Down Under. Project Management Essential in Process Management Projects

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1 A BPTrends Clumn Dwn Under December 2007 Jhn Jestn & Jhan Nelis BPM Cnsultants, Sydney Australia Authrs: Business Prcess Management Practical Guidelines t Successful Implementatins jhn.jestn@managementbyprcess.cm jhan.nelis@managementbyprcess.cm Prject Management Essential in Prcess Management Prjects Prject Management and Prcess Management need each ther. Hwever, we have fund in many cases that ne f these disciplines dminates the ther with mstly negative results. Prject Management is in mst cases the link between strategy frmulatin and strategy executin (thrugh prcesses) as a step-change is required t achieve the desired strategic bjectives. Usage f a Prject Management Maturity Mdel can be helpful in understanding the prject executin and management capability f an rganizatin prir t initiating varius prcess imprvement prjects. Pint f recgnitin D yu recgnize any f the fllwing situatins: A stern prject manager heads a prcess imprvement prject and is keen t tick ff all the milestnes in the prject plan and ignres significant business imprvements that may be pssible because they are ut f the prject scpe and will impact upn the riginal budget and/r timelines. A creative prcess specialist heads a grup f prcess analysts and they get carried away with mre and mre prcess mdeling. The specialists regard the milestnes and budgets just as a guide, and they nrmally run ut f time r mney befre they can actually achieve anything. A dynamic prject manager achieves all the deliverables as specified in the prject management plan; hwever, the deliverables d nt fit with the nging business prcesses and are ignred, as the prject manager failed t liaisn with the business abut the impact f the prject. A grup f prcess prfessinals have arrived with the perfect prcesses nly t find ut that their stakehlders have lst interest and have mved n t ther pririties, as the prject team has failed t keep the stakehlders infrmed, engaged and cmmitted. Each f these situatins highlights the cnsequences if either prcess-thinking r prject management dminates at the expense f the ther. Mutual dependency Prcess management requires prject management t ensure that the required imprvements and enhancements are prperly realized and managed. Prject management is fundamentally different frm the management f the nging peratins, which can be managed thrugh business prcess and peple perfrmance management. Prject management requires prcess management, as the prcess shuld be the basis fr any change in strategy, peple r systems. Furthermre, the executin and management f prjects 1

2 have varius prcesses embedded. T visualize this dual dependency we have intrduced the analgy f the Business Prcess Management success stl: Figure 1. Business Prcess Management success stl The three cmpnents (legs f the stl) are nt new, hwever, the furth cmpnent is new and is the seat upn which success rests. The fundatin upn which the stl sits is als critical t success. The legs t the stl are: Prcess - there must be an apprpriate level f business prcess innvatin r redesign linked t the rganizatin strategy and prcess gals and an acceptance f the imprtance f prcesses within the rganizatin; Peple - as an rganizatin grws in its maturity f prcess management, it will understand that peple are the key t implementing the prpsed new prcesses. The rganizatin must have the apprpriate perfrmance measurement and management structures acrss key prcesses. Prcess management shuld be practive and then mve twards predictive, rather than reactive. Amngst ther things, this all revlves arund the peple aspects a BPM prject; Technlgy - refers t the supprting tls fr the prcesses and peple and des nt necessarily mean BPM sftware cmpnents r applicatins (althugh it culd). The furth cmpnent, which hlds these legs tgether, is the seat f Prject Management fr withut a well run prject an implementatin is destined t failure. If a leg is missing the stl will fall, and if the seat f prject management is missing, all the legs will cllapse and the prject will fail t meet expectatins. BPM prjects are cmplex, and success depends upn all aspects f the prject being executed well. These aspects are represented by the fundatins upn which the stl rests. If these fundatins are sft (r nt executed successfully) then the stl will sink and eventually cllapse. If the fundatins are firm, hwever, because they are executed well, the stl will be resting upn a slid fundatin and the prject will be successful. Organizatins rutinely attempt t execute significant BPM prjects withut prperly addressing all f these fur cmpnents and the fundatins. Just like an actual stl, a weak r missing leg in a BPM prject will cause the success stl t fail. 2

3 Methdlgies and Maturity Mdels Prcess management has varius maturity mdels t assist with the imprvement and management f prcesses. In mst f these mdels, the prject management capability f the rganizatin is ne f the dimensins. Hwever, mst maturity mdels d nt fully appreciate the varius levels f maturity arund prjects, prgrams and prtflis. Prject management has tw well-knwn prject management methdlgies: Prince 2 (OGC) and PMBOK (PMI). Bth methdlgies als have a related maturity mdel: P3M3: Prtfli, Prgram and Prject Management Maturity Mdel (OGC) and OPM3: Organizatinal Prject Management Maturity Mdel (PMI). We suggest that the use f a prject management maturity mdel t assess yur rganizatins prject management maturity, especially in relatinship t prcess imprvement prjects, is a useful starting pint. This ften prvides interesting and useful infrmatin t yur team and may explain why sme prjects failed, and als may prvide mrerealistic expectatins f the prject We will explre the P3M3 mdel f OGC as it can be very helpful, because it: Makes a clear distinctin between prjects, prgrams and prtfli, reducing the cnfusin amng these cncepts. Has different prcesses defined fr varius maturity levels, thus allwing realistic prcess executin Prvides fr each prcess a clear prcess gals and perfrmance measures. enabling bjective mnitring and assessment f the actual maturity Prtfli, Prgram and Prject Management Maturity Mdel (OGC) OGC identifies the fllwing prcesses fr each f the maturity levels 1 : Level 1 - initial prcess 1.1 Prject definitin 1.2 Prgram management awareness Level 2 - repeatable prcess 2.1 Business case develpment 2.2 Prgram rganisatin 2.3 Prgram definitin 2.4 Prject establishment 2.5 Prject planning, mnitring & cntrl 2.6 Stakehlder management & cmmunicatins 2.7 Requirements management 2.8 Risk management 2.9 Cnfiguratin management 2.10 Prgram planning & cntrl 2.11 Management f suppliers & external parties 1 Prtfli, Prgramme & Prject Management Maturity Mdel (P3M3), OGC,

