The Centre Of Excellence A Pocket guide Contents 2 The Centre of Excellence – A Pocket guide About this Pocket guide
Views 153 Downloads 0 File size 196KB
The Centre Of Excellence A Pocket guide
Contents 2
The Centre of Excellence – A Pocket guide About this Pocket guide
3
Section A: Introduction What is a Centre of Excellence? The corporate context of programme and project management delivery Why is it important to coordinate delivery? The Centre of Excellence: coordinating delivery
4 4 5 6 7
Section B: Managing delivery Overview Corporate relationships Delivery roles Portfolio management Mission-Critical and High-Risk programmes and projects Programme management Governance roles Project management Risk management Quality management Business case management Benefits management Requirements management Stakeholder management and communications Gateway Reviews
8 8 8 9 10 12 13 14 16 17 18 18 19 19 19 19
Section C: Organisation and standards Overview Organisation models Setting up a Centre of Excellence Governance Management information and reporting Processes and standards – what you need to have in place
20 20 20 21 22 23 24
Section D: Improving capability Overview What does maturity look like? Organisational learning Improving programme and project management capability, skills and capacity Governance and Portfolio management Setting targets for improved delivery Further information
26 26 26 27 28 29 30 30
About this Pocket guide 3
Introduction This guide outlines the role of the Centre of Excellence (also known as a Programme and Project Support Unit or Corporate Programme Management Office in central government) in coordinating and supporting delivery. This function is different from a programme or project support office because it provides the management board with a strategic oversight of delivery. The guide provides a quick reference to good practice and a routemap to more detailed sources of advice and guidance. It takes account of lessons learned from OGC Gateway™ reviews and other sources; it integrates with existing programme/project and risk management guidance. It helps your organisation to achieve better, more consistent delivery of your organisation’s programmes and projects.
Who should read this Pocket guide? •
If you are the manager of a Centre of Excellence, this guide helps you to determine what you and your team should do to coordinate delivery and support programme/project teams.
•
If you are a programme or project manager, this guide helps you to identify the support you can expect from your local Centre of Excellence, and the governance arrangements which will apply.
The companion guide The Centre of Excellence: a Manager’s Checklist provides a summary of the role of the Centre of Excellence and the support that managers should expect for their delivery programmes. The OGC GatewayTM Process: a Manager’s Checklist complements this Pocket guide; it provides a set of key questions to help programme and project owners determine how their initiatives are progressing and the potential for success. The Successful Delivery Pocketbook also complements this Pocket guide, with more detailed advice on delivery planning to implement policy. This guidance should be applied flexibly depending on local circumstances.
Section A 4
Introduction
What is a Centre of Excellence? A Centre of Excellence (COE) for programme and project management (PPM) is a coordinating function providing strategic oversight, scrutiny and challenge across the department’s portfolio of programmes and projects. A COE is the focal point for supporting the department’s individual programmes and projects, and for driving the implementation of improvements to increase the department’s capability and capacity in programme and project delivery. The scope of a Centre of Excellence may vary between departments. A COE can accommodate a possible mix of roles and activities related to assurance, and activities relating to improving programme and project management capability and capacity, as well as monitoring and controlling the departmental portfolio. This section sets the roles and responsibilities of the Centre of Excellence into context. It assumes that the department has ongoing responsibility for a portfolio of programmes and projects which support the organisation’s strategic objectives and desired outcomes. The role of the COE is to support the senior management of the organisation in achieving successful delivery of the portfolio. The activities of the COE will involve interactions upwards to the management board, inwards to individual programmes and projects, and outwards to external bodies, other COEs and delivery partners (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: Key interactions of a COE
5
The corporate context of programme and project management delivery
Figure 2: The corporate context of programme and project management delivery Figure 2 shows the relationship between strategic objectives and outcomes, and corporate plans set by the Management Board, and the portfolio of programmes and their constituent projects, upon which the COE reports to the Board. It also shows the governance and reporting lines which will usually include a wider context still - the delivery landscape with partners in the delivery chain. The figure shows a simplified view; a realworld view is likely to be much more complex. Key terms • • • •
Project: particular way of managing activities to deliver specific outputs over a specified period of time and within defined resource constraints. Programme: management framework for coordinating related projects to deliver outcomes and benefits. Portfolio management: selection and co-ordination of an organisation’s complete set of programmes and projects. Centre of Excellence: coordinating function responsible for managing the organisation’s portfolio.
6
Why is it important to coordinate delivery? A coordinated approach to delivery brings together all of an organisation’s current programmes and projects into an overall delivery ‘portfolio’, which enables the management board to understand and manage all of its current delivery commitments. A portfolio view helps the organisation to focus on business results through: • better selection of programmes and projects that are prioritised on the basis of their strategic importance and are better controlled overall •
more effective deployment of scarce resources: the right people with the right skills for delivery
•
better results from individual projects: more consistent approach, better supported and better managed.
