After a business project has been completed or implemented, it is normal to undertake a review of its performance and results. This is called a 'Post Implementation Review (PIR) meeting'. This type of review has three main purposes. Firstly, to see if the project has achieved what was originally planned. Secondly, to see how the project can be improved both now and in the future. And lastly, to learn from the mistakes that happened to ensure they don't happen in future projects.
In this online exercise on projects, we will look at both the English vocabulary which is used in a business Post Implementation Review and some general project management vocabulary which can be used throughout a project's life-cycle/duration.
Click here to see more online exercises on project management and project vocabulary
Read the following Post Implementation Review (PIR) meeting for an IT project that has recently been completed. In the meeting, the project manager explains how the project went.
From the context, try to guess what the meaning of the words/phrases in bold are. Then do the quiz at the end to check if you are right.
Project Manager:'Thanks for coming to this PIR for the recently completed project to incorporate the TB Management Application into the TB office application. Today, we have representatives of all of the stakeholders here. The project team, the users of the application and management. Unfortunately, the IT director who was responsible for creating and overseeing the project can't attend. I know it's normal to have the project sponsor at this meeting, but she has sent her assistant to be here in her place.
As is normal, we've updated the gap analysis, which will show us the difference between where we are with the aims of the project and where we should or could be. I can confirm that the project is delivering what it was intended to. The new report functionalities are working well and real-time statistics can now be generated from all applications and databases. The application is performing everything which was specified in the original project charter, which defined the purpose and objectives of the project.
As you know, the project was completed by the deadline. There were no major problems when the project was implemented in the live environment, it was a smooth transition between the old system and the new system. But some of the end users did report some minor response problems. These were ironed out by the end of the first day and there has been no further reports of this type of problem.
Sarah carried out a survey of the end users and overall it was favourable. The survey assessed their opinion about the new changes to the applications. Once they knew how to use the new database and report functions, it met both their demands and saved them a lot of time when generating statistics. They also praised the on-site support, they said that they were very helpful. One of the areas identified in the survey where we didn't do well, where in effect we dropped the ball, is with training and documentation. It appears that the training didn't cover the areas which most of the end users needed. They also commented that user documentation was very confusing and was of little benefit.
These issues are currently being addressed by Sally. She'll update me in a couple of days with her recommendations. You can find a copy of the end users survey's findings on the desk in front of you. I've already informed the project sponsor of these results and she seemed happy.
Although the project has been a great success, there are some lessons which we can learn from this, especially with the problems with the training and user documentation. I would like to hear you suggestions on how we can avoid making these mistakes in future projects.'
Match the words/phrases in bold from the above text to each of the definitions/descriptions below. Click on the "Check" button at the bottom of the quiz to check your answers.
When the answer is correct, two icons will appear below the answer. The "" icon contains extra information on the word/phrase. In the "" icon, you can listen to the pronunciation of the word/phrase.
Now that you understand the meaning of the words/phrases and when to use them, practise using them by creating your own sentences with them in English. Also click on the "" icon under each correct answer and listen how each is pronounced correctly.
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