ARCHIVED - Management of Large Public IT Projects - Canada

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3.2 Organization/Project-level Lessons Learned

They are presented roughly in chronological order as they apply during the life of an IT project.

Business alignment

• The alignment of the objectives of a project with business goals should be expressed in the form of a business case, which supports the investment decision. The business case puts the investment decision in a strategic context. It provides the information necessary to make a decision about whether a project should proceed. It provides an analysis of all the costs, benefits and risks associated with a proposed investment, and with the reasonable alternatives to the proposed investment.

Senior management commitment and involvement

• Involvement and commitment of senior program/business management to a large IT initiative at an early stage is essential;
• A "project sponsor" should be identified, who is typically a senior official responsible for the business function the project will support. An effective project sponsor ensures that the organization understands the value and importance of the project, and is ultimately responsible for realising the expected benefits of the project.
• Solid senior management support is demonstrated through the provision of adequate financial and human resources, and active participation in project governance.

Project governance

• Project governance should reflect the complexity of the challenge, and change as the project commences. Typically it will start with a senior management committee. From then on governance should shift structure and focus to meet the program's evolving needs, from consultation, inclusiveness and dialogue, to the practicalities of implementation.

Project Management Office (PMO)

• The creation and use of a Project Management Office (PMO) significantly improves chances of success in the project endeavour. The PMO's role is to facilitate co-ordinate and monitor on-going activities.
• A central PMO in an organization can manage portfolios of projects, provide effective project oversight, and act as a source of expertise and support to individual projects.

Project planning

• A Project Charter should be the first step in project planning, once the business case has been developed and the investment decision taken. The Project Charter is an agreement between the technical groups providing the product or service, and the business organization requesting and receiving the project deliverable.
• The Project Charter is a tool to obtain commitment from all affected groups and individuals within a specific project, and also a communication vehicle that can be referenced throughout the project. It acts as a quick reference and overview of what the project is about, why it is being conducted, who is involved and in what capacity, and the general approach and timeline that exists for the project.
• Project planning should include top down and bottom up schedule and cost estimation, based on a detailed work breakdown structure. Detailed project planning will provide clear definition and documentation of the project. It will encompass management structures, monitoring mechanisms, comprehensive and timely procurement plans, logistics and communications planning.
• Careful scope planning, analysis and resolution are necessary to meet project schedules and deliver cost-beneficial user functionality while avoiding "scope creep".

Project resources

• The responsibility for day-to-day management of a project can effectively be shared between in-house and contracted resources. Core project management responsibilities and functions should not be outsourced. An internal manager provides essential knowledge about the organization, its key players and management processes, program functions and requirements, while outside consultants offer technical and functional expertise in developing and implementing systems.
• To be successful a project requires adequate resources of funding, trained staff and facilities available as identified in the project schedule. This requires considerable attention to resource acquisition and planning early in the project life.
• The right mix of resources will involve program and information systems staff. The team should ideally include experienced and knowledgeable departmental staff from both the program and systems disciplines. If outside technical resources are needed, they should be used strategically to supplement staff skills. A requirement for technology transfer from contractors to in-house staff should be agreed from the start.
• Including systems management, design and architecture staff very early in the analysis of business processes and development of user requirements gives them a better understanding of business needs.

Risk management approach

• A risk-based process has been found very effective for determining departmental priorities and identifying mission critical functions.
• The chances of project success are measurably improved if risk management techniques are performed on a continuous basis throughout the project. Formal risk assessments at key points during the development life cycle can identify potential problem areas and suggest corrective action to be taken before the problems occur.
• Risk management for a project can start at the business case stage, with a review of the options for achieving the required business objective, including an assessment of the risks associated with each option.
• A risk assessment performed early in the development process can identify exposures against which contingency plans can be prepared, including "off-ramps" and alternative delivery strategies.

Phased approach

• The recommended approach to the implementation of long-term information technology strategies is through small, manageable components, each of which provides an improved capability (efficiency and/or effectiveness) to the organization. Such an approach provides certain key benefits:
• it is easier to define requirements more clearly for a smaller component;
• requirements are less likely to be affected by changes in business environment;
• more complete and accurate estimates of costs and schedules can be developed;
• it is easier to obtain project resources with appropriate levels of experience.
• Systems development should be done in well-scoped phases. The use of Function Point Analysis can eliminate guesswork in managing the scope of work that can reasonably be completed within the established time frame.
• Careful selection of achievable objectives for each phase, with diligent adherence to these objectives, keeps the development package stable; scope creep can be minimized.

Co-location

• Wherever possible, all project staff should be co-located to ensure rapid and accurate communication and information exchange. This includes program and information systems staff, in-house and consultant resources.

Involvement of users

• Project management and communications should involve functional and end users from as early as possible. Close consultation with client groups and representatives helps build ownership and commitment. Extensive user participation in systems development and testing is essential for a viable end product.

Performance measurement and reporting

• Achievement of project deliverables and schedules should be measured by a precise, pre-defined, and regular monitoring and reporting process. This should be established at the earliest possible stage in project start-up.
• Open and visible tabling of project status information at senior management committees on a regular basis focuses everyone's attention, and ensures continued management support.

Scope management

• A formal change management process, together with effective quality assurance and control of deliverables and documentation at all stages of a project can help avoid "scope creep".
• Involvement of business and user staff, leading to a thorough understanding of the links between project quality, schedule and cost, can also reduce pressures to expand the scope of a project. Careful selection of achievable objectives for each phase, agreed to by all parties, with diligent adherence to these objectives, enables a stable development environment to be maintained.

Communications and training

• Establish appropriate logs to document and communicate decisions, changes, issues and problems etc. to all project team members.
• IT initiatives must recognize their potential impact on people and their jobs. A comprehensive strategy for managing change should be part of project planning. This will include targeted communications, training and user support plans.
• All opportunities and possible vehicles for communicating, both internally and externally, must be utilised in prepare the user community and other stakeholders for change. Ideally the project team should include one or more communications specialists.
• Project planning should reflect the need for effective and appropriately timed education and training for users, and technical training for technical and support staff. All means of training should be investigated as appropriate, including computer-based or internet "distance education" where staff are geographically dispersed, for reduced costs and greater flexibility.

Independent reviews

The use of independent reviews at key stages of a project's life cycle can provide an extremely valuable snapshot of the "health" of the initiative. Experienced but independent observers with no stake in the project can identify issues that need to be addressed, but which might not be visible to project staff in the heat of the action.

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