What are the key things to get right? The critical aspects are: • prioritisation – making hard choices about which programmes and projects go ahead, on the basis of strategic importance and current capability to deliver •
success criteria that clearly link objectives to outcomes
•
clear roles and responsibilities
•
involvement of key stakeholders throughout
•
effective risk management
•
appropriate skills for the programme/project team (plus expert advice when needed)
•
effective financial control.
7
The Centre of Excellence: coordinating delivery The Centre of Excellence’s key interactions are:
Upwards: making sure that the management board gets a consistent and reliable report on the main things it needs to know - delivery milestones, current risks etc - so that it can make informed decisions about what to do coordinating the portfolio at a strategic level offering advice and support on challenging the business case for individual initiatives, from start-up to close-down responsibility for constructively “challenging” projects and programmes so as to optimise overall delivery and benefits realisation possibilities
Inwards: providing advice, support and assurance to programme and project teams making sure that every team has access to the programme/project management skills it needs developing capability as required making sure that programmes and projects are managed in line with best practice, so that they can do things in a repeatable way, learn and improve challenging individual programmes and projects that are not carrying out all the activities that are associated with successful delivery. Outwards: coordinating OGC Gateway reviews or equivalent independent reviews networking with peers and central bodies so as to learn from them and share experiences in more complex environments, liaising with external delivery partners who are outside their control.
Portfolio management and prioritisation are critical to successful delivery (see section B: Managing Delivery). Best practices for delivery include programme and project management, risk and quality management, benefits management and stakeholder management; these are outlined in section B, with recommended standards summarised in section C: Organisation and Standards. Other necessary processes, such as procurement and contract management, are covered in OGC guidance available on the OGC website at www.ogc.gov.uk/ Organisations will vary in their ability to cover this wide scope initially but most will have these functions in place as a core set. See section D: Improving Capability to assess your organisation’s current capability and identify targets for improvement plans. The Centre of Excellence should have close links with internal audit, corporate planning and performance, and strategy units. Its structure should be tailored to the needs of your organisation, appropriate to its current level of maturity in delivery and its governance requirements (see sections C and D).
Section B Managing Delivery 8
Managing Delivery
Overview This section describes the tasks of coordinating and managing delivery. These tasks involve two key areas of expertise: managing the portfolio, and programme/project management (PPM). The section starts with an overview of the corporate context of the COE, and the roles played by various business and functional managers in ensuring successful delivery of programmes and projects.
The corporate relationships
Figure 3: Corporate relationships Figure 3 shows the relationships between key corporate functions, the Centre of Excellence and individual programmes. The key interactions are: • The management board sets the strategic context of the delivery portfolio and makes decisions about the portfolio on the basis of reporting from the Centre of Excellence. •
The corporate investment board scrutinises business cases for delivery programmes throughout their lifecycle
•
The finance and procurement functions advise on achievability of the portfolio and procurement approaches
•
The HR function provides the interface for recruitment, training and staff development in the programme and project management specialism.
9
•
The Centre of Excellence (incorporating the Departmental Gateway Coordinator – DGC) provides the corporate context and coordinates the portfolio of programmes via the programme office (or equivalent function) for each programme.
The Centre of Excellence also coordinates and liaises with Finance, HR, corporate risk management, the CIO function and other parts of the organisation to ensure a joined-up delivery support framework across the department.
Delivery Roles The table below summarises the key delivery roles; the exact titles of the roles will vary from organisation to organisation. An individual might have more than one role; they are not mutually exclusive. Perspective Management board
Responsibility Setting strategic direction
Corporate Making investment overview of decisions current delivery portfolio
Management board members; PSA target holders (or those responsible for equivalent strategic priorities) Corporate investment board members
Managing commercial aspects
Heads of procurement or commercial directors
Managing corporate governance
Accounting Officer Heads of Centre of Excellence or equivalent coordinating group Risk Implementation Managers or equivalent
Managing risk at the corporate level Individual Delivering programmes and outcomes through projects programmes and projects Ongoing operational services and benefits realisation
Who
Continuing to deliver outcomes through operational services
Programme and project owners Senior Responsible Owners (SRO) Their senior supplier equivalents Programme and project board members Programme and project owners Business and functional managers Their senior supplier equivalents
10
Portfolio management The key question is: What should be done with available resources? Only those programmes and projects that contribute most strongly to the organisation’s business strategy should be chosen to go forward. The management board selects programmes and projects for inclusion in the portfolio, with advice and support from the Centre of Excellence. Subsequently the Centre of Excellence reports on progress against plans, so that the management board can make informed decisions about the portfolio. The Centre of Excellence assesses new and existing programmes and projects in the light of Board decisions, considering them in relationship to: strategic fit – how well each initiative supports corporate objectives ‘achievability’ – the likelihood of achieving success with the organisation’s current capability and capacity ‘affordability’ – whether it can be done with available resources compliance with the agreed scope – matches the criteria for success and not drifting from the agreed scope. All major programmes and projects should be included in the Board’s portfolio, which will need to be revisited at regular intervals by the Board with advice from the Centre of Excellence. Reshaping the portfolio will depend on: current capability and capacity to deliver programmes and projects within the portfolio strategic plans and policy imperatives possible trade-offs in the areas of benefits, risks, achievability, and scope
current commitments externally with partners and internally to existing service levels and operations.
