pmi queensland chapter meeting - project management at flightcentre - october 2008

Making project management indispensable for business results ®

Project Management Institute

Queensland Chapter

Welcome to the

October 2008

Chapter Meeting

October 2008 presentationProject Management at FlightCentre� The presentation is about

� Project Management at Flight Centre. It will discuss how business and

technology fit into the Flight Centre structure and how the Project

Services PMO works within the business and technology spheres.

� It will also touch on the different types of projects that the PMO is called

upon to support.

� Matthew Tati


Queensland Chapter

� Matthew Tati

� Matthew has a travel technology background and moved into Project

Management in 1999. He has managed projects for the Federal

Government and various travel distribution companies. He is Secretary

of the Australasian Chapter of the International Federation for IT in

Travel and tourism (IFITT).

� PMIQ (http://www.qld.pmichapters-australia.org.au/) is the proud sponsor of

tonights Bar Tab for the September 08 Chapter Meeting

Technology Supporting Business

Some insights into Flight Centre Technology group

Project Services Office

Flight Centre’s History

• Top Deck Travel: founded in 1973

• Australian retail travel agency: opened 1980

• Common branding from 1987

• Including a common operating philosophy

• Today: 1500 shops in 10 countries.

• plus FCm global network

• Total transaction value (TTV): $8.9b in 2007

10 Key Philosophies linking avery strong company culture

• Standard Systems: 1 Best Way

• Family, Village, Tribe: Structure

• Taking Responsibility

• Our People

• Our Customer

• Profit • Taking Responsibility

• Egalitarianism & Unity

• Brightness Of Future

• Profit

• Ownership

• Incentives

Key Brands

✈Flight Centre Hotels✈ Flight Centre Travel Money

✈Student Flights✈Travel Associates

✈Escape Travel✈Flight Centre

Retail

✈Campus Travel✈Ci Events

✈Stage and Screen✈FCm Travel Solutions

Corporate

✈Cruiseabout

Flight Centre HotelsFlight Centre Travel Money

Local Structure: Australian Operations

Retail Corporate

Retail Brands Corporate Brands✈Escape Travel✈Flight Centre


✈Cruiseabout ✈Flight Centre Hotels

✈Flight Centre Travel

Money

✈Ci Events


Corporate Brands

✈Ci Events


Front End

Front End

Front End

✈Campus Travel





Money

Global Operations

Finance

TECHNOLOGY

Marketing

Peopleworks (H

R)

Product & Wholesale

Ticket Centre

Support

Back End Support

Local Structure: Australian Operations

Retail Corporate

Retail Brands Corporate Brands✈Escape Travel✈Flight Centre




Money

✈Ci Events


Corporate Brands

✈Ci Events


Front End

Front End

Front End

✈Campus Travel





Money

Global Operations

Finance

FlightCentre

Technology

Marketing

Peopleworks (H

R)

Product & Wholesale

Ticket Centre

Support

Back End Support

ProjectServicesOffice(PMO)

Technology supportingthe business

Purpose of the Flight Centre Technology ‘Nation’:

Effectively support the goals of FCL

Achieved through:

• Business Alignment

• Technology (Enterprise Architecture)• Technology (Enterprise Architecture)

• Functional capability development

• Risk Mitigation

Challenges for the Technology ‘Nation’

Challenges• Standard systems & Incentives

• Change management is critical

• Entrepreneurial culture promotes variance

People & Capability

• Governance• Senior Management & business buy-in

• Prioritisation & funding initiatives

Delivery• People & Capability• Attracting & retaining the right people

• with the right skills

• who ‘fit’ the culture & team

• Business “ownership” & Structure (Family, Village, Tribe)• Each team “owns” their P&L / profit

• Teams commitment achieving goals

• Delivery• Capability

• Managing expectations

• Partnerships with providers

Technology supporting the businessthrough Business Alignment

Retail Corporate

Retail Brands Corporate Brands

✈Ci Events


Corporate Brands

✈Ci Events


Front End

Front End

Front End

✈Campus Travel





Money

Global Operations

Finance

TECHNOLOGY

Marketing

Peopleworks (H

R)

Product & Wholesale

Ticket Centre

Support

Back End Support


Corporate

Corporate Brands

✈Ci Events


Corporate Brands

✈Ci Events


Front End

Front End

Front End

✈Campus Travel

IT Manager - RetailIT Manager - Retail

Global Operations

Finance

TECHNOLOGY

Marketing

Peopleworks (H

R)

Product & Wholesale

Ticket Centre

Support

Back End Support


✈Ci Events


✈Ci Events


Front End

Front End

Front End IT Manager - CorporateIT Manager - RetailIT Manager - Retail

Global Operations

Finance

TECHNOLOGY

Marketing

Peopleworks (H

R)

