It's PPA time again...

The last week has been really hectic. I've forgotten how preparing yearly appraisals can be so time consuming and mind numbing, and couple that with a project that seems to run into trouble at every corner (and this project is like a myriagon - so many corners but you end up just going in circles like a headless chicken) - by the end of Wednesday I already felt like I've been in a high-speed tumble dryer. And I still had two days to go through.

The PPA is supposed to consist of a Performance Plan at the beginning of the period (April), a mid-year review in October and a final review and Appraisal in March the following year. One is supposed to list down all the objectives and KPIs at the beginning, and work towards that objective. It actually makes sense - if you set your target to complete a project in 5 months, and it actually took you 4, then you've exceeded your target, you get a better appraisal, right? The problem is, no one actually sits down to properly plan their performance at the beginning, and when you're first assigned to a project you're still not quite sure what you're supposed to deliver - especially if it's a PMC job and it's already in the construction phase, and you know you've got a less than competent contractor to work with. I mean, no way you can score a 2 (Exceeding Expectations) there, can you? Maybe if I put my KPI as 'surviving this project with my head intact', I might just manage a 3 (Meeting Expectations).

And what about that proposal that I spent 9 months preparing? I started it in April, had to go to site, collect documents, do some pre-engineering before actual project kick-off - when the client decides to shelve it because the project cost was above their budget. Does that mean I failed, just because my proposal (which was as tight as a newborn baby's rectum) went over the initial half-baked cost estimate that only considered major mechanical equipment but not all the other systems modifications and structural work?

And this time around I'm supposed to quote actual behavioural demonstrations of people and business skills, like Initiative and Relationship Building. Well, I married a colleague and had a baby, so does that count? But I married him last year, so can only consider baby this time...