FTA Oversight Procedures - Federal Transit Administration - U.S. ...

US DOT Federal Transit Administration
TPM-20 Office of Engineering
Project Management Oversight
Oversight Procedure 34 Project Schedule Review
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1.0 PURPOSE
The purpose of this oversight procedure is to identify, characterize and describe the state of
sponsor’s scheduling process and schedule documents against sound engineering practices and
project goals.
FTA’s intent is to accomplish its oversight mission with deliverables that evaluate the
completeness, consistency and adequacy of the sponsor’s Project Management Plan and
supporting documents and to make recommendations to the sponsor on redirecting or
reprioritizing its efforts to correct any inadequately defined areas.
OP‐34 deliverables are intended to provide evaluation of a critical aspect of the effectiveness and
efficiency of the sponsor’s project implementation during any phase of the project life cycle,
including design and execution. This and similar evaluations are important considerations in
determining funding recommendations.
2.0 BACKGROUND
The concept in the schedule review is to identify, characterize and describe each critical element
in a project schedule. Sound scheduling provides for sound project planning. Schedule reviews
also develop an understanding of factors impacting project risk and thereby assisting in
successful execution of the sponsor’s project. The operative concept in the schedule review and
associated tools such as OP‐40, is to identify, characterize and precisely describe each critical
element in the project schedule. If this is performed as part of preparing a project execution
strategy product such FTA’s OP‐20, the schedule review allows the Contractor to quickly develop
factors impacting project risk and thereby, establish recommendations for successful execution
of the Grantee’s project.
OP‐34 deliverables are intended to be fully sufficient to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency
of the Grantee’s project implementation during any phase of the project life cycle, inclusive of the
basis for initial Grantee project recommendations, and the basis of the project design and
construction execution.
These deliverables should assess the overall progress of the program, utilizing engineering
methods and judgments based on fundamental concepts and practices such as earned value.
These reviews are valuable to uncover any variances from the Full Funding Grant Agreement
(FFGA), including variances in physical percentage completion and rates of expenditures.
OP 34 Project Schedule Review
Revision 0, June 2008
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