Design the programme

Task:

Ensure that project objectives are aligned with the programme.

Identify sponsors for the projects.

Approval project board structures.

Impact assessment on the programme board structure.

Update the dependency network.

Guidance:

This work should be led by the Programme Manager.  Some early partnerships may be coming into place with suppliers, who may be able to provide expert input.

The governance of existing projects may need to change now and new projects will need at least a sponsor allocated, there may not be sufficient information to identify project boards at this stage.

There is also a danger that that sponsors may be overloaded, so try not to allocate more than one project per sponsor if possible.

The structure of the programme board may need to change as a result of the project dossier design and changes to sponsorship.

Task:

Develop the project mandates for each project needed to achieve the blueprint.

Ensure that the control standards for projects are incorporated into the design.

Update the dependency network between the programmes.

Update the dependency network between the projects within the programme.

Impact assessment on project controls.

Impact assessments on programme controls.

Impact assessment on physical assets.

Guidance:

Delivering the blueprint will need a range of projects to build the capability some may already exist and not require changes, there may be existing projects that will need to be changed to realign with the blueprint, and there will be new projects required.

Projects should have a clear line of sight to either benefits Blueprint or strategic requirements. If not, they should be considered for culling.

At this point the project dossier should be created, this will provide as much information about what each project will need to deliver. This will form the brief for the project when it launches, the links back to the blueprint and benefits for each project need to be defined.

The dossier should show how each project fits into the Tranche plan for context.

The key role of assurance during this stage is to check that the projects and the governance design will enable the achievement of the blueprint and benefits.

The size and shape of the project dossier will help to clarity the programme controls that will need to maintain control of the projects

Any short or long term impacts on physical assets and their management plans should now be clearer.

Task:

Define the contribution of individual benefits by each project.

Undertaken gap analysis for non-project activities needed for each benefit.

Guidance:

These projects must produce the outputs to enable the benefits to be achieved. The Project Dossier should be aligned to enable the Benefit Profiles KPIs to be achieved.

The information for each project should explain how it will contribute to the benefits, or how it is contributing the capability that will enable the benefits.

The benefit profiles can now be updated to show which projects are contributing to which benefits and when the release activities will take place.

This is also an opportunity to undertake the gap analysis to identify activities that will be needed to deliver benefits that are not currently scoped for delivery by the projects.

Task:

Ensure key stakeholders are consulted during the design and prioritisation of projects within the programme.

Identify the impact of individual projects on stakeholders.

Identify any new stakeholders to be engaged by the programme.

Stakeholders in newly define projects should be identified and included in communications.

Projects that will be prematurely closing should have specific communications plans.

Guidance:

Stakeholder priorities and concerns should be delivered by the projects and their outputs.

This should also be factored into the scheduling as there may be other major change events within that part of the organisation.

New projects that are included in the project dossier will need to have an impact assessment on existing stakeholders and there may be new groups that will need to be profiled.

Projects that are prematurely closing could be unpopular, so care should be taken to make sure that this scenario is managed carefully through the project or programme communications plans.

Task:

Project schedules should be linked to the programme tranches.

Create summary mandates for each anticipated project.

Initiate the closure of projects that will not be required.

Draft project mandates.

Map dependencies between existing and proposed projects should be mapped.

Guidance:

More detailed work on specifying the requirements for the projects will take place as the programme moves into delivery.  At this stage, the Tranches should be defined along with the projects that were built into them. It should be possible to provide a more detailed analysis of the requirements from the early tranches.

For new projects, the scope, objectives and other parameters should be developed and included in the Project Dossier, these should be based on the blueprint and the associated inputs from benefit profiles.

Interdependencies between projects should be identified at this stage, this should be between existing projects and projects that are initiated in the future.

Existing projects may need to be formally aligned or changed to reflect their new direction, this should be included within the Project Dossier documentation.

If a new project is allocated to the programme whilst in delivery there should be an impact assessment on the project dossier and appropriate changes made to enable scope and dependencies to remain optimal.

Task:

Focus on the cross project dependency risks to the programme.

Allocate programme risks mitigation actions to projects where possible.

Guidance:

At this point the project plans and Tranche plan are coming together so the overall map of risks and how they relate can be created, there will be better visibility of dependencies as well.

There may be external risks and inter programme risks that can be better defined and improved mitigation plans can be put into place.

Programme risks can be mitigated by project delivery. Market and organisational capability to deliver the projects should be considered as a risk. Any ambiguity about costs should be seen as a risk.

Task:

Analyse the resource requirements for the project delivery.

Identify key suppliers of resource of the projects.

Guidance:

The projects will be major consumers of resources.  As the project dossier has the core information about each project, it should be possible to make some estimates for resources.

The impact assessment on planned and existing projects should show what resources can be deployed or recycled.

If there is likely to be a heavy burden of resources, then this may be the right moment to undertake some market testing of supply routes for the provision of temporary resources at the project and programme level.

It is likely that there will be some early projects launching, particularly if there is procurement involved or urgent quick wins, so the resource management is formally starting at this point.

If project resources have not been formally inducted into the programme or are lacking programme management experience, this should be addressed now.

Task:

Financial estimates should be firmer and updated.

Initial costings for individual projects should be undertaken.

Guidance:

The cost of the project is a critical cost element of the programme and will represent a large proportion of the costs in the Business Case. At this point, there should be enough information to set a budget for each project.

Task:

Initiate any major procurements that need to happen to support the projects

Guidance:

There may be a common requirement across a number of projects or one or two major projects that will need to undergo a major procurement with the constraints that an OJEU may bring.

If the requirement is clear then the procurement could start at this point.

Task:

The requirements for each project should be aligned with the Blueprint.

Stop projects that are not required by the programme to achieve the Blueprint.

Initiate any projects that may have a lead time.

Guidance:

The Blueprint is a core document for this piece of work. The sum total of the projects should be the achievement of the capability in the Blueprint.

A weak or poorly defined Blueprint will not provide the basis to develop the projects.  The information for each project should cross reference and describe the linkage between the project outputs and the Blueprint capability.

The milestone will require the alignment between proposed projects and the programme Blueprint to be defined.

This is the point where projects that have clear requirements with a long lead time should be initiated. This could include, for example, a large procurement that is needed in Tranche 1.

A key output at the point is the dependency network. This is a technique that helps to illustrate how the various elements of the programme fit together, rather like a jigsaw puzzle. It is a key element of control as it shows how the inputs and outputs from the various projects fit together.  It provides the basis for the programme plan critical path, as where one project is dependent on another, any delays would have knock-on consequences.