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PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF

CONSULTANCY SERVICES

A CASE STUDY FOR THE NATIONAL SOCIAL SECURITY AUTHORITY OF

ZIMBABWE

PRESENTED AT MARRAKECH

on 23 May 2006

BY Jonathan Rushwaya

Manager Information and Communication Technology Services

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1. IntroductionWho are we?

Zimbabwe National Social Security Authority (NSSA)

Body corporate (parastatal) formed by an Act of parliament in 1989

Tasked to administer Social Security services Started operations in 1994 Operates two occupational schemes (NPS & WCIF) Currently employs 700 staff Has 2.1 million members , 52000 employers and 123 000

pensions in payment Operates from 16 Offices country wide,six of which are

networked to Harare head office

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Introduction –Contd Current environment

Four Core Social Security applications were developed and implemented on a proprietary platform over the period 1996-2000

These are Client registration,Billing ,Collections and Benefits Processing

Standard packages used for Finance ,Payroll and Statistics

Occupational Health Services still running manually No integration between core systems and support

systems

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Introduction-contd Why replace existing systems?

Legacy systems (DEC) no longer supported Current systems could no longer be enhanced to

support current and future business needs (eg the new schemes planned)

Need to computerise WCIF benefit payment system which is partly manual

Integrate front and back office systems Incorporate new technology features (eg

internet,document imaging and e-business) Adopt open standards to achieve portability

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2 The Project Management Process…Tasks undertaken

Setting out the Project scope and objectives

Risk profiling (Identifying Critical Success Factors)

Set up project structure and communications

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The Project Management Process Tasks undertaken….contd

Defining the requirements Setting out tasks and time parameters(project

plan) Agreeing remuneration and payment terms

(costs) Defining project evaluation mechanisms (quality

obligations and warranties)All these resulted in a comprehensive Request for

Proposal (RFP) and a Contract Document

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3.The Project Scope and Objectives

The project covers the implementation of

front and back office systems.

Project has 3 phases running between 2005-2010

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Project scope and objectives....contd

Phase one to cover re-development of existing core Social security systems between 2005-2006

Phase two to introduce one major new scheme and 6 back office systems by December 2007

. Phase three to implement 2 new schemes and

value added office automation and pension network between 2008 and 2010

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4 Managing Project riskCritical success factors

Comprehensive user requirements Identifying most suitable service providers Availability of funding (Foreign currency) Ability to complete phase one during the life

span of existing infrastructure Insisting on project security Tie payment to accepted deliverables Existence of contingency plan

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5.Defining Requirements (The RFP)

Team to identify and specify requirements set up by the management executive committee

Comprised key operatives,supervisors and managers from each of the functional divisions of the business

Requirements defined by users in user terms Winning bidder to confirm requirements,re-

engineer as necessary, and provide technical solution to requirements based on best practices

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Defining Requirements..contd

Bidders to provide reference sites and CVs of proposed staff

Bidders to provide a comprehensive project plan

RFP clearly stated method and evaluation criteria to be used for adjudication purposes

RFP forms part of the contract

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6 Selection of service providers..Attributes preferred

Must be an experienced expert with proven track record

Must provide project security and product warranties

Must be committed to open standards Must comprise of at least a local partner

committed to a long term relationship with NSSAThese attributes were used in the selection and

management of consultants.

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Attributes of service provider….. contd

Must accept payment in local currency Must jointly work with NSSA staff in the

entire development cycle Must agree to releasing source code,

development tools and materials at end of project

Must provide warranties for product and services

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7 Project Structure and comms

Comprises five teams Steering Committee Customer Team Project Director Team Software Developer Team Hardware Supplier Team

Project Organisation Charts depict structure and communications

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Project Structure

N S S A P R O JE C T T E A M S T R U C T U R E

P R O JE C T T E A MN S S A

P R O JE C TM A N A G E R

C U S T O M E R

P R O JE C T T E A MH /W S U P P L IE R

P R O JE C TM A N A G E R

H A R D W A R E

P R O JE C T T E A MD E V E L O P E R

P R O JE C TM A N A G E R

S O F T W A R E

P R O JE C T T E A MS E R V IC E S

P R O JE C TM A N A G E RS E R V IC E S

P R O JE C TD IR E C T O R

N S S AS T E E R IN G C O M M IT T E E(N S S A E X E C U T IV E M G T

P R O JE C T D IR E C T O R

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Project structure..Contd

Project team members are drawn from each of the parties and the team members work in joint teams

The Project director has overall project responsibilities and reports to the Steering Committee