Selecting programmes and projects •
Step 1: Determine what needs to be done to meet the organisation’s strategic outcomes and which programmes and projects are required.
•
Step 2: Ascertain what is already in place and where new programmes and projects will fit in.
•
Step 3: Identify a set of consolidated and coordinated business related programmes and projects – this is the basis for selecting the portfolio.
•
Step 4: Investigate the business case for each proposed programme and project. Is it worth doing? Determine the contribution to strategic objectives; benefits; added value. Is it achievable and do stakeholders support it?
•
Step 5: Check the programme/project’s fit within the portfolio and corporate priorities – even though it is worth doing, there may be higher priorities.
•
Step 6: Confirm that the programme or project should go ahead; if so, it will form part of the agreed portfolio. Ensure that the delivery approach has been thought through and that the team’s competencies match the initiative.
11
•
Step 7: Revisit individual programmes and projects at key decision points. Has the strategy changed? Are priorities different? Are resources no longer available? What should be done if a project is out of control? What would be the impact of redeploying resources to support failing projects?
Ongoing management of the portfolio •
Track the portfolio’s performance and progress against key outcomes.
•
Take prompt corrective action when required.
•
Make hard choices when needed – reprioritise, defer or stop projects.
•
Check monthly on the mission-critical projects
•
Monitor the organisation’s total exposure to risk.
•
Look to the future - plan for known changes and forecast the future demands on resources.
For advice on setting up a portfolio, see the OGC document “Portfolio Management” ‘Building a portfolio management function – an illustrative framework’ on page 6. Figure 4 shows in outline the processes involved in establishing and managing the organisation’s portfolio of programmes and projects.
Figure 4: Managing the portfolio
12
Mission critical and High risk programmes and projects All the major programmes and projects in the organisation’s portfolio should be categorised as Mission Critical, Highly Desirable or Desirable, to help identify the priorities for delivery. •
Mission Critical programmes or projects are essential to the successful delivery of a major legislative requirement, a PSA target or a major policy initiative announced and owned by the Prime Minister or a Cabinet Minister. They are also Mission Critical if, in the event of project failure, there are catastrophic implications for delivery of a key public service, national security or the internal operation of a public sector operation.
•
Highly Desirable programmes or projects are important (but not essential) for major initiatives as above; or they are essential to the successful delivery of a minor legislative requirement, a high profile (but not PSA) target or other government policy initiatives. Alternatively, if they fail, there are serious (but not catastrophic) implications for major initiatives and/or catastrophic implications for the delivery of non-key public services or the realisation of significant business benefits.
•
Desirable programmes or projects are all those that do not meet the Mission Critical or Highly Desirable criteria, but remain important to the sponsoring department.
Additional factors to consider when planning the portfolio are: • whether the initiative is a major project: strategically important and/or major business or technical change issues, and/or requiring significant delivery capability •
whether the initiative is inherently high risk: where there is radical change, complexity or innovation, uncertainty of outcome, large scale, and sensitivity if the project fails or multiple partners/delivery agents are involved.
13
Programme management The aim of programmes is to achieve the desired outcome and realise the expected benefits. Programme management coordinates, directs and implements a related set of projects. It is not always clear whether to deliver an initiative as a programme or project; the table below provides some pointers. Further detailed guidance on programme and project management topics is available on the OGC website: www.ogc.gov.uk/
Programme or Project? Programme
Project
Focus on effective achievement of outcomes
Focus on efficient delivery of outputs
Vision of intended end-state but may not have clear path to get there
Definite start and end point; clear path for delivery
Long timescale
Typically short timescale
Many aspects uncertain at outset
All aspects clearly defined and understood
Large scale and/or complex and/or uncertain, with Short term and very clearly defined? a long time frame? Should be rescoped as a set Should be managed as a project of coordinated projects and managed as a programme
Programme organisation and governance One of the greatest challenges in running a programme is to reconcile project objectives and accountability with overall programme goals and programme-level consistency and control. Figure 5 shows the relationships between the main roles within an individual programme – the sponsoring group (commissioning the programme), the programme’s owner (leading and directing), the programme manager (leading the programme team), the business change manager (making the change happen according to plan) and the programme office (coordinating activities and information). Programme organisation defines the key roles and responsibilities in a way that is clearly understood by everyone involved, with common standards for aggregated reporting from projects. There must be a programme-wide view of risk and issue management, benefits realisation and stakeholder engagement.
