By Jeff Zircher
May 8, 2025
In today’s era of ambitious capital investment, organizations across the utility, industrial, and infrastructure sectors are taking on projects valued in the hundreds of millions—and even billions—of dollars. While the vision for transformation is bold, the readiness to deliver on that vision often lags. Burns & McDonnell’s Program Readiness Assessment (PRA) is designed to close that gap, offering organizations a critical tool to prepare for the complex and high-stakes challenge of capital project execution.
The High Stakes of Capital Project Portfolios
For organizations managing large-scale capital portfolios, the consequences of poor preparation are amplified. Misaligned teams, unclear governance, immature processes, and outdated systems can quickly derail timelines, inflate costs, and erode stakeholder trust. These issues aren’t hypothetical—they’re playing out in real-time for organizations not yet equipped for the scale and complexity of what they’re trying to deliver.
Recognizing these risks, forward-thinking leaders are turning to PRA as a preemptive strike against the chaos of unprepared execution.
What is a Program Readiness Assessment?
Burns & McDonnell’s Program Readiness Assessment (PRA) is a four-step, interview-based evaluation designed to provide a comprehensive view of an organization’s capability to successfully manage capital projects and programs. It’s more than a checklist—it’s an integrative review of people, processes, tools, and organizational alignment that produces both qualitative insights and quantitative benchmarks.
The assessment covers a wide range of disciplines:
- Project, engineering, procurement, and construction management
- Project controls (cost and schedule), document control, and commissioning
- Governance, organizational structure, stakeholder engagement
- Risk management, contracting strategy, cost estimating, and IT systems
These elements are analyzed to understand the current state and to identify gaps or inefficiencies that could jeopardize delivery success.
Turning Insight into Action
What makes PRA invaluable is not just its diagnostic capability, but its ability to generate a clear, actionable roadmap. Based on insights gathered from real-world experience, documented best practices, and lessons learned from prior projects, Burns & McDonnell delivers customized recommendations that leaders can trust and act on.
The PRA helps organizations:
- Confirm what’s working—and scale it across the enterprise
- Uncover hidden barriers to execution
- Align stakeholders around a shared understanding of current maturity
- Build a roadmap that prioritizes improvements and mitigates risk
This isn’t theoretical. It’s a fact-based, boots-on-the-ground perspective informed by years of managing complex programs across industries.
The Benefits for Capital Project Leaders
For leaders staring down a multibillion-dollar capital plan, the PRA offers three game-changing advantages:
- Clarity Before Commitment
PRA empowers leaders to make informed decisions before significant funds are committed, or before construction begins. It brings visibility to unseen risks and strengthens confidence in execution strategies. - Alignment Across the Enterprise
With insights into process maturity, stakeholder roles, and systemic capabilities, organizations can eliminate internal silos, synchronize cross-functional teams, and streamline program governance. - Scalable Excellence
By identifying what works and creating a blueprint for consistent delivery, PRA helps organizations institutionalize best practices that support long-term capital efficiency.
Industry-Aligned, Experience-Driven
The PRA isn’t created in a vacuum. Its framework aligns with standards from the Project Management Institute (PMI), the Construction Industry Institute (CII), and the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE). Backed by Burns & McDonnell’s extensive experience managing capital portfolios and mega-projects, the PRA distills years of hard-earned knowledge into a targeted tool for organizational transformation.
Know Before It’s Too Late
Capital investment isn’t just about financial commitment—it’s about organizational capability. Without a realistic understanding of current readiness, even the best-funded plans are at risk. The PRA helps leaders answer a critical question: “Are we truly ready to deliver?”
In an environment where failure can cost millions, a Program Readiness Assessment is more than a smart move—it’s an essential step toward capital program success.
For more information on how to implement a Program Readiness Assessment (PRA) in your organization, contact Jeff Zircher, Senior Program Implementation Manager at Burns & McDonnell at jfzircher@burnsmcd.com.
Burns & McDonnell is a family of companies bringing together an unmatched team of 10,000 engineers, construction professionals, architects, planners, technologists and scientists to design and build our critical infrastructure. Learn more about Burns & McDonnell here.
Jeff Zircher, MBA, is a seasoned leader in program and project management, currently serving as a Senior Program Implementation Manager at Burns & McDonnell. With over 30 years of leadership experience at Caterpillar Inc., Jeff has held key roles across IT, Logistics & Distribution, Marketing & Product Support, Product Development, and Project Management.
As the leader of Caterpillar’s Enterprise PMO, Jeff oversaw a global team of more than 250 professionals across the U.S., Northern Ireland, England, India, and China. His dedication to advancing project management excellence has been recognized at the highest levels. A member of the PMI Global Executive Council since 2014, Jeff has contributed to the profession through thought leadership and strategic collaboration.