For illustration of the composition of joint teams,all the Customer team members are absorbed into the hardware and software teams, while team members from the suppliers join the NSSA data clean up team in order to facilitate skills transfer

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Project team structure

P R O JE C T T E A M S T R U C T U R E

H A R D W A R ET E A M M E M B E R S

H A R D W A R ET E A M L E A D E R

S O F T W A R ET E A M M E M B E R S

S O F T W A R ET E A M L E A D E R

T E C H N IC A LC O -O R D IN A T O R

B U S IN E S S P R O C E S ST E A M M E M B E R S

B U S IN E S S P R O C E S ST E A M L E A D E R

D A T A C L E A N U PT E A M M E M B E R S

D A T A C L E A N UPT E A M L E A D E R

B U S IN E S SC O -O R D IN A T O R

P R O JE C TM A N A G E R C U S T O M E R

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Project team structure..contd

Depicts the functional composition of each of the four teams

Team managers communicate at their levels for team management, project monitoring and control

Team managers ensure the fusion of team members from each party to facilitate skills transfer

Team members are the resources responsible for the actual performance of the project tasks

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9 Setting out tasks (The plan)

Individual tasks identified by task leader Consolidated into project plan by Project Director Each task has a start, end date and task leader Milestones are identified and dates set for reviews A consolidated resource plan drawn A critical path diagram produced. Project plan forms an appendix to contract.

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10 Project costs

Project costs to be clearly broken down indicating:- project management development and customisation DBMS and development tools hardware and systems software Data migration Travel and subsistence

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Project costs…contd

Winning bidder to be paid in ZW$ Prices fixed over contract duration unless

mutually agreed to alter Changes to be costed separately No hidden costs allowed Payment to be made against deliverables Schedule of costs and deliverables forms

part of contract

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11 Project evaluation and control

Project director has overall responsibility for the project

Regular meetings to be held with project team leaders and steering committee to review achievements versus plan

Diversions to be identified through change control and immediate remedial action taken

Where teams fail to agree,steering committee to intervene,else arbitration

RFP,Bidders response and Contract form the basic quality standards

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Project evaluation…contd

A formal quality plan to form part of the contract Signed User acceptance per deliverable to

signify acceptance of product quality Each application to be tested individually and as

part of an integrated system Each product to carry a one year warranty at

least Adherence to the quality plan

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12 Managing Consultancy Services

Two main documents used for managing consultants ie RFP and Contract

Consultants terms of reference formulated and incorporated into RFP

Selection criteria for consultants were formulated and incorporated into RFP

Appointment of project manager and accountant

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Managing Consultancy Services…contd

Agreeing the project plan and remuneration (project plan,schedule of deliverables,quality management and costs appended to the contract)

Schedule of meetings and procedures for submission of progress reports and invoices

Consultant to furnish performance bond upfront Consultants obligations,performance

measurement,communications,copyright , ownership,conflict management and skills transfer clearly spelt out in contract

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Managing Consultancy Services…contd

Agreeing acceptance criteria for work done

Payment to be strictly tied to deliverables Agreeing the method of dispute resolution

upfront

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13 Current status of the project

Largely, targets have been met in confirmation of requirements data clean up and BPR

Adjustments on initial requirements due to BPR Delays likely to happen in application

development Costs in ZW$ have balooned due inflation and

exchange rate movements. Foreign currency issues have arisen Overall project time for phase one may be

overshot by up to 2 to 3 months

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13 Lessons learnt…Project Management

Engage an independent and competent project manager

In a Joint Development project,roles and responsibilities of each of the parties to be clearly defined to ensure accountability

Delays in decision making will dramatically increase project costs

Anticipate diversions to the project plan and formulate mitigation plans upfront

Negotiate for a fixed price contract wherever possible Effective communications are a key to success

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Lessons learntManaging Consultants

Develop a criteria for the preferred consultant Carefully check and verify all claims made by

consultants in terms of qualification and track record

Where you have several consultant teams,get an independent consultant to manage them to avoid conflict of interest

Endeavor to have all consultants work from the client site.Remote management of consultants is undesirable and may lead to project control issues

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Lessons learntManaging Consultants..contd

A clear procedure will have to be developed to manage changes in project plans and deliverables

Effective communication and mutual respect for teams will enhance project success

It is also important to manage cultural divide where you engage external consultants

Agree upfront on mechanisms of dispute resolution

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END OF PRESANTATION

NSSA CONTACT DETAILS WEBSITE www.nssa.org.zw E-mail: jbrushwaya@comone.co.zw Fax 263-4-250934,or 263-4-799042 Tel 263-4-723822, direct 263-4-705669