14
Figure 5: Basic programme organisation
Governance Roles Programme governance (see Figure 6) is tailored to the requirements of a specific programme, taking account of: •
the relationship between the outcomes the programme is seeking to deliver
•
the existing large management architectures and accountability lines
•
the relationship required with project organisations – there must be clear reporting lines from the individual projects, through a project board if required
•
whether responsibilities need to be assigned to more than one individual (large-scale programmes) or combined (smaller organisations and/or smaller programmes)
•
managing cross-organisational roles, where several organisations are working in partnership
•
whether a formal programme board is needed, in which case the programme owner would chair the board as its executive, and key stakeholders take the role of programme board members.
15
Figure 6: Governance roles
A well-managed programme has: •
clearly defined outcomes, appropriate scope and understanding about what success will mean
•
stakeholder commitment throughout the life of the programme
•
senior management commitment and leadership
•
governance arrangements that work - across all parties involved in delivery
•
active management of outcomes and risks.
It is important to note that a large project may have its own project office; the relationship between this office and any programme office and the Centre of Excellence must be clearly defined.
16
Project management Introduction The organisation must adopt a good project management method to guide every project through a controlled, well managed, visible set of activities to achieve the desired results. Adopting the principles of good project management will help the organisation avoid the most common project failures; these principles are: • a project is a finite process with a defined start and end •
projects always need to be managed in order to be successful
•
for genuine commitment to the project, all parties must be clear about why the project is needed, what it is intended to achieve, how the outcome is to be achieved, and what their responsibilities are in that achievement.
The Centre of Excellence is responsible for ensuring that all projects in the organisation are run according to these principles, and for embedding a project management method in the organisation.
Dealing with high risk projects These approaches help you to reduce risk by breaking delivery down into manageable components or ‘tranches’: •
pilots or prototypes, to test on a small scale whether the proposed option would work in practice – but large enough to mimic the real thing
•
modules – a distinct part of the programme/ project that delivers some benefit even if the other parts of the programme/ project are not complete (e.g. providing one component of the planned service and adding others later)
•
increments – delivery in phases rather than a ‘big bang’, allowing evolutionary development and/ or implementation of the overall change (e.g. fully operational to one region rather than nationwide).
Project management functions As an integral part of the project management approach, a project manager will need to address a number of project management functions to ensure the success of the project. The sections below outline the requirements of several key PPM functions: • Risk management • Quality management • Business Case management • Benefits management • Requirements management • Stakeholder management and communications Further details on these and other PPM topics are available on the OGC website: www.ogc.gov.uk/
17
Risk management Programme level risk management Typical risks at the programme level are associated with acquisition, funding, organisational and cultural issues, projects, security, safety, quality and business continuity. Project and operational risks should be escalated to the programme level against set criteria where they exceed agreed tolerances, such as an unacceptable exposure to risk, if they fall outside certain limits, or if they could affect programme objectives. Before initiating any programme or major project, the organisation should make a realistic assessment of its readiness to cope with complex change. These questions provide an indicator of the issues that should be probed: •
is there a clear direction set out in the business strategy?
•
is there ongoing alignment to the strategy?
•
are roles and responsibilities understood and accepted by top management?
•
is there access to the right skills and capabilities?
•
is there learning from experience in managing change?
•
is there a framework for managing risk?
If these preconditions for success are not met, any programme or project is at high risk. These questions should be revisited at each significant decision point in a programme or major project. Risk management at this level should be applied where: •
the information about risk can influence the programme most effectively, such as where critical decisions are to be taken
•
decisions being taken at the strategic level require programme risk information
•
programme objectives are, or will be, influenced by changes to strategic objectives and vice versa
•
the business case for the programme or associated projects is being revised or reviewed
•
there is a requirement for a Gateway Review.
The risk analyses will need to be conducted at two levels: •
considering projects as individual elements of strategy implementation
•
considering all the projects that make up a programme as representing a single entity.
Where appropriate, decisions about risk at this level form an important part of the business case.
18
Project level risk management Risks at the project level typically include personal, technical, cost, schedule, resource, operational support, quality, and supplier failure issues. Operational issues will also need to be considered where they are relevant to the outcomes of the project. Strategic and programme related risks should be communicated to this level where they could affect project objectives. Risks relating to individual projects should be communicated to other projects and operations where appropriate. A mature approach to risk management will show that •
Risks are identified and logged in risk registers with ownership at an appropriate level within the organisation
•
Risks are analysed and monitored in terms of probability, impact and dependencies
•
Risks are proactively managed at the most appropriate level within the organisation and escalation mechanisms are clear and effective
•
Risk reporting is open and honest to ensure that the benefits of early warning are realised.
