Utility Consultancy Case Study - PM OnLine Sparks Best Practice - A Consultancy Case Study

“After internal and external reviews, it was obvious that there was a lack of a constantly applied project management methodology, leading to duplication of effort and extra costs as well as increasing the risk of failure in projects.” Information Systems Manager.

The Challenge

Whilst this major utility had a good history of project management there were a number of inconsistencies in the approaches used, particularly in the creation of appropriate documentation. There was also a level of uncertainty about the specific roles and responsibilities of the project team and board members.

Steria’s Response

Our professional consultants helped identify the strengths and weaknesses of different PM practices in use across the organisation. Based on this analysis a decision was made to adopt a standard methodology, as this was close to many of the approaches being used. To ensure clarity around methodology the client chose to implement a programme of work, which included an 'online' project management handbook, project management training, skills profiling, and the establishment of a Programme Management Office. The delivered solution was published on the client’s intranet as an online handbook and standard project management templates. The handbook was named PM OnLine. The methodology chosen by the client was PRINCE2, the online version of which was incorporated into PM OnLine, along with a road map on the front page to aid navigation. Steria Consultancy support led to greater understanding and clarity of roles and responsibilities and therefore improved participation in projects. Additional benefits were more confidence in project delivery, assurance that projects are being conducted in the right way, improved focus on quality. The central, accessible repository for information and knowledge gave the organisation the ability to share knowledge and provide corporate consistency on projects by the use of standard process, forms & templates. This also improved communication by making the circulation of highlight reports and links on emails which is applicable to the full range of projects undertaken by the client.

The Outcome

“Most importantly, a noticeable improvement has occurred in delivering projects to cost, time & quality, and the ability to pull together the ‘big picture’ of all projects.”

Consultancy Services

Steria's range of Consultancy services makes a lasting difference to our clients. Change is only effective when it has direction. Change is not straightforward. Only through thorough analysis, assessment and planning can the change process hope to meet its objectives. When providing consultancy services we know that it is important for organisations to address both internal and external factors as well as getting employees to own and commit to the change process. Steria realises that barriers to change may exist in a business due to culture or technology. To combat these factors, we emphasise the promotion of understanding, ownership and commitment to the change process by our clients' employees. Real value is delivered through the transfer of our capabilities to clients and their staff resulting in a lasting performance improvement. Examples of our range of services include:

• Coaching and Mentoring
• Interim Resourcing
• Health Checks

Coaching & Mentoring

A specialist range of coaching and mentoring services are available through one-to-one, telephone and on-line support methods. Our programmes cover all roles from the Chief Executive, through to Programme and Project Managers, Project Support Officers, Operations Managers and Service Managers. Coaching is also available for examination preparation and post examination support Interim Resourcing Our consultants have a long history of providing interim resources to support clients in a number of programme, project and service management roles.

Health Checks

Best practice will always call for some form of project review. Many organisations used to limit these to 'Post Implementation Reviews'. All too often these degenerated into witch-hunts, despite frequent claims to the contrary. There is nothing wrong with the concept of a post implementation review. Ideally, it should be the last of several reviews. By undertaking reviews during the life of the project, it is possible to apply any learning towards improving the outcome of the project, rather than 'learning valuable lessons from the failure of the project'. These are health checks, as they are geared towards detecting problems, and taking corrective action. The number of health checks and the scope of them will depend on a number of variables including the following project attributes:

• Size
• Criticality
• Nature / functions
• Duration
• Budget

At the very least, health checks determine if the project is complying with standards and procedures including the project methodology. They can also compare projects to 'best practice' or 'common practice' and look for common problems. Health checks need to be done by experienced people who are conversant with current project management techniques. Their experience will be essential in looking for common project problems, and working within standard methodologies. We suggest using staff from your project office, project managers who are not currently assigned, or specialist consultants such as Steria. For more information call 02380 646700

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