VALIDATION:

1 – Has the organization performed a change analysis to determine how it must change to accommodate the new idea?
2 – Is the proposed concept viable (technically, financially, politically)?
3 – Does this proposed project idea match the firm’s vision?
4 – Is there a big gap between what’s being proposed and what’s done now?
5 – Should the firm continue as is with the current methods, systems, services or products?
6 – Has the workload required to perform this task been determined?
7 – Has the estimated time to complete been determined?
8 – Has a risk management plan been developed?
9 – Has an environmental impact (also include community impact) statement been done?
10-Has a quality assurance plan been developed for the idea?
11-Has a minimum of 3 options been submitted for review?
12 -Will each option solve the problem?
13 – Are the options ranked and has one option been recommended?
14 – Has a prototype been developed & tested in its proposed operating environment?
15 – Do requirements specifications exist for this idea?
16 – Have license and permit fees and lead times been determined?
17 – Has training time and costs been determined?
18 – Has a budget request been prepared for this idea?
19 – Have the firm’s internal organizations committed to support this idea?
20 – Have summaries of test results been included in the study?
21 – Have development costs been determined for this idea?
22 – Have Staffing costs been determined for this idea?
23 – Have financing costs been determined for this idea?
24 – Have ongoing operating costs been established for this idea?
25 – Have initial start up costs been determined for this idea?
26 – Is/ will any unproven approach/ system/ technology being/be used? (Yes = blue)
27 – Is project planning to procure “errors and omissions” insurance?
28 – Will additional new equipment need to be purchased/ deployed? Will additional/ new staff be required?
29 – Can cash and contracts be mobilized quickly? (Yes = green)
30 – Will project rely on critical parts/ material from a foreign supplier? (Yes = blue)
31 – Can logistics issues (associated with critical part delivery) adversely affect the project’s success? (Yes = bad)
32 – Has project’s theory/ equipment/ product/ service ever been subjected to a rigorous fact-based, scientific test/ analysis? (No = blue)
33 – Is the project’s research industry/ trade-group sponsored? (Yes = blue)
34 – Does FS show that the project would generate a low internal financial rate of return? (Yes = bad: Consider cancelling project now)
35 – Does project make economic sense? (No = bad)
36 – Is/ has the project’s construction/ technical method been tested before? (No = blue)
37 – Do any empirical studies exist to either prove or disprove the project’s concept? (No = blue)
38 – Is this a large, complicated project? (Yes = blue)
39 – Has SM/ PM/ customer made a list of the “must have” features the project must possess before interviewing vendors? (No = bad)
40 – Any hidden costs in the contract (e.g. in-person training, document management services, set-up/ annual maintenance fees, monthly support costs, fee increases during the course of the contract)? (Yes = blue)
41 – Has SM/ PM agreed to the key performance indicators before signing any contracts? (No = bad)
42 – Has a computer simulation been created to show how project might work? (No = blue)
43 – Has interoperability been seriously considered? (Can project operate seamlessly with related equipment/ technology?) (Yes = good)
44 – Does this project in any way violate the law? (Yes = red)
45 – Has the feasibility study been prepared or financed (to some extent) by an industry/ individual with a stake in the project’s outcome? (Yes = blue)
46 – Does firm have the expertise to bring a project of this size/ complexity to fruition? (No = blue).
47 – Is there sufficient/ compelling/ substantial evidence (e.g., scientific) that the product/ service will work consistently? (No = blue)
48 – Can the project be supported logistically? (No = bad)
49 – Can all or part of this project be completed with off-the-shelf software/ components/ equipment? (Yes = good)
*Deploying/ installing new equipment – not produced in the U.S./ foreign regulatory issues/ that uses material that is now in short supply?
*Site selection? Permitting?
*Completely taking any resource out of service, temporarily? For a long period of time?
*Completing work during off-hours – such as at night or on weekends?
50 – Given the current situation, should this project proceed or be delayed/ cancelled/ shelved? Is the current cost several orders of magnitude greater than the original estimate?
51 – Is SM/ PM/ Team/ Contractor making decisions with insufficient/ faulty/ equipment data? (Yes = bad)
52 – Does this project/ product correlate with reality on some practical level? Is there a big/ wide difference between the facts (actual performance) and the vision? (No = bad)
53 – Can the demonstration prototype perform all of the originally intended functions? (No = blue)
54 – Does the project have sufficient qualified design professionals and engineers on staff? (Yes = good)
55 – Must the technology meet a legal requirement of some sort? (Yes = good)
56 – Will this project be interconnected/ interoperable with the firm’s other businesses? (Yes = good)
57 – Is there a big difference between what firm needs and what they can afford? (Yes = bad)
58 – Is there a mismatch between the personnel project skills/ abilities on-hand and the skills required to complete the project? (Yes = bad)
59 – Does SM/ PM have the technology (does the technology even exist) to effectively manage this project? (No = blue)
60 – Has SM/ PM overlooked solutions that could be implemented cheaply and simply? (Yes = blue)
61 – Do experts and perspective customers both think the proposed project is unnecessarily complex? (Yes = blue)
62 – Is/ has PM planning(ed) to perform product demonstrations to the project’s end users, at all stages of development? (Yes = blue). Is/ have issues that surfaced been addressed? (No = bad)
63 – Is this project feasible at the needed scale (e.g. Are production lines ready/ operating in-service at the level that the proposed project needs)? (No = bad)
64 – Has anyone, anywhere ever attempted to build/ develop a project like this or a similar project? (No = blue)
65 – Do significant problems/ limitations or bottlenecks exist that could impede this project’s success? (Yes = blue)
66 – Is SM/ PM approving this project based solely on questionable/ unfamiliar (or outsiders’) testing protocols?
67 – Does a ‘real’ mission exist for this project to proceed? Did SM/ PM validate? (No = bad)
68 – Is any part of this project dependent on proprietary technology? (Yes = blue)
69– Does the project have appropriate and enough allies? (Yes = green)
70 – Is the basic science fully understood? (Yes = green)
71 – Are the models accurate? (Yes = green)
72 – Are any actual or prototype parts hand-made (potential quality issue)? (Yes = blue)
73 – Has PM/ QA missed any subtle signs of progress/ failure? (Yes = blue)
74 – Has a project like this been tried before and failed? (Yes = blue).
Can justify why the this experience can end with a different result? (Yes = green)