Managing Complex Projects for Success Complex Systems Program Management Program Management Approach Bill+Peak Consulting’s (B+P Consulting) Program Management (PM) approach combines a project-oriented philosophy, a team-oriented governance and organization structure, comprehensive processes/tools/templates, and a robust control system – optimized to provide management oversight while maximizing the speed and performance of the individual project teams. We approach PM on all engagements in a disciplined and holistic fashion, addressing the dimensions of scope, schedule, risk, quality, resource and budget with a comprehensive set of tools and techniques. Our PM productivity tools include a rich suite of processes, procedures, templates, and methodologies designed to effectively manage the timely and successful implementation of the solution. Rather than becoming an impediment to the development process B+P Consulting’s approach helps to accelerate the process by maintaining effective communication, uncovering and addressing critical issues before they jeopardize the project’s success, and by maintaining an overall critical path and definition of interrelationships among and between numerous sub activities on complex projects. Because we work in a collaborative and teaching environment our clients may then leverage our PM approach on subsequent initiatives. We therefore deliberately encourage a highly collaborative approach to transfer the knowledge of PM operations and discipline to our clients. Philosophy Our project-oriented PM approach is designed as a “project execution engine”. We believe that all program-related initiatives, whether they are producing direct end-user deliverables or supporting these initiatives should be expressed in terms of a project activity. All projects are initiated and executed following the defined processes of the PM program. For example, all projects have a clearly defined and approved scope and work plan, and they all track and report their progress identically. Treating all initiatives as projects improves communications, coordination and control – vital components to a successful program. This helps to eliminate “ghost” projects and activities, and enforces regular and understandable communications—all critical to eliminating classic elements leading to “troubled” IT projects. Management and Organization Structure Our PM Management Structure is designed to optimize speed and quality of project execution. Speed is optimized through a focus on decision-making authority, standardized processes and consistent reporting. We recommend a “Management Team” structure, while delineating strategy/policy, process, and schedule/scope decision-making authority within this team. The structure is applied through standing sessions and meetings with defined inputs, outputs and measures for each of these. Roles and responsibilities are fully defined for key PM functions. We recommend that the following roles be established and staffed: Program Management Functions: · Executive Sponsor(s) · Program Manager(s) - responsibility for meeting the program objectives by identifying, chartering, and overseeing collective suite of projects comprising the program. · Project Manager(s) - responsibility for meeting the project objectives through the development and execution of a project plan. Activities include planning, activating, resourcing, executing, monitoring, reporting, and closing the project upon completion. Program Control Functions: · Measures and Planning - responsibility for collecting, summarizing, and reporting a fact-base of information concerning the health of the program and projects. Activities include establishing planning and reporting requirements and standards, supporting project teams with planning and reporting activities, maintaining the program fact-base, and developing executive communications. · Quality Assurance - responsibility for defining processes and standards promoting the quality of execution of the processes undertaken and deliverables produced within the program. · Risk Assessment- responsibility for review risk factors associated with the projects and overall program and defining means/methods to eliminate and control such matters. · Financial Support - responsibility for developing and maintaining the project account system and reports for the program. Activities include developing necessary accounting policies/procedures, maintaining the program's financial accounts, and preparing financial reports. Program Support Functions: · Communications Support - responsibility for developing and providing timely dissemination of key messages to program constituents. Activities include designing a communication strategy, developing communications around the key messages, deploying these on appropriate media, and ensuring that the key messages reach their target. · HR Support – responsibility for ensuring that the right staffs with appropriate skills are available when needed through training and recruitment programs, etc. · Administration Support – responsibility to ensure that administrative and clerical support is available when needed. · IT Support – responsibility to ensure that IT is an integral and involved party, and a beneficial member of the project teams. · Knowledge Support - responsibility for establishing policies and tools to develop, maintain and promote reusable assets and program documentation. Roles, responsibilities and agendas are fully defined for these key PM forums: · Steering Committee · Management Workgroup · Planning Workgroup Supporting Tools & Templates B+P Consulting in providing our PM functions relies on a number of pre-defined tools & templates. By using these we have process/procedure definitions that can allow us to rapidly and effectively cover critical PM areas such as: · Program Calendar · Macro-Level Planning · Project Planning and Status Reporting · Progress Measurement · Issue/Action Management · Budgeting and Financial Management · Executive Management Reporting · Risk Management · Communications Management, and · Team Management We continuously update our PM toolkit to incorporate lessons learned on our client engagements. We can also provide, as an option, the presentation of the entire Program Management process through the PM Dashboard – a graphical, WEB-based application that facilitates team collaboration. The PM Dashboard was designed and developed to provide a simple, consistent interface to all program participants, and all PM Dashboard content is completely end-user administered on your Intranet. The PM Dashboard promotes communication, coordination and control across the entire project team, including project managers, project teams, program managers, senior executives, business and technical users, and business partners. The PM Dashboard is organized like the program, providing high-level information across the program that can be drilled-down to more detailed project and sub-project information. It directly accesses documentation, plans, deliverables, status, and issues – any aspect of the program that requires collaboration. Additionally, links to external information sources facilitate rapid industry and technical research. Toolsets and Control Systems Control System Based on the project-centric philosophy, PM has been designed to function as a “closed-loop project execution engine.” The following diagram illustrates the flow of information to achieve this objective: Controls and measures are used to develop a fact-base to evaluate the general status and condition of the program. The Management Table continually monitors the program through measurements and adjusts policies, resources and priorities as necessary. Likewise, project plans and processes, procedures and templates are continually maintained based on this same fact-base of information reported.