4 Level 3 - defined prcess 3.1 Benefits management 3.2 Transitin management 3.3 Infrmatin management 3.4 Organizatinal fcus 3.5 Prcess definitin 3.6 Training, skills & cmpetency develpment 3.7 Integrated management & reprting 3.8 Lifecycle cntrl 3.9 Inter-grup c-rdinatin & netwrking 3.10 Quality assurance 3.11 Centre f Excellence (COE) rle deplyment 3.12 Organisatin prtfli establishment Level 4 - managed prcess 4.1 Management metrics 4.2 Quality management 4.3 Organizatinal cultural grwth 4.4 Capacity management Level 5 - ptimized prcess 5.1 Practive prblem management 5.2 Technlgy management 5.3 Cntinuus prcess imprvement Lessns Learned When assessing rganizatins n the basis f this maturity mdel we typically find: Prject Management is taken fr granted in many rganizatins, as many managers depend n individuals rather than relying n the institutinalizatin f gvernance and prject management. It is amazing that sme large multinatinal rganizatins still perate withut a the institutinalizatin f prject management and gvernance. T much fcus is placed n the prject management tls and systems and nt enugh emphasis n the underlying prcesses and the current level f prject management maturity. Many f the currently ppular prject management tls require level 3 and abve, while many rganizatins are still at either level 1 r maybe 2. This results in frustratins and incrrect infrmatin and subsequent incrrect decisins. Many rganizatins assess their capability at a high-level view, in effect, merely validating which wrds are mst apprpriate fr their rganizatin: initial, repeatable, defined, managed and ptimized. We find that this apprach generally classifies the rganizatin at 1 r 2 levels higher than reality suggests, as the P3M3 mdel has detailed criteria and many rganizatins d nt make a cncerted effrt t meet them.. Organizatins fcus n advanced prcesses, especially benefits management (level 3) and capacity management (level 4), while the rganizatin has nt mastered level 2. This leads t unrealistic expectatins and, eventually, disappinting r misleading results. 4

5 CMM and CMMI are used t assess the maturity f business prjects. These mdels are better suited fr (and riginated frm) sftware develpment and tend t fcus t much n the IT aspects. One f the tughest tasks is t infrm the directr r manager f the Prject Management Office that their self assessment was t psitive and that their actual maturity is actually much lwer. Often the mst successful managers are thse wh understand that this wake-up call is their pprtunity t fundamentally change the way prject management is executed and use the findings t apply fr additinal resurces t rectify the shrtcmings. This maturity mdel aligns well with ur Business Prcess Prject Management framewrk as utlined in ur bk: Business Prcess Management: Practical Guidelines t Successful Implementatins. T get full benefit f ur apprach, we recmmend that an rganizatin have achieved at least maturity level 3, which includes the realizatin f benefit management. Critical Success Factrs fr Prjects Besides the right prject management methdlgy, the fllwing three critical success factrs apply: A prcess-fcused prject manager Manage the Business Case Being successful A prcess-fcused prject manager Withut excellent prject management an rganizatin and prject team cannt deliver a successful prject. Is being a gd prject manager enugh? We wuld say n. Being a gd prject manager is n lnger abut having the skills and knwledge inherent in using traditinal prject management methdlgies. The BPM prject manager must include in their repertire significant skills with regard t: peple change management stakehlder management; and in a BPM prject, in-depth knwledge and experience in the implementatin f BPM prjects. It culd be argued that gd prject management has always required the first tw f these skills; it is just that BPM prjects require this knwledge t be deeper and better executed than in the past. Traditinally prjects that have delivered under prject management methdlgies have targeted the technlgy base r lw resistance business changes. This enables a certainty f delivery that spnsrs like t have. BPM changes are different in ne very imprtant aspect; they almst always require a large element f peple and/r cultural change. The underlying causes, interests and agendas that require the peratin t change are ften nt recgnised, understd r addressed. We are nw deep in territry where a traditinal prject manager des nt want t be - this wrld is uncertain, cntains high risk and is nt easily cntrlled. A BPM prject manager needs t be skilled enugh t succeed in this type f envirnment. Manage the Business Case The Business Case is an imprtant instrument in managing a BPM prject and has three main functins: 5

6 At the start f the prject - it will prvide the infrmatin t make a decisin n whether t apprve and fund the prpsed prject. In ther wrds, whether the prjected benefits warrant the requested investment, cnsidering the risks and alternatives. The benefits t be realized as a result f this prject need t be clearly specified. During the prject - it will prvide guidance t ensure that the prject is still n track. This is crucial because the business will evlve during the life time f a prject, and the prject spnsr and prject manager must cntinually check t ensure that the prject will still cntribute t the rganizatin strategy and yield the desired benefits in relatin t the prjected csts. In ther wrds, the prject spnsr and prject manager must cntinually manage the business case. After the prject - it will enable the business and prject team t evaluate if the prject has delivered the expected results (benefits) and cntributed t the specified bjectives, within the agreed budget and timeframe. This evaluatin prvides crucial lessns learned which must be taken int accunt in the next BPM prjects. Being Successful Last but nt least.. being successful and aiming t achieve quick wins and subsequently ensuring that these successes prvide the right spirit fr even bigger successes in the future. 6