Product & Wholesale

Ticket Centre

Support

Back End Support


✈Ci Events


✈Ci Events


Front End

Front End


Global Operations

Finance

TECHNOLOGY

Marketing

Peopleworks (H

R)

IT Manager – Product & Ticketing

Support

Back End Support


✈Ci Events


✈Ci Events


Front End

Front End



IT Manager – Business Services

Back End Support


✈Ci Events


✈Ci Events


Front End

Front End




Back End Support

Development:Global Solutions

.NET, JAVA, Web Technology

Project Services Office:Project Management

Business Analysis & Testing


✈Ci Events


✈Ci Events


Front End

Front End

Front End IT Manager - Corporate

Enterprise, Archite

cture & Service




Back End Support





Enterprise, Archite

cture & Service

How Technology’s directionaligns with key challenges

Technology

��Business Alignment

Delivery Governance Business “ownership”

People & Capability Incentives

Standard systems

��Risk Mitigation strategies

��Functional capability development

��Technology (IT Architecture)

Key IT drivers for Flight CentreTechnology ‘Nation’

• Provide support for rapid & sustained business growth

• Minimise the cost/time of delivering business initiatives by leveraging internal & external knowledge/resources

• Provide a comprehensive single view of all FCL customers

• Provide enhanced connectivity among systems/suppliers to facilitate business interactions

• Minimise the complexity of the technology systems

Flight Centre Technology:Risk Mitigation

Focus on 4 key areas:

• Security

• Disaster recovery• Disaster recovery

• Business continuity

• Project Governance

Flight Centre Technology:Focus Areas

Focus on 4 key areas:

• Security

• Disaster recovery• Disaster recovery

• Business continuity

• Project Governance


✈Ci Events


✈Ci Events


Front End

Front End

Front End IT Manager - Corporate

Enterprise, Archite

cture & Service




Back End Support





Enterprise, Archite

cture & Service

Project Services Office: Role

Project Services Office Role

• Facilitation

• Direct report to IT Leadership

• Works on both business and IT projects• Works on both business and IT projects

• Focus on collaboration and

• Delivery to customers via internal Customers.

• Internal customers represent Flight Centre’s customers

Project Services Office: Structure & Size

• Project Services Office Role

• 16 team members comprising:

– Project Managers

– Business Analysis & Software application testers

• Mix of backgrounds and experience:

– Business - including FC and travel industry

– Information Technology

– Career Project Management

• Matrix structure

Project Services Office: Methodology & Approach

• Methodology based on PRINCE II

• PM’s manage multiple projects

• FC internal billing = responsibility

• Strong team = family, village, tribe• Strong team = family, village, tribe

• Relationships to internal businesses = service internal

customers

Project Services Office:

Types of projects

Business Focussed Projects:

• Change Management

• Business Integration (i.e. new acquisitions)• Business Integration (i.e. new acquisitions)

• Supporting regulatory and compliance work


Types of projects

IT Projects: Software application focus

• Enhancement of existing systems

• New systems • New systems

• Bespoke / in-house development teams

• Vendor management

• Mixed

• Vendor Selection / business needs based RFP

• Release Management


Main types of IT Systems

Types of IT Systems

• Corporate systems:

• Desktop inc. email and infrastructure services

• Financial management systems

• Corporate systems: Point of sale (front and mid office)

• Different businesses use different POS according to type

• Point of Sale accounting systems (back office)

• Internet: web sites inc ecommerce and info sites


Main types of IT Systems

Types of IT Systems

• Airline Global Distribution (GDS):

• Links at many levels for booking & managing bookings

• Ticketing systems:

• Issue tickets on behalf of the airlines and other travel services

• Industry specific business intelligence

• Class of systems pulling data from the GDS

• Internet: specific extranet systems

Future Direction

Continued globalisation of Flight Centre Limited

supported and enabled by technology

Keeping focus on the basics that still hold true, even in today’s world…

November 2008 presentationManaging Relationship Risk in Projects� The presentation …

� … highlights the need for effective management of relationships in

projects. It covers relationships from a risk management perspective

and shows how to develop a rigorous planned approach that will impact

on delivery outcomes through effective group dynamics; interface

management and good leadership methodologies.

� Graham Scott …


Queensland Chapter

� Graham Scott …

� … is an Organisational Psychologist with Masters qualifications. Prior to

studying Psychology Graham worked in the Construction Industry at

trade and Management levels. For the past thirteen years Graham has

being working in Projects mostly in recovery around “communication”

and “people issues”.

� OrgConsulting.com will be the proud sponsor of a Bar Tab for the November 2008 Chapter Meeting

Thanks for coming


Queensland Chapter

Enjoy the Networking

at the bar

pmi queensland chapter meeting - project management at flightcentre - october 2008

Business

flight centre structure

travel technology background

deck travel

screenci eventscampus

technology spheres

flight centres history

aboutproject management

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