicates each PDRI sessions’ score related to the typical index ranges. It autofills the list of “low definition” elements to which responsible parties can be assigned.

3) Risk Register in GSA’s Project Management Information System “Kahua” This application was developed to meet the Capital projects’ requirement to use a risk register. It supports risk management activities:

Level One Identification Level Two Deterministic

It is recommended for use by all projects.

When to do it PDRI project review discussion and scoring sessions are required to be completed for capital projects at two points in time along their life cycle:

a. Feasibility Study – as preferred alternative forms – for use in CILP funding call for work; this is the first required PDRI project review discussion and scoring session.

b. Final Concept design – as a final concept design forms – for Regions’ project readiness assessment for a Commissioner Concept Presentation.

PDRI project review discussions and scoring sessions are recommended to be completed for sufficiently complex non-prospectus small or lease projects that warrant its use. This could be at:

a. Project kickoff time with clients

b. Completion of space programming

c. First design development submission

d. During midpoint or nearing-completion of design intent drawings, DID

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e. During endpoint or nearing-completion of construction documents, especially if there are any major changes in mission being telegraphed by the client.

Application Use of the PDRI is a best practice, risk management tool, for large or complex projects regardless of funding source or project program (small, capital, leasing).

During Project Ideation or Intake: A PDRI discussion and scoring is recommended to inform and remind the program and project stakeholders of all the factors that need to be considered during project planning.

During Planning: A PDRI project review (discussion and scoring) is required to submit a project for funding consideration via the Capital Investment and Leasing Program Call for Work process. (Suggestion: If not written as a requirement in the planning phase contracts (A/E et al), use a project progress meeting)

During Concept Design: A PDRI project review, (discussion and scoring) is required to submit a project for a Commissioner Concept Presentation, as part of its project readiness assessment. (Suggestion: If not written as a requirement in design phase contracts (A/E et al, DB, and CMa), use a project progress meeting)

During Design Development (DD): A PDRI project review (discussion and scoring) is recommended between 50% - 65% Design Development—particularly to gage project scope definition completeness as a confidence builder and stakeholder alignment assurance. (Suggestion: If not written as a requirement in design phase contracts (A/E et al, DB, and CMa), use a project progress meeting)

During Construction Documents (CD) Production: A PDRI project review, (discussion and scoring) is recommended between 90% - 100% final Construction Documents production. (Suggestion: If not written as a requirement in design phase contracts (A/E et al, DB, and CMa), use a project progress meeting)

Background The Construction Industry Institute (CII) developed the PDRI by researching hundreds of construction projects. The original tool was prepared for large-scale civil construction works and was modified for buildings. The CII publication of this edition is IR155-2 - PDRI: Project Definition Rating Index -- Building Projects, Version 4.0, found here: IR155-2 - PDRI: Project Definition Rating Index -- Building Projects, Version 4.0.

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It was rolled out to the Regions by Office of Design and Construction (ODC) and Office of Portfolio Management in fiscal year 2005 via the PDRI Letter to ARAs [DOCX - 14

KB]

In 2019 ODC revised the discussion prompts to render them more meaningfully applicable to GSA projects. These prompts are set within a Facilitator’s and Participants’ Guide. The new discussion prompts aim to remove interpretation errors caused by trying to figure out how to apply CII generic prompts to GSA specific policy expectations. The new GSA related discussion prompts should make scoring the elements more meaningful for project teams and enable more consistent application across projects, nationwide.

Organization As designed by the Construction Industry Institute, the PDRI is a four-time repeated process. The process involves all-stakeholder team members’ engagement in facilitated discussions to rate 64 critical project definition elements. Through these discussions teams discover elements of low definition that need attention and recognize the project’s inherent risks.

The 64 critical project elements are organized into sections that serve three key categories of a project as a purpose to achieve (goal & objectives), a scope to build (product), and a delivery to execute (process). Each element has discussion prompts that enable a comprehensive thinking-through of the project. The three categories, their objectives, and their sections with their number of elements are:

1) Basis of Project Decision – “Why are we doing this project? What is its goal?

