Governance and Assurance the Project Profession perspective Nina Hartley Met Office Senior Project Manager and Head of P3M Profession APM South West Branch Committee member
This presentation will cover: An Introduction to the Met Office Project Management view of governance and assurance Project governance/assurance in the Met Office Thoughts of the Project Management / Internal Assurance partnership of the future
The Met Office Over 150 years old Employ over 2,000 people 40 UK sites, 7 overseas We provide advice on weather and climate Trading Fund within the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS)
protecting life and property A four-day forecast is as accurate today as a one-day forecast was 30 years ago
keeping transportation safe
supporting business and military operations
Our projects and programmes range from... procuring and installing supercomputers and Software development for Visualising our data
To Increased efficiency of our data centre Our data centre uses more power than a small town Cooling requirement ~1300kW (24 x 7) Free cooling solution installed 28 organisations involved Saving 6,500,000 kwh / year ( 560 / day)
And enhancing our Observing network and scientific analysis -Installing and refreshing our global observing network to extend its coverage and operating life -Analysing observation data to improve our forecasting models accuracy and capability
Met Office real world Lots of highly qualified professionals Process is a dirty word Strong departmental independence Departments are pseudo-programmes It s up to you to deliver what you need to, in the best way you see fit, to achieve your plans
Project Management view of governance and assurance
Project Management definitions Governance: the set of policies, regulations, functions, processes, procedures and responsibilities that define the establishment, management and control of projects, programmes or portfolios. P3 Assurance: the process of providing confidence to stakeholders that projects, programmes and portfolios will achieve their scope, time, cost and quality objectives and realise their benefits. APM (Association of Project Management) Body of Knowledge 2012 edition
Strategic alignment Competency assessment Delivery assessment
Project governance/assurance in the Met Office
Project governance start 2010 No organizational overview of projects No appetite for process compliance Little project justification Weak inter-project dependency management We need to improve our project managers You need to improve your project governance
Recognising the real need We needed to Eliminate organizational weaknesses that jeopardize successful change delivery In order to Enable our project management professionals to do a good job
Within the Met Office environment Strong professional & departmental independence Auditor pressure to have necessary central oversight Just Enough Project Governance Sufficient controls Sufficient adoption
Project Management Ground Rules
Project Management Ground Rules what rather than how
Project Register Delivery & Outcomes Project Delivery Project Outcome
Benefits management model projects programmes Met Office Project Managers deliver Project Executives ensure Programme Managers realise Met Office Executive deliver DELIVERABLES OUTCOMES BENEFITS STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES During projects Very soon after deliverables Over lifetime of business case Over lifetime of Corporate Plan planning
Governance Regimes Three different delivery processes providing a different level of project governance Red Process Green Process Black Process High Governance, suitable for projects of greater complexity, uncertainty, strategic importance, criticality Medium Governance, suitable for projects of 'typical' complexity and importance Minimal Governance, suitable for very lightweight developments with a significant risk appetite and no significant or critical outcomes.
Linking project delivery and governance
Where are we now? No overview of projects monthly summary status of projects No appetite for process compliance I m doing that already Little project justification monthly outcome assessments Weak inter-project dependency management active dependency risk reduction We need to improve project managers please check this for organizational weaknesses
Project Outcomes - End Project Assessments
February 2014 -Performance stats CHOOSING DEVELOPMENTS RIGHT Product Development Throughput Infrastructure Investment ENSURING VIABLE DEVELOPMENTS Product Developments On-Track Managing Development Performance Mar 2014 shadow bars are last month Project Ongoing Viability ENSURING ACCEPTABLE RELEASE RISK Changes After Freeze Testing Defects Customer Incidents Change Board Attendance WAVE Emergency Releases UNDERSTANDING HOW WELL WE DID Product Release Slippage Product Development Outcomes NWP Release Slippage NWP Release Quality End Project Assessments Target
The Project Management/ Internal Assurance partnership
Assurance activities should guarantee benefits will be successful delivered because the project/programme is applying the optimal level of control. Less focus on completing templates Focus more on competencies and controlled delivery
In projects... Avoid blame tackle organizational weaknesses Match change to organizational culture: Dictatorship? Communist? Commonwealth? Stay independent of any methodology needed by the organization not by the method Engagement is more important than rigor Define the minimum acceptable standard Focus on good (rather than best ) practice
For further information see: -APM Assurance Specific Interest Group (http://www.apm.org.uk/group/apmassurance-specific-interest-group) -APM Governance Specific Interest Group (http://www.apm.org.uk/group/apmgovernance-specific-interest-group)