Challenge
Cooperation of organisational units, organisations or companies is key for improving efficiency and quality or to provide additional value and performance. The implementation of cooperation is usually organized as a project, in which the proceeding of collaboration may differ for all partners. The arising challenges frequently follow similar patterns:
The targets of each party need to be compatible to the main target.
- The project structure shall have neither overlaps nor gaps of responsibility.
- Each participating entity needs to understand, how it shall deliver the expected added value for the whole project.
- During project run time, not the whole intended value add can be used – and it is not clear whether the output is the same as expected at the beginning.
- Reports on status and progress address different horizontal and vertical communication structures.
- The steering body hardly obtains the necessary information in order to take the requested decisions.
Using our experience in management of large IT entities and multi-partner programs as well as smaller projects, we support you in the set-up of your projects, in selection and involvement of internal and external partners, and in Steering single projects as well as multi project programs. We make use of a large set of steering and control methods to achieve the appropriate balance between steering of details and generating the necessary freedom for decision of the involved experts, dependent of project phase, environment and maturity.
Transparency of the target, project approach and the progress are key from the very beginning. Not the distribution of tasks, but ensurance of continuous added value on the way to achieve the project target is always in our main focus of project leadership.
Process model
From the very beginning on, the project’s success criteria have to be clear, so that all project entities and members can deduce their contribution to it. Any change of the project target shall be consciously decided and communicated clearly.
In order to steer the project to the right direction, the project manager needs to have a clear picture of the project target and has to understand the added value which is intended to be achieved by the implementation.
Especially when new partners are entering in a new cooperation measure, it is important to create and share the model of collaboration on the strategic, steering and implementation layer.
Factors like involved cultures, experience and trust between the involved parties influence the need and level of detail of the collaboration rules. Together with all involved partners, we elaborate and align a project proceeding, which makes project progress and target achievement transparent, and provides visibility of alternatives and consequences of actions to enhance steerability.
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Competences
We as projecticon have much experience in the implementation of IT and organisational programs and projects on both sides, from the client’s as well as from the vendor’s perspective.
By leading and steering in complex projects, our colleagues changed and replaced IT systems and even whole IT landscapes. In failed projects, that we took over, we could drive effectiveness and efficiency far beyond the previous measures, increase the quality and reduce the deploy- and value add cycles from nine months down to two weeks: at significantly reduced cost for planning, development and test.
We consequently focus on maximising value instead of following formal project steps and measures. With this, we enable and achieve a successful steering of projects and programs.
The replacement of an aged billing system of a TelCo, which caused high maintenance cost some years ago, which was led by one of our directors, is a perfect example: the previous system was successfully supplanted by a new product and a different system integrator, who had not been familiar with the customer’s environment and business processes before the project. The clear target and a clear picture of the responsibilities of all five involved parties was established and continuously reinforced by regular and transparent communication and joint decision making in the different project phases. The project target to switch off the previous system was reached after 14 months in the planned scope and budget only two days after the initially foreseen date. Conscious risk management allowed all parties to at the end realize the expected value of the project.
The longer it runs, the more any project – may it be successful or unsuccessful – tends to deviate from the initially foreseen and aligned scope. Project management and steering focussing on added value allows to react in an agile mode to varying requirements resulting from changes in market, competency and environment.
To balance functional and contractual steering, to request and enable decision making by the experts for the advantage of all participating parties: this is what constitutes projecticon's USP.