Quality Management The approach to Quality management should ensure that: •
Quality controls, such as walkthroughs and design reviews, are used as appropriate, and provide early indication of non-conformity with stated quality criteria. Design Quality Indicators are used for construction projects.
•
Stakeholders are engaged and committed to quality criteria and to reviewing deliverables against them. Design Champions are appointed for construction projects.
•
Appropriate change control and configuration management processes are in place and are used to maintain programme/project documentation and deliverables.
Business Case management The approach to Business Case management should ensure that: •
Robust business cases are produced for all significant programmes and projects and cover strategic fit with the organisation’s objectives, achievability, affordability, value for money and an appraisal of options.
•
Business cases are maintained throughout the life of programmes and projects and are reviewed at each key decision stage.
19
Benefits management The approach to Benefits management should ensure that: •
Expected benefits are identified and fully defined, including attributes, measures, owners and risks.
•
Benefits realisation plans are in place and actively monitored for all programmes
•
Programme owners are demonstrably accountable for delivery of benefits.
Requirements management The approach to Requirements management should ensure that: •
Requirements are defined, prioritised and baselined following agreement between all key stakeholders.
•
Programme outcomes/project outputs are modelled to gain clarity and are formally verified against the agreed requirements.
•
There is a clear process for baselining requirements and managing changes to them.
Stakeholder management and communications The approach to Stakeholder management should ensure that: •
Programmes and projects have communications plans in place and stakeholder management strategies have been developed and implemented.
•
Key stakeholders are engaged in the development of the policy and business case and their interests are regularly assessed during the lifecycle of the programme/project.
Gateway reviews The OGC Gateway Process examines programmes and projects at key decision points in their lifecycle. It looks ahead to provide assurance that they can progress successfully to the next stage. Programme Reviews are carried out under OGC Gateway Review 0: Strategic Assessment. A programme will generally undergo three or more OGC Gateway Reviews 0: an early Review; one or more Reviews at key decision points during the course of the programme, and a final Review at the conclusion of the programme. Project Reviews are carried out under OGC Gateway Reviews 1 - 5; typically a project will undergo all five of these Reviews during its lifecycle – three before commitment to invest, and two looking at service implementation and confirmation of the operational benefits. Project Reviews may be repeated as necessary depending on the size, scope and complexity of the project. Each of these Reviews is described in the appropriate Workbook; all Workbooks are available on the OGC website: www.ogc.gov.uk/
Section C 20
Organisation and standards
Overview This section describes different organisation models for a Centre of Excellence, with advice on setting up a Centre of Excellence. It also includes notes on appropriate processes and standards.
Organisation models There are a variety of corporate management models in existence and no one size PPM Centre of Excellence will fit all. To be effective the Centre of Excellence must align itself with the existing model, understanding the relationship between various elements, and position itself to maximise the benefits of shared information and influence. Three options for organising the Centre of Excellence are widely used in the public sector. Other variations on these models may be equally appropriate, so long as they enable a coordinated approach to delivery across the organisation. The main options are: •
a ‘physical’ group, which is a discrete group comprised of individuals with the required skills and competencies to run the Centre of Excellence
•
a ‘virtual’ group, which has a core team but draws upon specific skills and competencies from across the organisation to fulfil the requirements for a Centre of Excellence
•
a ‘federated’ group, which resembles a ‘hub and spoke’ structure and can be either physical or virtual, or a combination of both. This type of structure is usually more suited to an organisation that has a diverse range of activities and ‘satellite’ operations such as Executive Agencies and non-departmental public bodies.
The governance arrangements described throughout this Pocket guide would be effective with each of these models. However, the ‘virtual’ model would need to accommodate a combination of matrix management and line management. The ‘federated’ model would require a steering committee with representatives from the ‘hub’ and each of the ‘satellites’ to ensure collective buy-in.
21
Setting up a Centre of Excellence The requirement The Centre of Excellence is a co-ordinating function providing strategic oversight, scrutiny and challenge across the organisation’s portfolio of programmes and projects. Success in fulfilling this role depends upon the Centre of Excellence function being appropriately embedded in all business areas. Figure 7 shows the main functions involved in embedding the COE in the organisation, and the roles of the COE and the Management Board. Embed COE Functions
C O E
Adopting Portfolio Management
Embedding Key Practices
Improving Capability & Skills
Improvement ImprovementPlans Plans
B O A R D
Inform Wider Corporate Improvement Strategic Management
Figure 7: Embedding the COE functions and improvement plans
Good practice •
Mandate from the management board: while there is no single, predetermined structure for an effective Centre of Excellence, there should be clear responsibility and accountability for the performance of Centre of Excellence functions.
