Project Delivery Standards Specification

Requirement

Network Rail requires each project to demonstrate that the project is complying with required standards throughout the life of the project.

This meant that an application, that would produce the list of relevant Standards applicable to a project, had to be developed.  This was to make it easier and simpler for project owners to understand the required Standards for the project.

To ensure consistency across the portfolio, the application had to identify the applicable Standards based on the profile of the project. 

This was to be created by answering a series of questions that identified the specific characteristics of the project. Once the project had been profiled then this profile was to be mapped to the Standards Catalogue to identify the applicable standards.

Solution

Prōject designed and developed a browser-based application for the Project Delivery Standards Specification (PDSS).  Having an Application Express (Apex) browser-based front-end meant ease of access and maintenance, and it allowed it to integrate with an existing Oracle database.  The solution provides a single version for the Standards Catalogue so there is uniformity of reporting across projects. 

By facilitating the maintenance of the metadata for the Standards Catalogue and characteristics all projects are sharing categorisation.  This metadata allows the profile for a project to be created by answering a series of questions.  

To make it user friendly the Standards list for the project profile can be generated as an excel file, giving project owners full access.

To help with project governance the project profiles are also version controlled, allowing different versions to be exported, copied, and compared as required throughout the life of the project. These project profiles can also be shared across the organisation, giving visibility on a project’s Standards status.