Recommendation. DOE should periodically benchmark its performance in project planning and control processes and compare it with the performance of industry leaders to ensure that it is consistently utilizing the best practices.

Recommendation. Senior managers in each program secretarial organization (PSO) in DOE should develop a complete definition of the roles and responsibilities of project managers.

Recommendation. Senior managers should continue to emphasize the importance of improving the project management processes and procedures to assure long-term improvement throughout the organization.

2002

Finding. DOE personnel and contractors generally support the need for a comprehensive project management system but prefer a system with fewer requirements for upper management oversight.

Recommendation. DOE should resist efforts to reduce up-front planning requirements and to lower the level of authority at which critical decisions are approved. DOE should apply persistent pressure to ensure that the right projects are picked for execution and that they are planned and executed according to established policies and procedures. Procedures should continue to include a process for tailoring requirements to the size and complexity of projects.

Recommendation. DOE should assess its culture and subcultures and develop strategies to bring about organization alignment on core project management principles at all levels of the organization.

NRC (National Research Council). 1999. Improving Project Management in the Department of Energy . Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

NRC. 2001. Progress in Improving Project Management at the Department of Energy, 2001 Assessment. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

NRC. 2003. Progress in Improving Project Management at the Department of Energy, 2002 Assessment. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press.