•
Resources to match the Centre of Excellence functions: irrespective of the organisational structure, there should be a named individual responsible for overseeing the deployment of the recognised Centre of Excellence core functions and sufficient resources to carry these functions effectively.
•
Communication plan: the Centre of Excellence should identify key contacts and establish good working relationships. This will enable it to gather the necessary information, communicate and report effectively.
•
Measurement for the Centre of Excellence’s value to the organisation: the Centre of Excellence should develop and implement measurement processes to assess the value to the organisation of its services, and determine what impact it is making on the organisation’s delivery capability.
22
Phase 1 of setting up a Centre of Excellence involves: •
obtaining the capability to introduce the new function (resources could ultimately be absorbed into operational functions) and producing recommendations for resourcing the function over the long term across the whole organisation (and partners, where applicable)
•
gaining management board control of the organisation’s portfolio of programmes and projects (a baseline portfolio related to key initiatives)
•
developing the arrangements for reporting to the management board, to enable effective overview and management of the portfolio
•
developing a formal approvals process for selecting programmes and projects for inclusion in the portfolio, including their ongoing scrutiny
•
developing a quality assurance process to ensure successful delivery
•
adopting an internal and external Gateway process to ensure successful delivery.
Phase 2 involves: •
running and improving the new systems across the whole organisation
•
developing a process for assessing the organisation’s current capability and capacity to deliver the portfolio
•
developing a process for assessing the overall capability and capacity of programme and project teams, matched to the needs of specific initiatives
•
developing a programme and project manager ‘Passport Scheme’ to ensure the matching of individuals’ skills and experience to the complexity of the project
•
developing a programme and project management (PPM) specialism and supporting HR policies to improve the organisation’s capability and capacity, and reduce the need for external consultants
•
identifying and developing training programmes that are good value for money.
Governance The principles of governance need to be applied consistently at portfolio, programme and project level. The main factors for effective governance are outlined below. •
The management board is ultimately accountable for ensuring that programmes and projects achieve the required outcomes.
•
Membership of the board includes those with a track record of successful delivery.
•
Levels of accountability are clearly defined and ownership agreed throughout the delivery chain.
•
Programmes are initiated on a sound basis, aligned with strategic objectives, have clearly defined outcomes, delivery strategy and governance arrangements.
•
Governance structures for cross-cutting initiatives take account of cultural fit and practices across organisational boundaries.
•
Common standards for reporting are consistently applied – with different partners, different programmes and different projects.
•
The right things are measured across the work streams and managed by exception.
23
Management information and reporting The COE should ensure that senior management are regularly informed of the progress of programmes and projects. The reporting will typically include: •
Highlight reports on major projects – progress against plans.
•
Consolidated reporting on key programme and project risks (high level risk register with ‘traffic lights’).
•
Key information about current procurements.
•
Highlight reports on major suppliers’ performance.
•
Balanced Scorecard reports (showing progress against key targets and providing commentary).
•
Current match of capability against commitments.
Recommended data set for programme and project reporting Static information Programme/project title Names of key personnel, for example, SRO, Project Manager PSA or corporate objective this is contributing to Priority level, for example Mission Critical, Highly Desirable, Desirable Overall level of risk Key milestones with indicative dates Key partners involved in delivery chain Dependencies between this and other programmes/projects Original budget or overall value in terms of whole life costs Impact of not delivering the programme / project
Regularly updated information
Lifecycle stage, for example, start-up, initiation, development, etc or Gate 0, 1, 2, etc Assessment of current status and likely success, using Red/Amber/Green or similar indicator, including for example, progress against planned milestones, assessment of “on time, within budget, to specification” performance
24
Processes and standards: what you need to have in place You need to have processes and standards for: •
strategy formulation and management: a clear statement of strategic direction to which every programme and project contributes – without this you cannot define project scope and will be unable to meet business need
•
business case development: structured thinking and decision-making to justify investment against strategic fit, achievability, affordability, and a wide range of options and commercial aspects. If there is no business case or it is inadequate, you will not be able to judge whether the project is worth doing and can be delivered
•
requirements development: a thorough investigation of the business need, including the needs of key stakeholders and end-users, translated into a specification that can be met by suppliers. Inadequate requirements development leads to the wrong project deliverables
•
programme management: managing stakeholder needs and the delivery of a coordinated set of projects, which ensures that the right governance arrangements are in place and critical relationships between projects are managed
•
project management: providing a framework for decision making and reporting on project progress to ensure that the project meets the specification, is on time and within budget
•
procurement: enables acquisition within EU procurement rules; if not done well, value for money will not be achieved and the organisation may be in breach of EU rules
•
contract and supplier management: provides the foundation for operational service delivery and relationships with suppliers; weak contract management and/or the wrong supplier relationship is a persistent theme in NAO investigations
•
risk management: enables all the major risks to be identified and managed; without effective risk management the project cannot be controlled
•
benefits management: provides a framework for realising the benefits on which the investment was justified; without active management, benefits cannot be achieved and value for money is lost
•
performance management: sets targets for performance and continuous improvement; it is essential as the means of measuring performance against targets and taking action to improve.
