Avoiding IT Programme Failure
IT's Achilles' Heal - IT programmes continue to grow in scale, to increase in complexity and to have a higher cost of failure. Inappropriate programme structure and management approaches create an Achilles' Heal for both suppliers and clients. Many programmes suffer because only some parts of the work are really understood; key elements are not recognised until it is too late. Even for work that is identified there is often a lack adequate coherent planning at the right level of detail and hence predictable outcomes are rare. Critically both technical and delivery risk management are often ignored or covered by a fig leaf. The results? Delays, cost escalation and potentially programme failure.
A Better Discipline - A different discipline is required to improve success rates. A move from uniform and generally high level programme management practices to a practice where the nature and granularity of governance reflects the importance of an area to the programme. The entire programme approach is analysed, planned and risk managed systematically and rigorously. The level of detail and prescription varying with the importance of the area and the confidence in successful delivery. Similarly diverse levels of rigour are applied to monitoring, forward forecasting and intervention during execution. The aim is enough but not too much control. With this approach difficult and important elements get experienced preventative intervention before they can become problems rather than detailed costly firefighting once a crisis has developed.
Our Services - Gain access to people who have led some of the UK's highest intensity most complex IT programmes to apply these practices on specific programmes and to obtain consultancy and support to aid wider adoption. Whether a mature delivery function, a start-up or a one off project we can work with your teams to reduce risk. We can help scope programmes, shape delivery approaches and build in effective technical and delivery risk management as a bedrock of the plan. During programme execution we can monitor, analyse and provide oversight to ensure effective direction and, when necessary, timely intervention. Our multidisciplinary experience and record of shaping difficult delivery exercises, providing hybrid technical/managerial leadership and of fixing broken programmes provides a unique insight that underpin this service.
Further information - To understand why we are confident in our abilities to deliver major benefits click here and learn about our capabilities, the team and their track record leading large scale critical IT programmes.
