bee:project-health-check

Project Health Check Skill

Systematic assessment of individual project health across multiple dimensions.

Purpose

This skill provides a framework for:

• Comprehensive project status assessment
• Early warning identification
• Root cause analysis
• Recovery recommendation
• Stakeholder communication

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Prerequisites

Before health check, ensure:

Prerequisite	Required For	Source
Project baseline	Variance calculation	Project plan
Current status data	Health assessment	Project manager
Stakeholder feedback	Satisfaction assessment	Stakeholders
Risk register	Risk health	Risk analyst

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Health Check Dimensions

Dimension 1: Schedule Health

Metrics:

Metric	Formula	Green	Yellow	Red
SPI	EV / PV	>= 0.95	0.85-0.94	< 0.85
Schedule Variance	EV - PV	>= 0	-5% to 0	< -5%
Milestone Status	On-time %	>= 90%	70-89%	< 70%

Assessment Questions:

• Is the project on schedule?
• Are milestones being met?
• What is causing any delays?
• Is the critical path protected?

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Dimension 2: Cost Health

Metrics:

Metric	Formula	Green	Yellow	Red
CPI	EV / AC	>= 0.95	0.85-0.94	< 0.85
Cost Variance	EV - AC	>= 0	-5% to 0	< -5%
EAC vs Budget	EAC / BAC	<= 1.05	1.05-1.15	> 1.15

Assessment Questions:

• Is the project within budget?
• What is driving cost variance?
• Is the estimate at completion acceptable?
• Are there unplanned costs emerging?

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Dimension 3: Scope Health

Metrics:

Metric	Green	Yellow	Red
Scope Changes	< 3	3-5	> 5
Change Impact	< 5% baseline	5-10%	> 10%
Requirements Stability	Stable	Some changes	Significant flux

Assessment Questions:

• Is scope under control?
• How many changes since baseline?
• What is driving scope changes?
• Is there scope creep occurring?

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Dimension 4: Quality Health

Metrics:

Metric	Green	Yellow	Red
Defect Rate	Below target	At target	Above target
Rework %	< 10%	10-20%	> 20%
Test Pass Rate	> 95%	85-95%	< 85%

Assessment Questions:

• Is quality acceptable?
• What is the defect trend?
• Is rework manageable?
• Are acceptance criteria being met?

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Dimension 5: Risk Health

Metrics:

Metric	Green	Yellow	Red
Open Critical Risks	0	1-2	> 2
Risk Trend	Decreasing	Stable	Increasing
Mitigation Progress	On track	Delayed	Blocked

Assessment Questions:

• Are risks being managed?
• Are mitigations effective?
• Any new critical risks?
• Are issues being resolved?

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Dimension 6: Stakeholder Health

Metrics:

Metric	Green	Yellow	Red
Stakeholder Satisfaction	Satisfied	Concerns	Escalations
Communication Effectiveness	Good	Gaps noted	Major issues
Decision Timeliness	Timely	Some delays	Blocked

Assessment Questions:

• Are stakeholders satisfied?
• Is communication effective?
• Are decisions being made timely?
• Any relationship issues?

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Health Check Gates

Gate 1: Data Collection

Objective: Gather current project data

Actions:

1. Collect schedule data (actuals, forecasts)
2. Collect cost data (actuals, forecasts)
3. Review scope changes
4. Review quality metrics
5. Update risk register
6. Gather stakeholder feedback

Output: docs/pmo/{date}/project-{name}-data.md

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Gate 2: Health Assessment

Objective: Assess each dimension and overall health

Actions:

1. Score each dimension (1-10)
2. Calculate overall health score
3. Identify red flags
4. Document root causes

Health Score Calculation:

Dimension	Weight
Schedule	25%
Cost	20%
Scope	15%
Quality	20%
Risk	10%
Stakeholder	10%

Overall Score Interpretation:

• 8-10: Healthy
• 6-7.9: Manageable
• 4-5.9: At Risk
• < 4: Critical

Output: docs/pmo/{date}/project-{name}-assessment.md

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Gate 3: Recommendations

Objective: Provide actionable recommendations

Actions:

1. Prioritize issues by impact
2. Identify quick wins
3. Recommend recovery actions
4. Define success criteria

Recommendation Categories:

Category	Urgency	Examples
Immediate	This week	Escalation, resource injection
Short-term	This month	Process change, replan
Medium-term	This quarter	Restructure, descope
Long-term	Future	Lessons learned, prevention

Output: docs/pmo/{date}/project-{name}-recommendations.md

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Anti-Rationalization Table

See shared-patterns/anti-rationalization.md for universal anti-rationalizations.

