Projects
A project is a larger piece of work than a case. It can cover several properties (a development or a programme), properties the council is selling (a disposal), or no property yet: an acquisition starts with a proposed site. A project has a lead, a team, milestones, tasks, notes and documents, and moves through five phases separated by four gateways.
| Kind | Typical example |
|---|---|
| Development | Redeveloping an estate into new units |
| Acquisition | Buying land for a new depot |
| Disposal | Selling surplus land in lots |
| Programme | Energy efficiency upgrades across many buildings |
| Strategic review | An options appraisal for a service's buildings |
Starting a project
Administrators and surveyors: select Projects, then Start a project. Give it a name and type, choose the lead and add the sponsor and dates. For an acquisition, describe the proposed site and, if known, its title number and the vendor. PHAEMA adds starter tasks for the type of project.
Phases and gateways
| Phase | Ends with |
|---|---|
| Idea | Gateway 1: go ahead with a business case (usually an officer) |
| Business case | Gateway 2: approval to proceed (usually Cabinet or a capital board) |
| Delivery | Gateway 3: completion confirmed |
| Completion | Gateway 4: close-out review |
| Close | The project is closed |
Record each decision under Gateways: who decided, the outcome, the date, the decision reference (for example the Cabinet minute) and, if you like, the report. Approved moves the project to the next phase; Deferred keeps it where it is; Rejected stops it. A project can also be paused, restarted or stopped, with a reason.
Milestones and status
Add milestones with a target date, then keep the forecast and achieved dates up to date. The project shows Milestone missed (red) when a target passes without being achieved, and amber when a forecast is later than its target, a task is overdue or the project is paused.
The team and who can do what
Add colleagues to the Team with their role on the project, and outside parties such as agents or architects.
- Everyone with a role can see projects, except confidential ones.
- The lead, team members who are surveyors, and administrators can change the project.
- Any team member, including a legal contributor, can add notes and documents.
Confidential projects can only be seen by their team and administrators; others cannot find them in lists, on property pages or in reports. Acquisitions start confidential. A confidential project's documents can only be opened from the project page.
Budget
The budget is a set of lines (fees, land, works, contingency, income and so on), each capital or revenue, with approved, forecast and actual figures for each financial year (April to March). The project page totals them by year and says how far the forecast is over or under the approved budget. The budget is shown to the project team, administrators and people with the Finance access area; the project's managers and finance officers can enter figures.
Finance can load actual spend from the ledger with Import, using the Project spending sheet: one row per project reference, budget line and financial year.
Risks and issues
Record each risk with its likelihood and impact from 1 to 5; PHAEMA multiplies them into a score and shows it as low, medium or high, highest first. Give each risk an owner and a mitigation, and close it when it has passed.
Linked cases, jobs and valuations
Link work that is part of the project: a case or maintenance job by its reference, or an asset valuation. The case or job page then shows Part of project, to people who can see the project.
The proposed site and the map
The project page shows a map of its properties. For land that is not yet on the register, select Draw the proposed site and enter one or more HM Land Registry INSPIRE parcel IDs: PHAEMA joins them into the proposed site's boundary. Only people who can see the project see its map.
Completion checklist
Once a project reaches delivery, a Completion checklist shows what the register will need: for example adding the new property and its title after an acquisition, adding new units after a development, or recording each property's disposal date and price after a sale. Each step links to the right form, already filled in from the project. PHAEMA never changes the register by itself; you save each change, and tick the step when it is done. Steps marked "checked by PHAEMA" tick themselves, such as a disposal once its date is recorded.
A property with a disposal date shows Disposed of on its page and drops out of the published open data.
Confidential projects: who has opened them
Every opening of a confidential project, and of its papers, is recorded. The lead and administrators see the list under Who has opened it.
When someone leaves
Hand over work includes the projects someone leads, their places on project teams, their open project tasks and the risks they own. Stopped and closed projects stay as they are.
On other pages
A property's page lists the projects it is part of, including those of the building or estate it belongs to. My work shows My projects, and project tasks and milestones you own appear under what needs attention.