What are our objectives?” – Assures the scope will be the “right project” – 18 elements across three sections:

A. Business Strategy = 8 B. Owner Philosophies [expectations] (GSA policies & standards) = 4 C. Project Requirements = 6

2) Basis of Design – “What are we basing the design upon?” – Assures the scope will produce the “right product” – 32 elements across four sections:

D. Site Information = 8 E. Building Programming = 13 F. Building/Project Design Parameters = 8 G. Equipment = 3

3) Execution Approach – “How do we intend to complete it? What is our project delivery strategy?” – Assures the planned delivery will be the “right way” for project success – 14 elements across four sections:

H. Procurement Strategy = 2

The Office of Project Delivery, Center for Construction Excellence Page 7 of 11 https://insite.gsa.gov/cdnstatic/PDRI_LTR_TO_ARAS_2-27-03_092804.docx https://insite.gsa.gov/cdnstatic/PDRI_LTR_TO_ARAS_2-27-03_092804.docx

J. Deliverables = 2 K. Project Control = 5 elements L. Project Execution Plan = 5 elements

Consequences Project success depends on both a positive delivery (process) experience of its participants, and the beneficial usefulness of the project once complete—as a federal workplace (product) put in place by the project.

Successful project delivery performance (process) by a high-performance team reveals opportunities in a high project definition project (product). High performance and high project definition enhance the likelihood of a project’s success.

Unsuccessful project delivery performance (process) exposes vulnerabilities in a low project definition project (product). Poor performance and low project definition each threaten a project’s success.

Earnestly implementing the PDRI assist project teams achieve the beneficial outcomes sought by stakeholders. It supports the team's effort to achieve project success.

Want more knowledge?

Available on InSite

CII PDRI [for] Buildings: Score Sheet and Session Report

(MS Excel) Workbook [PDRI Buildings_v4.xlsm]

PDRI Project Review Discussion & Scoring Session FACILITATOR’S GUIDE

PDRI Project Review Discussion & Scoring Session PARTICIPANTS’ GUIDE

In Appendix of these guides find the: “Capital Investment & Leasing Program’s (CILP) PDRI Reporting requirements”

For more details on the PDRI, see:

InSite’s Project Definition Rating Index (PDRI). Particularly its document: “PDRI Explanation and Implementation Requirements and Recommendations”

CII = Project Definition Rating Index (PDRI) Overview

The Office of Project Delivery, Center for Construction Excellence Page 8 of 11 https://insite-cmp.gsa.gov/cdnstatic/PDRI%20Buildings_v4.xlsm https://insite.gsa.gov/organizations/public-buildings-service/design-and-construction/welcome-to-the-pm-guide/master-reference-list-p/project-definition-rating-index-pdri?term= https://www.construction-institute.org/resources/knowledgebase/pdri-overview

PMI = Using PDRI for project risk management

For Related resources related to Risk Management and Project Planning, see:

InSite’s Risk Management

InSite’s Risk Management Tools

WBDG’s Risk Management

InSite’s Project Planning Guide

CII’s publication: IR242-2 - Front End Planning of Renovation and Revamp Projects, Version 1.1

WBDG’s Project Planning, Delivery, And Controls

The Office of Project Delivery, Center for Construction Excellence Page 9 of 11 https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/project-definition-rating-index-indicator-9005 https://insite.gsa.gov/organizations/public-buildings-service/design-and-construction/welcome-to-the-pm-guide/master-reference-list-a/master-reference-list-r/risk-management?term= https://insite.gsa.gov/services-and-offices/public-buildings-service/design-and-construction/odc-resources/project-management-guide/master-reference-list/master-reference-list-r/risk-management-tools https://www.wbdg.org/project-management/risk-management https://insite.gsa.gov/organizations/public-buildings-service/design-and-construction/welcome-to-the-pm-guide/master-reference-list-p/project-planning-guide?term= https://www.construction-institute.org/resources/knowledgebase/knowledge-areas/project-planning/topics/rt-242/pubs/ir242-2 https://www.construction-institute.org/resources/knowledgebase/knowledge-areas/project-planning/topics/rt-242/pubs/ir242-2 https://www.wbdg.org/project-management

Enjoy the voyage!

Begin with the end in mind. Employ gPM practices and risk management to keep your project on the best path from its ideal beginnings to its expected successful outcomes ending.

FIGURE 1: Manage Risk for Project Success

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This is the last page.

THE END

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