Professional programme & project management: achieving successful outcomes for businesses

Having completed the commercial phase of the proposed project, carried out all the initiation tasks successfully and engaged the project team, everyone is anxious to start work and make some progress. However, despite all this enthusiasm and commitment, projects can still go off the rails if key tasks are not carried out to correctly engage the business, set expectations and lay down a framework for future phases.

Similarly, the entire journey through the project lifecycle needs careful scrutiny, forethought and planning. Prudent businesses engage the services of a professional project manager to help them to navigate their way along this journey, put appropriate governance structures in place, and regularly communicate progress to key stakeholders.

Even after a successful initiation of a project, many businesses need the services of professional programme and project managers to drive the achievement of their desired outcome.

Once roles and responsibilities for all parties have been agreed, key business people need to ensure that they can allocate the right amount of time to fulfil their tasks, and planners need to avoid busy times in the business calendar in order to facilitate this. Where this is not possible, business people should be backfilled with competent temporary staff.

Multi-year programmes and projects can be impacted by changes in the business which cannot always be foreseen, so plans need to have elapsed time contingency built in to enable projects to be flexible enough to deal with these unexpected events. A change control process should be invoked to analyse the impact of any changes, and all options should be evaluated before recommendations on the most optimal way forward are presented to the Business Sponsor for approval. At nil plus ultra, our project and programme managers use their experience to keep projects on track despite these changes, and help businesses to achieve the benefits envisaged in the business case.

As the project progresses, Change Management activities need to be carried out with key stakeholders to ensure business readiness for the new solution. These include:

• communicating the delivery dates of the new solution and progress against key milestones to all stakeholders,
• informing the user community about the proposed changes to existing processes and procedures,
• gaining user buy-in through close involvement with the shaping of the new solution,
• ensuring users allocate time for attendance at training events, and
• ensuring that users thoroughly test that the solution meets their business needs as they work through the new procedures.

After implementation, checks need to be made that users are not slipping back into old habits based on their legacy solution, as this will negate the achievement of efficiency gains.

Caroline Birkby, one of nil plus ultra’s most senior Programme Directors, said “Many organisations end up using modern solutions to carry out the same processing as they used to do on their legacy solution, hence benefits are not realised and processing on the new solution is just as labour intensive and error-prone as on the legacy system. This is only detected if someone is assigned to check that everyone has adopted the ‘To Be’ process flows and is using the new solution according to the new processes. No matter how well the project has been delivered, it is important to continue to track that the business benefits are being realised long after the project has ended”.

nil plus ultra’s programme managers are experienced and accredited Prince2 and PMI professionals.

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Companies only embark on projects that they believe will have successful outcomes, but may need the help of professional commercial and project managers to drive their achievement of this, especially at initiation.

There’s an overload of information on the internet about why projects fail, and many books have been produced on the same subject. So given this wealth of information and well documented past experiences, why is it that there are still so many failures?Getting the project commercially agreed and initiated correctly is half the battle. Whilst problems can arise at any stage of the project leading to overruns on cost or time, and lack of clarity on the requirements can lead to solutions being developed which don’t meet what the business needs, there is no doubt that the a lack of experienced input just prior to and at the initiation phase can subsequently unhinge a project . Businesses today are being buffeted by forces which require them to remain flexible and ‘fleet-of-foot’ to be able to deal with their dynamic marketplaces. Directors and managers have to maintain a keen focus on these even whilst a key project is being defined to introduce efficiencies and reduce costs. This can lead to the responsibility for commercial closure and project initiation being given to those who not have have the experience to successfully negotiate with suppliers nor put the building blocks in place which will provide the foundations for success. At nil plus ultra, our commercial and project managers understand these pressures and support businesses to help them through these early stages. Our senior procurement and commercial specialists guide the business through their make or buy decisions, and provide expert advice during the supplier selection and negotiation process. Without expert input, businesses face many pitfalls, such as inadvertently selecting a solution from a supplier which is still under development, or having their expectations incorrectly set about the features and functions of a particular solution. During the commercial negotiations, our commercial managers will qualify the suppliers, and work with businesses to negotiate the right contracts which accurately meet the business’s needs, clearly lay out both their and their supplier’s obligations and remedies.

Graham Jackson, co-founder of nil plus ultra, an IACCM Fellow and Crown Representative on the Cabinet Office’s Efficiency and Reform Group, is one of Europe’s foremost supply chain and commercial experts. Graham said “Once the commercials are in place, projects can face challenges even at the very start. Business Requirements may not have been clearly defined at the detailed level during the pre-contract stage, may be incomplete, or the boundaries of the scope may be ill-defined, This typically occurs in public sector organisations where the procurement phase is protracted and political changes may lead to a change in policies and decisions within the organisation. In private sector organisations, change may result from mergers and acquisitions, new product development, management changes in the organisation, new challenges in the marketplace, or changes in the business strategy. Analysing how these changes affect the achievement of the quantified benefits is a key contributor to making the right decisions. Every potential change needs to be carefully assessed in terms of cost and benefit and impact on timelines.”

On the supplier’s side, particularly on IT projects, enterprise software is subject to constant revisions and enhancements by product development, and suppliers are often keen to encourage customers to implement the latest version so that this becomes referenceable. But this comes with huge risk, and businesses need to consider carefully whether they can justify taking this risk.

Caroline Birkby, Programme Director and Change Agent.

