Spotlight - DWP and P3M3

Using P3M3*: A Department's Perspective

In DWP we use P3M3 to self assess our Departmental PPPM** capability and maturity.
 
We have found P3M3 extremely useful (there are a number of these types of models/tools about) but since this is the Government standard and has been developed taking into account the OGC suite of products we all use in DWP, it seemed especially useful to a Government Department - and so it proved.
 
When we self assess again later this year we intend to use P3M3 not only corporately but also to undertake separate assessments in each of our Agencies/NDPBs/Directorates to provide ourselves with a lower level understanding of our capability and maturity. Our intention is then to use these assessments along with an on-line skills audit we are undertaking and a PPM Benchmarking assessment of our PPM practice and procedures to drive our PPM capability improvement programme, based on evidence rather than based around perceptions.
 
To date we have self assessed ourselves but in the future our intention is to undertake an annual formal independent assessment using P3M3 with self assessments occurring half yearly in between the formal independent assessment. We don't see this use of P3M3 as "overkill" but as a useful easy to use tool, that will help us to maintain momentum in a large organisation made up of numerous Agencies/NDPBs.

Since our initial self assessment I have discussed with other UK Government colleagues undertaking a similar role, around utilising them to conduct future assessments rather than external consultants to save on cost. Our rationale for this approach is not just financial since Government colleagues often have a better understanding of "delivery and implementation issues around undertaking a capability improvement programme in a large Government Department" alongside an awareness that we don't necessarily need to be at the highest level for absolutely everything to still deliver successfully. That said, the cost saving is extremely important in the current climate. Our experiences of assessing our PPPM capability and maturity utilising P3M3 in the main have been very positive and in the current "tighter financial environment" we saved around £60K as we had previously utilised consultancy expertise to undertake a similar assessment. We found there was little difference in the quality of the output and we actually better understood through our own involvement in the process the exact areas where we needed remedial or other action.
 
We are currently working on a suite of measures to prove that our "leap of faith" in undertaking a PPM capability improvement programme within the Department is justified and providing a return on our investment; and to that end we have produced a preliminary Benefits model.
 
From our experience I would suggest that other organisations give P3M3 a try - I suspect you will be pleasantly surprised, as we were.

Ian Anderson
DWP PPM Head of Profession and HCoE.

* Portfolio, Programme and Project Management Maturity Model (P3M3). 
** Portfolio, Programme and Project Management

When you need a thorough examination of your organisation's capability to manage portfolios of programmes and projects, you should use the P3M3. The model aligns with developments in the OGC's portfolio and includes a self-assessment questionnaire.

For more information on P3M3 go to www.ogc.gov.uk/introduction_to_the_resource_toolkit_tools_techniques.asp