Front-End Loading Workshop: Defining a Project
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The Front-End Loading Workshop is a 2-day program that provides a project team with the opportunity to develop a plan for the critical definition stage of their project. The focus of the workshop is to allow the team to establish an action plan for the FEL of their project.
Research has shown project definition, or Front-End Loading (FEL), is one of the most significant drivers of project success. Well-defined projects cost less, take less time to execute, and operate better. The figure below illustrates the impact on cost and schedule of FEL.
FEL is the process by which a company identifies and defines the scope of a capital project to meet the given business need. The goal of this project phase is to secure a detailed definition of the scope needed to satisfy the project’s business objectives for capital investment. The process of definition establishes a framework for aligning the project objectives with the business goals and ensures business objectives are translated to the project objectives. The alignment of objectives results in improved definition, which reduces changes later in the project. The results are more competitive and predictable project outcomes. Thus, the goals of FEL are the following:
- Make the needs of the business the primary driver for capital project investment.
- Assign project responsibility to teams with multidisciplinary membership.
- Improve the capital productivity of projects by using the best available technology.
- Eliminate non-income-producing investment.
- Minimize changes during project execution.
Benefits
IPA research has identified activities that result in excellent team development and FEL. The FEL Workshop teaches the essential knowledge and skills required to organize, plan, and execute the FEL for projects of all sizes and types. The workshop provides an opportunity for the project’s different functional groups to raise pertinent issues and risks for the project. Products of the workshop include a FEL roadmap for the project team to use to proceed through various FEL activities and FEL checklists that identify activities to be completed. The FEL roadmap and checklists can be used to identify key individuals who need to be involved and when and where their involvement is needed.
Participants in IPA’s FEL Workshop will receive a workshop CD with all presentation slides and reference materials. Materials include the following:
- Guidelines for writing project objectives
- Learnings for effective use of contractors in FEL
- IPA FEL “Roadmap,” which sequences the various stages of project development and includes a full description of the work process
- IPA FEL Checklist, which includes the critical items to be addressed during FEL
Institute workshops are facilitated by experienced IPA staff. Facilitators have analyzed many projects and have worked with project professionals to improve the results of their projects. IPA has conducted more than 120 workshops for major oil and chemical companies.
Workshop Content
The Front-End Loading Workshop presents the fundamentals of FEL and tools that can be used to improve the quality of definition and team development. The workshop is interactive and includes the presentation of practices linked to improved FEL and exercises that allow participants to apply the learnings presented.
Each workshop is customized to meet the specific needs of a given project and project team. However, each workshop will cover the following:
Module 1: Introduction
Serves as an introduction to FEL and presents the stage-gated process as a proven method for delivering consistent and complete project definition and illustrates how the FEL Index is a reliable predictor of project performance.
Module 2: Site Factors
One of the three major components of the FEL Index, Site Factors, addresses aspects of project definition related to the characteristics of the project location and considers physical, regulatory, and design issues. Proper definition reduces project risks by clarifying assumptions, completing critical deliverables, and engaging local participants.
Module 3: Design Status
The second of the three FEL Index components, Design Status, addresses aspects related to the status of the process design (or conceptual design) and detailed design while considering the status of specific engineering design deliverables and the participation by key stakeholders. Additionally, Design Status reduces risks with proper definition because key engineering items are complete and provide a sound basis for the estimate.
Module 4: Project Execution Plan
The Project Execution Plan (PEP) is the result of defining the approach to be followed in executing a capital project. The PEP answers some basic questions about the project: Who will participate, when will they participate, and what roles will they take? How will the project be contracted, sequenced, managed, and controlled? When will phase transitions and specific activities take place?
Module 5: Team Effectiveness
The FEL workshop concludes with important information on how team effectiveness is based on composition and how to best reach positive outcomes.
Additional modules can be added for such topics as commercializing new technology, establishing contracting strategy, using learnings from programs, accelerating cycle time, and other topics, depending on the specific project team needs.
Target Audience
The workshop should include all functions involved in the project. This includes representation from business and operations, along with key owner(s) project management personnel. The number of contractors participating should be limited to only key players. To ensure interaction among participants, the optimal workshop size is between 15 to 20 participants. We recommend that a subset of participants be identified in advance to consolidate the results of the workshop with the FEL roadmap and checklists produced in the workshop.
Workshop Location
The FEL Workshop can be conducted either at a company’s facility or at a nearby conference center. We strongly recommend an off-site location to allow participants to focus on the workshop activities.
Holding a Workshop
For more information about FEL Workshops or to hold a workshop, contact our offices at 703-729-8300 or via e-mail IPAInstitute@IPAGlobal.com.
Front-End Loading Workshop: Defining a Project
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