Health Check-Specific Anti-Rationalizations

Rationalization	Why It's WRONG	Required Action
"PM says project is green"	Self-reported status often optimistic. Verify with data.	Validate with metrics
"One dimension is off, overall is fine"	One critical dimension can sink a project.	Address all yellow/red dimensions
"Wait and see if it improves"	Delays compound problems. Early intervention is cheaper.	Act on warning signs
"They're aware of the issues"	Awareness ≠ action. Verify mitigation progress.	Confirm corrective actions

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Pressure Resistance

See shared-patterns/pressure-resistance.md for universal pressure scenarios.

Health Check-Specific Pressures

Pressure Type	Request	Agent Response
"Make the status green for the exec report"	"Status must reflect reality. Will provide accurate status with context and recovery plan."
"Don't dig into that dimension"	"All dimensions must be assessed. Selective assessment misses problems."
"The PM has it under control"	"PM optimism is natural. Independent assessment provides balance."

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Blocker Criteria - STOP and Report

ALWAYS pause and report blocker for:

Situation	Required Action
Overall health < 4 (Critical)	STOP. Immediate executive escalation required.
Multiple dimensions Red	STOP. Recovery intervention needed.
Data unavailable for assessment	STOP. Cannot assess without data. Request information.
Stakeholder loss of confidence	STOP. Relationship repair needed before project work.

Cannot Be Overridden

The following requirements are NON-NEGOTIABLE:

Requirement	Cannot Override Because
All six dimensions assessed	Partial assessment misses critical issues
Data-driven scoring	Opinions without data lead to wrong conclusions
Root cause analysis for Red	Symptoms without causes cannot be fixed
Evidence-based status	Feelings don't predict project outcomes
Stakeholder feedback inclusion	Project health includes perception, not just metrics

If user insists on violating these:

1. Escalate to orchestrator
2. Do NOT proceed with incomplete assessment
3. Document the request and your refusal

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Severity Calibration

When assessing health check findings:

Severity	Criteria	Examples
CRITICAL	Project viability at risk	Overall health < 4, sponsor withdrawing, budget frozen
HIGH	Significant intervention needed	Any dimension Red, schedule slip > 2 weeks, cost overrun > 15%
MEDIUM	Active management required	Dimensions Yellow, minor variances, stakeholder concerns
LOW	Normal monitoring	All Green with minor improvements possible

Escalate CRITICAL immediately. Address HIGH this week. Monitor MEDIUM bi-weekly.

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Output Format

Health Check Report

# Project Health Check - [Project Name] - [Date]

## Overall Health Score: X/10 - [Green/Yellow/Red]

## Dimension Scores

| Dimension | Score | Status | Trend |
|-----------|-------|--------|-------|
| Schedule | X/10 | G/Y/R | Up/Stable/Down |
| Cost | X/10 | G/Y/R | Up/Stable/Down |
| Scope | X/10 | G/Y/R | Up/Stable/Down |
| Quality | X/10 | G/Y/R | Up/Stable/Down |
| Risk | X/10 | G/Y/R | Up/Stable/Down |
| Stakeholder | X/10 | G/Y/R | Up/Stable/Down |

## Key Findings

### Red Flags
1. [Finding with evidence]

### Yellow Flags
1. [Finding with evidence]

### Positive Signs
1. [Finding with evidence]

## Root Cause Analysis

| Issue | Root Cause | Impact |
|-------|------------|--------|
| [Issue] | [Cause] | [Impact] |

## Recommendations

### Immediate (This Week)
1. [Action] - Owner: [Name]

### Short-term (This Month)
1. [Action] - Owner: [Name]

## Decisions Required

1. [Decision needed with options]

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Execution Report

Base metrics per shared-patterns/execution-report.md:

Metric	Value
Analysis Date	YYYY-MM-DD
Scope	[Project name]
Duration	Xh Ym
Result	COMPLETE/PARTIAL/BLOCKED

Health Check-Specific Details

Metric	Value
health_score	X/10
schedule_variance	X%
cost_variance	X%
scope_changes	N

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When Health Check Is Not Needed

MUST: Health check is minimal only when ALL conditions are met:

Condition	Verification
Recent check exists (<14 days)	Reference existing health check
No reported issues	Confirm no new risks or blockers
Project in maintenance phase	Verify no active development
Stakeholders satisfied	Confirm no escalations or concerns

MUST: Full health check REQUIRED for the following conditions:

Condition	Why Required
Project status changed	Yellow/Red requires immediate assessment
Milestone approaching	Risk assessment needed before milestone
Stakeholder escalation received	Must diagnose the concern
Project phase transition	Entry/exit criteria must be validated
Periodic review cadence	Regular health monitoring required

MUST: When in doubt, conduct the health check. Undetected issues become crises.