Implementing plans introduction

Purpose: to deliver benefits for the business through effective management of change.

Key documents:

• business case
• programme and project management documentation
• contract/s with service provider/s

Principal skills required for implementing plans:

• Acquisition
• Implementation and programme/project management
• Management and administration
  

What you have to do

You have to address the whole business change, not just individual components such as IT. You are translating high level strategic objectives into detailed plans in order to achieve outcomes such as better services quality, as identified in the strategy and its strategic themes.

The task of implementing plans for business change requires management of the interdependencies between the business environment, the organisation, its people and supporting technologies; any change in one aspect will affect one or more of the others. Address cultural change as the most important consideration; take a realistic view of the organisation's readiness to cope with change.

Change is continuous. You should carry out regular reviews of the internal and external environment to respond to ongoing change.

Successful management of change involves the following activities:

• establish a formal programme in order to deliver business change, ensuring that key individuals have explicit roles and responsibilities within the change programme
• translate high level business plans into requirements for systems and services
• adopt a structured project management approach, ensuring that there are clear communication channels and that projects are continually driven by the business case and that it remains viable
• categorise service requirements and adopt appropriate strategies for satisfying the requirements, actively managing providers and partners through the transformation process
• assess development processes to assure risks are managed and quality is sustained and that the links to business objectives are maintained
• verify that customer requirements are being met through the acquisition and development processes by means of a comprehensive testing and acceptance strategy
• assure that the proposed solutions do not compromise the strategic intent and that the Quality Plans of solution providers reflect the organisation's Quality Policy
• understand the organisational capability and readiness to respond to change, setting performance targets that relate directly to the required business outcome, and demonstrating the value for money achieved.

Key factors for successful change:

• focus on the whole business change - the people, the organisation, business processes and supporting infrastructure
• good leadership and clear accountability for change (the Senior Responsible Owner/Project Owner role)
• excellence in programme and project management skills
• robust risk management, taking a business-wide view rather than the immediate view of the project
• effective measurement and management of benefits
• effective communication and interaction with providers and other stakeholders, including a good understanding of the implications of provider plans for implementation
• understanding and meeting end user needs (eg the citizen)
• realistic estimates of resources, timescales and the likely benefits
• learning from experience and sharing the lessons learned.

Roles and process capability for implementing plans

Programme and project management roles, which include the translation of high level business plans into formal programmes in order to deliver business change; ensuring that projects are driven by business cases and that they remain viable

• Acquisition: procurement undertaken supports the business objectives and expected outcome
• Supplier management (closely related to acquisition activities): active management of providers and partners through the business transformation
• Development: the active management of the requirements against the business case throughout the development life-cycle
• Quality management: assures that the quality approach of internal and external providers reflects the organisation's Quality Policy
• Business change management: ensures that overall accountability for change rests with an appropriate individual, and that a benefits realisation regime is in place.

Figure 0:5 Team model for implementing plans

The implementation of plans is dependent upon the successful management of business change. The achievement of business objectives is dependent upon the translation of high level business plans into requirements for assets and services. The most immediate requirement is for skills and competencies in programme and project management. Fundamental team roles for 'implementing plans' include 'project management' and 'programme management'.

The basic management roles need to be supported by a number of technical and commercial roles in order to deliver appropriate business solutions. The 'acquisition' role ensures that procurement activities reflect of the business objectives and expected outcome. 'Supplier management' works closely with the acquisition role in order to actively manage the various service providers or partners during the business transformation and throughout the life of the business association.

The 'development' role is a similar life-cycle management involvement - in the transformation of business requirements through the development process, where applicable. The highest level designated in the team model for 'implementing plans' is represented by the roles of 'business change management' and 'quality management'. 'Business change management' assures that the business needs are being met by the various work programmes. The role is responsible also for assuring that the organisation has the necessary capabilities and is ready to respond to the change agenda.

The role of 'quality management' interacts with the other roles within the team model, such as assuring that the approach to quality of both internal and external service providers reflects that of the organisation; it is responsible also for ensuring that the Quality Policy is not compromised by other team roles.

See the Programme Management Workbook for a detailed step by step approach.