coping with disruptive change a new approach to project planning

Steve Beaumont

The only constant is Change…

Change is happening in every market,

faster and more disruptively than ever

before

A business must have the flexibility and

agility to adapt to changing business

conditions

As the pace of change accelerates:

Organisations are not adapting quickly

The volume, complexity, and urgency of

change is increasing

Programmes are not

responding appropriately

The Challenge

Only 9% of the organizations

said they are good at implementing

strategy

On average 3 out of 5 projects are not aligned to strategy

Organizations that are highly agile, nimble and

able to respond quickly to changing market

dynamics complete more of their strategic

initiatives successfully than slower, less agile

organizations

69%

vs.

45%

Ineffective Demand Prioritization

is a Top Pain

State of Resource Management and Capacity Planning - Benchmark Study 2014

Can YOU answer these questions?

Are we working on the most

important things?

Are we doing the work in the right

order?

Even though we know what we

have to do, when can we get it

done?

When we have new projects

come in and we need to do it,

what gets dropped?

We can’t do it all! What are we

going to do?!

Time for a New Approach!

Rank new and existing investments based on business

drivers and priorities

Analyze which investments should be funded, and

which should be de-scoped, delayed, rejected or

stopped

Balance financial and human resource constraints

Compare scenarios to consider alternative approaches

…Then decide

Rank the Demand

Ask yourselves the question,

‘If I am not making decisions about how I invest in my change portfolio using objective criteria and quality fact based data, then how am I doing it? What is the cost to my business of getting it wrong?’

Adopt a methodical approach to get the most out of project investments

Avoid using subjective information

Don’t approve based on political will

“Guessing is not a strategy for success!”

Force rank demand based on business

drivers:

Strategic alignment

Regulations

Business value

Business productivity

Cost

Rank the Demand

Analyze which Investments to fund

Analyze by:

Available funding

Return on investment

Portfolio balance

Risk

Should any projects be:

Delayed

De-scoped

Stopped

Multiple Portfolios

Typically an IT portfolio

comprises of:

Infrastructure

"Lights on" application

maintenance

Regulatory and mandated

initiatives

Existing application

enhancements

Strategic investments

Balance Demand with Capacity

Consider:

Available capacity

over time

Resource roles,

skills, and experience

Different resource

pools

Potential timescales

Compare Investment Scenarios

There is never just one way to implement a

strategy

Consider different approaches

Create multiple scenarios

Compare the different outcomes

… and then decide

But don’t stop there…..

Ensure flexibility and agility

The days of an annual plan are over

Change is impacting you constantly

Strategies change

New demand with high priorities arise

Portfolios must be reviewed and refined regularly

Improve the process

Aim to:

Optimise the selection of programmes/projects

Ensure both programme/project selection and reviews clearly support the organisation’s strategic goals

Create a portfolio management function from a business architecture perspective and have right tools in place

Build a sustainable and effective ‘ideas pipeline’

Summary

Investment and capacity planning must shift from an annual exercise to become an iterative process that enables business to respond to opportunities and mitigate risks.

Benefits:

Achieve greater business agility

Maximize the value of IT investments and minimize the risk

Improve alignment to strategic objectives

Create a culture of driving business value not individual needs

Improve resource allocation to priority projects

Reduce the number of low value or redundant projects

Questions?

Steve Beaumont

PPM & PSA Expert

sbeaumont@email.com