Managing Successful Programmes

Posted on | July 6, 2009 | Author: | Rob Llewellyn | 2 Comments

Before I evangelize the merits of programme management I want to clarify what a programme is and what a project is. This might seem a little trivial but I’ve seen these two words used so interchangeably across many organisations in many countries with people calling a project a programme and vice versa.

A programme is a temporary and flexible organisation which is formed to coordinate, direct and oversee the implementation of a set of related projects and activities in order to deliver outcomes and benefits related to the organisation’s strategic objectives.

A project is also a temporary organisation which will deliver one or more outputs in accordance with a specific business case.

Programmes create outcomes and projects create outputs, and programme management does not replace the need for competent project management. A programme acts as an umbrella under which projects can be coordinated and integrated in order to deliver an outcome which is the sum of the projects’ parts.

With that out of the way, the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) has a framework known as ‘Managing Successful Programmes’ (MSP). This framework provides proven programme management best practice for successfully delivering transformational change.

Organisations that have embraced MSP have enjoyed the benefits of transforming themselves successfully as opposed to being amongst the many that suffer painful or disastrous transformation.

These days, more and more C-level executives are recognising programme management as a powerful tool, which when used well, can facilitate ’successful’ transformation programmes as opposed to ugly monsters which get out of control and wreak havoc.

At the highest level, programme management aligns corporate strategy, business-as-usual and the delivery mechanism for change. These are three critical elements which must align if transformation is to be successful.

MSP principles represent success factors that underpin the likelihood of successful transformational change programmes. These seven principles have been derived from lessons learned in both the public and private sectors.

Positioned within the seven principles are nine governance themes which help put in place the right leadership, delivery team, organisation structures, controls and control information to optimise the likelihood of delivering the planned outcomes and benefits.

Then finally comes the transformational flow which provides a path through the programme lifecycle from conception to closure.

If you’re still asking ‘why should I use programme management?’ consider the fact that most organisations are likely to fail to deliver change successfully if there is:

• insufficient board-level support
• weak leadership
• unrealistic expectations of the organisational capacity and capability
• insufficient focus on benefits
• no real picture of the future capability
• a poorly defined/communicated vision
• a failure to change the organisations culture
• a lack of stakeholder engagement

MSP provides a structured framework that help organsiations avoid these pitfalls and achieve their goals.

Rob Llewellyn is an independent programme manager who has helped private and public sector organisations throughout Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He is also a former member of the British water ski racing team and now commentates at international competitions. You can visit Rob’s web site and blog at: www.consult-llewellyn.com

Comments

2 Responses to “Managing Successful Programmes”

1. leadership manager
   July 8th, 2009 @ 8:23 pm

   Thank you for informing everyone more on programmes. I found it very interesting and helpful.

2. DevLifeRant
   July 17th, 2009 @ 3:17 pm

   Why is it that most public sector software development programmes fail? Is it due to the overhead of administering the methodology introduced by MSP?

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