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Meaningful Program Management

The prime responsibility of a Program Management Office (PMO) is not to maintain a huge, and often cumbersome, consolidated project plan.  A PMO should always be able to provide confident and truthful responses to the following questions:[i]

  1. Are we doing the right things?
  2. Are we doing them the right way?
  3. Are we getting them done well?
  4. Are we getting the benefits?

If the PMO cannot answer these questions with supporting `quantitative evidence then their value to the initiative is severely diminished.  It has always been true that “if you can’t measure it, then you can’t manage it”

A.    Are we doing the right things?

This question considers alignment of business and Information Technology:

  • Is our Information Technology Program aligned with the direction the business is taking?
  • Considering alignment of business with IT objectives, are we heading towards well-defined common goals? These would typically be:
    • Operational efficiency
    • Operational and tactical effectiveness
    • Strategic effectiveness and positioning
  • Are we investing intelligently?
  • Are we proactively managing inherent risk?
  • Will we be contributing to our organisation’s vision and mission?

There are a number of techniques and tools available that can be used to manage these issues.

B.    Are we doing them the right way?

Having decided on what has to happen within a Program, it is necessary to ensure that we are doing the correct activities to support them, we must be able to provide positive answers to:

  • Will the work comply with all necessary statutory, technical and quality standards?
  • Will it reinforce other work being undertaken?
  • Do all the elements of the investment blend well together; these are; business, technology, organisation, process and people?

C.   Are we getting them done well?

The emphasis has to be on ‘well’:

  • Have we identified all the work?
  • Have all the players accepted the responsibility for their part in the work?
  • Are there sound delivery plans?
  • Do we have proactive vendor management or are we letting the vendors manage us?
  • Is progress being tracked using an earned value approach?
  • Is the project work achievable with the planned resources?
  • Are we holding objective, transparent and honest decision-gates and not just ‘kicking the can down the road’?
  • Will there be adequate quality assurance?
  • Can all the ‘soft’ organisation, people and process initiatives be completed in time to take full advantage of technology changes?

D.   Are we getting the benefits?

This includes ‘human’ aspects of business transformation, these are often the most challenging of all:

  • Do the prospective benefits justify the costs?
  • How certain are we about the estimates of benefits?
  • Is there broad acceptance for the program?
  • Have all aspects of organisational readiness been considered?
  • Is there a solid business sponsor, ready, willing and able to proactively support delivery of the benefits?
  • How much the estimates could be affected by factors outside of your organisation?

 

[i] The Information Paradox ©John Thorp 1998