How to use best practice Best practice is described in generic terms, so that people can adapt it to their own circumstances. Adopt the principles as a corporate standard, tailoring them to fit with what already works in your organisation. In particular, you will need to determine common standards for reporting on risk and performance. Apply these standards consistently to individual programmes and projects. Make sure there is a way of capturing lessons learned so that success can be repeated and you can steadily improve your organisation’s programme/project management.
25
Learning lessons and improving A mature approach to continuous process improvement has: •
process development and improvement activities that are coordinated effectively across the organisation
•
processes that are in place to release and embed methods, techniques and tools into standard but continuously improving processes
•
“lessons learnt” processes that are in place within the organisation – for collection of lessons and dissemination of best practice.
Section D 26
Improving Capability
Overview This section outlines the characteristics of a mature Centre of Excellence and provides some criteria for developing targets for improvement plans.
What does maturity look like? A mature Centre of Excellence forms part of the organisation’s strategic core and provides oversight, scrutiny and challenge across the organisation’s delivery portfolio of programmes and projects. It is led by a senior manager. The Centre of Excellence is organisationally close to the management board and supports business management and the delivery of key targets. The following are essential characteristics of a mature Centre of Excellence: •
the Centre of Excellence drives the scrutiny and challenge of the organisation’s portfolio
•
the head of the Centre of Excellence has sufficient credibility, authority, capacity and skills to influence and drive change across the organisation
•
the Centre of Excellence provides expert support and advice to programmes and projects, e.g. coaching and mentoring of programme/project owners and programme managers, facilitation of programme initiation workshops, advice on application of best practice
•
the Centre of Excellence has a robust reporting process that provides the management board with timely and accurate information on its portfolio and overall improvement progress
•
the Centre of Excellence, in conjunction with internal audit and internal review functions, has a strategy and programme of work to provide an assurance framework (including Gateway Reviews and internal audit reviews) for the organisation’s programmes and projects
•
the Centre of Excellence has effective mechanisms in place to assess the value of its work and to determine priorities for improvement plans
•
the Centre of Excellence coordinates and improves the management of Risk across the organisation
•
the Centre of Excellence undertakes work to support PPM skills/resource planning.
•
the Centre of Excellence challenges projects and programmes that are not performing the activities that normally lead to successful delivery.
The following pages highlight essential characteristics of a mature Centre of Excellence. Recommended good practice is summarised in each of these sections, as a basis for assessing evidence that the Centre of Excellence is working well.
27
Organisational learning The requirement Management boards will want to ensure that programme and project management (PPM) approaches are repeatable and applied appropriately. If every project is managed differently it is difficult to transfer lessons learnt to other projects. If the approach to PPM cannot be repeated it cannot be improved.
Good practice •
Monitoring use of corporate guidance and standards: the Centre of Excellence develops, disseminates and promotes appropriate corporate PPM standards, methods, techniques and tools. These should build on existing good practice used within the organisation and with partners. The Centre of Excellence monitors the application of PPM good practice across the organisation to identify weaknesses and take corrective action as appropriate.
•
Analysing feedback from reviews: the Centre of Excellence evaluates reports from major reviews such as OGC Gateway Review reports, Post Implementation Reports and Post-Evaluation Reports, as well as other review documentation and recommendations. It establishes the root causes of persistent problems or process issues and triggers action for improvement.
•
Providing appropriate skills and resources: the Centre of Excellence has the knowledge and expertise to be of direct assistance to programmes and projects and to help them understand and make use of best practice.
•
Capturing and reporting on key PPM developments: the Centre of Excellence is a champion for continuous improvement and is aware of emerging good practice in PPM.
•
Driving improvement: the Centre of Excellence ensures that the results of its analyses and monitoring work feed into the promulgation of lessons learned and the improvement of guidance and standards.
28
Improving programme and project management capability, skills and capacity The requirement The Centre of Excellence should support and be involved with collection of information on the organisation’s PPM capability and capacity. Results should be fed into corporate planning, training, development and recruitment activities to ensure sufficient capacity and capability in PPM resources.
Good practice •
Assessing and monitoring availability and capacity of PPM: skill levels are defined within a number of standards and are typically assessed through NVQ-type assessments. The Centre of Excellence understands the implications this has for the organisation’s capacity to deliver change.