Caroline Birkby, one of nil plus ultra’s most senior Programme Directors, said “Many IT projects have been derailed by an ill-thought out decision to implement the latest version of a product, with product bugs causing major delays. Worse still, decisions to switch to a newer version halfway through a project without a careful impact analysis as well as a full cost / benefit analysis beforehand can lead to major problems and even project termination. If there is a real benefit to be achieved by the business in taking such a step this requires stringent planning. One option is to continue the project on the current version but instigate a parallel stream of work to implement the new version so that in the event that it is not fit for purpose, the project can continue on the original version and deliver the benefits as originally envisaged. Businesses need to be fully aware of the risks and additional costs likely to be incurred.”

Caroline commented that new releases, or ‘bleeding edge’ technology can only get businesses ahead of the competition if it works and delivers a tangible competitive and / or business advantage. The risks of delays due to the newness of the software and undetected bugs might impact business’s achievement of any of the additional benefits envisaged for this version. It may be that the business benefits to be achieved with older, more mature versions are significant enough that the risk of using newer versions cannot be cost justified. Caroline said “Businesses don’t take these decisions lightly, and engage professionals to assist in evaluation of their options.”

Project initiation activities include defining how the supplier and customer teams will interact, which business individuals are key knowledge holders and can articulate the existing business processes, and which supplier resources can work with them to map these to the new solutions. Reporting lines and project governance needs to be put in place, individual terms of reference defined and risks agreed between all parties. This is a busy time for project managers, and if businesses cannot dedicate individuals to carry out these activities, they need professional support.

“The smart businesses who utilise the services of experienced project managers can be confident that the right foundations are being laid for future success while they focus on their business imperatives” – Caroline Birkby

nil plus ultra’s programme managers are experienced and accredited Prince2 and PMI professionals.
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“There’s a world of difference between professional project management and co-opting a line or functional manager into a co-ordination role, and calling that a Programme Management Office”

With the current business climate, nil plus ultra clients are focussing on ways to improve efficiency, either through cost reduction projects, revenue improvement initiatives or more significant operational restructuring. Typically, this pushes people in the business beyond their comfort zone; sometimes they are unsure if they have the competency or capacity to drive the necessary changes. Sometimes, motivation is simply not there: for example, it’s hard to motivate people, if the sponsoring management’s imperative is potentially unpopular, such as when downsizing.

Alan Hooper, Senior Programme Director

Alan Hooper, one of nil plus ultra’s most senior Programme Directors, highlights some common challenges: “We often find that a business’ leadership team have a fair idea of what they want – even need – to do. The strategy is reasonably clear, even if it may need translation into an operational change plan. The challenge is then all about implementation. One of the most critical factors becomes the use of “fit for purpose” project management skills. Even if there is sufficient capability to execute elements of the programme, its overall programme management is often a neglected point of potential failure.”

Alan believes that effective programme management combines pragmatism with a deep understanding of project efficiency: “knowing where the risks lie, how to manage a critical path effectively and practically in the real world are important considerations. But an effective Programme Manager commands respect, and can influence, motivate, cajole people – do what it takes, really – so that the programmes’s goal is achieved. What we see too often, is that an internal manager, maybe even a good one, is co-opted to lead the programme. All the outward-facing paraphernalia is established, such as calling an office, suitably set aside, the “Programme Office”. What’s missing is the experience and know how to really run these kinds of projects. How many times have we seen either a project fail, or run into difficulty, requiring remedial help to get it back on track? Much better is to get it right at the start. Although, if things haven’t been set up correctly from the start, and things go awry, all is not lost. We are often brought in to rescue a failing programme; it’s better to call in help than keep in denial about it.”

Alan elaborates: “businesses under pressure are looking at more complexity, more challenges – such as rightsizing, closures, reskilling initiatives… even new product or service launches to help boost failing revenues – and realise they need to avoid dangerous escalation of risk and programme cost. Many organisations don’t have real project management skill in-house.”

The smart ones don’t fudge it, and stretch people too far – they enlist professionals. This can massively reduce the cost and risk of the programme.” – Alan Hooper

There is also another response to meet the challenge. Alan again: “often, we can help to skill up the business’ own people, especially if they already have some project experience. Training and upskilling is a real option for many of our sponsors.”

Mike Utting, Co-Chair Supply Chain & Commercial Group

Mike Utting, nil plus ultra’s Co-Chair Supply Chain and Commercial Group is our Head of Training. Mike comments: “we’re seeing an uplift in demand for this right now. Organisations see the need, more than ever perhaps, for skilled project and programme managers (PMs). More and more are combining our training courses – designed and delivered by experienced PMs who have a flair for training – with supplementary engagement of our own PMs. They engage us on a “pay per use – or hire by the yard” basis. This is flexible and highly cost-effective. This enables the business to grab hold of the running programmes, taking a tight grip on cost and risk. The parallel training also enables them to start to build their own capacity, which they re-use again and again. This combination has become so popular recently, with many businesses executing change programmes, that we’ve developed ways to integrate training courses with the provision of PMs on an “as needed” basis. One of the innovations we’ve set up is the “PM Expert Consultation Line”. This is an approach where people who we’ve trained up, can call or meet with one of our expert PMs to get “in the field” coaching or consultation on a problem or challenge they face. This is proving really popular.”

nil plus ultra’s programme managers are experienced and accredited Prince2 and PMI professionals.

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