Program design and execution
SUCCESSFUL PROJECT DELIVERY IS CRITICAL TO THE WELL-BEING OF ANY BUSINESS.
Program design
Successful delivery of large programs is compromised when a formal program design phase is not conducted.
Program design should be a short, time-boxed phase that builds on a number of key inputs;
The vision for the initiative; often referred to as ‘the light on the hill or the north star; a description of the high-level target operating model. – i.e. the target state of the organisation post-transformation;
High-level structure of the transformation; i.e. the workstreams to be included;
The high-level budget for the initiative and;
Proposed governance; including identifying the program sponsor and ‘the willing coalition of executives’ who will champion the program.
Program mobilisation
A major system implementation/change initiative is not the domain of average performers. The project team must be staffed with experienced ‘A’ team resources, including those that have been involved with programs of comparable complexity and size.
Whilst this applies to all resources, in particular, it applies to the program leadership team (we refer to this as the ‘program spine’) comprising:
The Program Manager/Director
The Change Manager
The Business Implementation Manager
The Business Architect
The Solution Architect
The Test Manager
The PMO Manager.
One critical foundational activity is the establishment of project, architecture and platform governance, to ensure that the solution evolves in a strategic manner. Key considerations include:
Governance or steering constituents
Cloud governance
Development standards
Testing standards
Change intake process, categorisation, prioritisation/ assessment
Data governance
Approval processes
Operational tools.
Program execution
Delivering large-scale projects remains critical to an organisation’s success and the size of the prize, if the project is delivered successfully, can be enormous.
The rate of failure for major projects however, is high, with inadequate program execution being one of the major contributing factors. Large projects typically impact many facets of business and consequently program delivery is often complex, disruptive and a high-risk undertaking.
At Mozaic, we help organisations mitigate these risks and hence increase the likelihood of success. In our experience, focusing on the following critical factors vastly increases an organisation’s ability to deliver true value through program execution:
Clarity around the strategic intent
Active and visible sponsorship
Strong, experienced leadership
Active stakeholder involvement and engagement
Organisational capability and capacity to deliver
Robust governance and delivery tracking
Proactive risk management.
