25 Example Project Deliverables

project deliverables

Although it isn’t in the dictionary, the project management industry uses the term deliverables almost daily. I, for one am tired of MS Word underlining it as a spelling mistake.

Deliverables are the products, services, and results that a project produces. Thus, they are the cornerstone to project success.

Every project has to produce something. If you don’t have any deliverables, you don’t have a project.

Internal or External?

Deliverables can be for internal or external stakeholders.  For example, an engineering design is a deliverable for a bridge design project (external), but the biologists might produce a fish habitat study for the design team (internal – assuming they work for the same company).

Tangible or Intangible?

At our engineering company, the deliverables are usually something tangible, like a report or design plans. But they can be intangible too. For example, a project to train the employees of a certain division of the company in a certain knowledge area still has the knowledge (or courses) as the deliverable.

Big or Small?

There is no guideline as to the size of a deliverable. It is simply whatever the client, or deliveree for lack of a better term, wants.

I’m from the province of Alberta, Canada, where many oil sands mines are currently under construction, several of them worth greater than $20 billion (construction cost). For the heavy industrial construction companies that are contracted to the oil companies to build the mines, the deliverable is the completed mine. When my small engineering firm does a $5,000 hydrologic study for them, it’s also a deliverable. Even when it’s a sub-deliverable, it’s still a deliverable.

Example Deliverables

Here is a list of some sample deliverables.

  1. Engineering report
  2. Proposal
  3. Design drawings
  4. Design documents
  5. Completed product (building, bridge, etc.)
  6. Technical interpretation
  7. Site investigation report
  8. Design review
  9. Tender document
  10. Manufacturing process improvement
  11. Product quality enhancement
  12. New equipment or tools
  13. Service report
  14. Strategic report
  15. Progress report
  16. Improved process efficiency
  17. Better customer service
  18. Faster response time
  19. Marketing study
  20. Web site/page
  21. Useability report
  22. Product prototype
  23. New knowledge or experience
  24. Improved filing and organization systems
  25. Improved response procedures

What unique deliverables have you had on your projects? I’d love to hear your responses in the comments below.

About Bernie Roseke, P.Eng., PMP

Bernie Roseke, P.Eng., PMP, is the president of Roseke Engineering. As a bridge engineer and project manager, he manages projects ranging from small, local bridges to multi-million dollar projects. He is also the technical brains behind ProjectEngineer, the online project management system for engineers. He is a licensed professional engineer, certified project manager, and six sigma black belt. He lives in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, with his wife and two kids.

View all posts by Bernie Roseke, P.Eng., PMP

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*