•
Defining requirements to meet the delivery challenge: capacity considerations are centred around the number of people available to carry out a specific role or task, such as the number of programme managers available at a specific point in time. Gap analysis is used to indicate the shortfalls in specific areas with respect to particular skills and competencies. The management board takes the availability of appropriate levels of PPM skills into account when managing its portfolio.
•
Balancing supply and demand for Gateway reviewers or equivalents; planning for medium risk reviews (central civil government): this is a key prerequisite to the delegation of medium risk OGC Gateway Reviews and provides a reliable indicator of the extent of PPM skills within the organisation.
•
Defining a process for selection and appointment of key PPM roles: key PPM staff have the appropriate level of expertise matched to the complexity of the programme/project and skills mix of others in the PPM team.
•
Strategy for developing/acquiring skills and competencies: up-to-date information about current capacity and forecast need for PPM skills is used to inform the strategy for resourcing the Centre of Excellence. The strategy achieves an appropriate balance in growing internal skills and competencies and acquiring specific skills and competencies from the marketplace.
A mature approach to programme and project management •
Programmes are owned at the correct level with skills and experience matched to the scale and complexity of the programme.
•
A programme owner is appointed for each programme with overall accountability for ensuring that the programme delivers its expected outcomes.
•
Interdependencies between programmes and projects are measured and managed – within and between organisations.
•
Projects have outputs with clearly defined success criteria that are linked to business objectives.
29
Governance and Portfolio management The requirement Governance is the process of controlling programmes and projects through a coordinated framework of reporting and management action. Portfolio management is the corporate process for co-ordinating programmes and projects; it is the responsibility of the management board. The Centre of Excellence should be empowered by the board to actively support them in managing their delivery portfolio.
Good practice •
Defined and operational governance standards: these include reporting and information requirements, financial management standards and processes, roles and responsibilities, accountability / escalation routes and procedures for programme and project start-up.
•
Information to support board-level scrutiny of programmes and projects: a reporting process provides the management board with timely and accurate information on the portfolio and overall improvement in progress.
•
Portfolio scope: the Centre of Excellence, in conjunction with the department's management board, formally agrees the scope of the programmes and projects that are of interest to the management board. The agreement should be based on a clearly defined initial scope and a realistic timetable showing when the scope will be extended to cover all programmes and projects (regardless of type) for which the organisation is accountable.
•
Tracking progress against key targets and outcomes: there is timely and accurate input to management board meetings in the form of status reports, risks, dependencies, issues for action, lessons learned analyses, ‘what if’ analyses and forward looks to facilitate decision making.
•
Constructive challenge of programmes and projects: potential changes to the portfolio are scrutinised; possible over-commitment is identified early and mitigation or contingency arrangements considered.
•
Scrutiny of programme and project achievement: this forms the basis of recommendations and advice on problem areas requiring management attention.
•
Monitoring and controlling programme and project performance: appropriate measures of success are defined and captured, with corrective action as required.
•
Gateway (or equivalent) reviews: these are fully established for all categories of programmes and projects.
30
Setting targets for improved delivery Performance targets set the context for improvement plans. The management board should set targets for programme and project delivery, based on the organisation’s current track record for success and the areas where it needs to improve. Performance measures for delivery should be linked to a wider set of measures that are important to the organisation, relating to key outcomes such as PSA targets. In setting targets for improving programme/project delivery, the management board needs to understand: •
the current commitment (that is, all the current and proposed programmes and projects for which the board is accountable)
•
how many projects really are essential
•
the organisation’s current track record for delivery (that is, how well or badly it manages programmes and projects)
•
priorities for improving that track record.
The objectives in setting performance targets should be to: •
improve the success rate of individual programmes and projects (the right projects managed in the right way – that is, delivering value; on time and within budget)
•
follow standard practices for managing programmes and projects (consistent ways of doing things, tackling the persistent problems, learning from experience and improving)
•
remove commitments that are beyond the organisation’s current capability and capacity
•
ensure that only those programmes or projects with a clear linkage to strategic objectives are approved.
Further Information For further information contact OGC Service Desk on 0845 000 4999
About OGC OGC - the UK Office of Government Commerce is an Office of HM Treasury. The OGC logo is a registered trademark of the Office of Government Commerce. OGC Service Desk OGC customers can contact the central OGC Service Desk about all aspects of OGC business. The Service Desk will also channel queries to the appropriate second-line support. We look forward to hearing from you. You can contact the Service Desk 8am - 6pm Monday to Friday T: 0845 000 4999 E: [email protected] W: www.ogc.gov.uk Press enquiries T: 020 7271 1318 F: 020 7271 1345
Office of Government Commerce, Trevelyan House, 26 – 30 Great Peter Street, London SW1P 2BY Service Desk: 0845 000 4999 E: [email protected] W: www.ogc.gov.uk
This document is printed on material comprising 80 per cent post consumer waste and 20 per cent ECF pulp. © Crown Copyright 2006