Business/IT Initiatives and Change Management

ISDE provides a range of services relating to the project management of business and organisational initiatives with an IT component:

Formulation of business and organisational strategies and initiatives, and the development of the supporting business cases Development of detailed business needs statements and RFPs, to serve as the baseline for the design of information systems support or software selection Software evaluation and selection Business process transformation, re-engineering planning and implementation Overall project management of business initiatives, including organisational communication, impact analysis and planning Management of organisational change programs, including system implementation planning and support

Our consultants have designed and managed to successful outcomes major organisational change programs, enhancing and streamlining business operations, utilising an approach which combines innovative business process transformation with fast-track project management. We also design, and if required, help coordinate and implement, the communication strategies associated with such change programs, usually as an integral part of the change program itself.

We approach projects and project management from a business perspective. While most business initiatives today rely on information technology to some extent, the fundamental intent behind a project is to deliver demonstrable business benefits. Information technology is just one of the means whereby the business initiative is implemented and the business benefit is realised.

We have identified a number of factors which must be met in order to ensure that projects succeed from a business viewpoint:

Maintain the business focus at all times
IT systems development methodologies focus on the IT component of the overall business initiative. From the viewpoint of the overall business initiative, systems development is just part of the overall solution. The business intent and the desired business outcome should drive the project at all times and should define the overall scope and content of the real business 'project'.

Build a sound business case
The drivers for the project must be sound and clearly defined. Often the first cut statement of a business problem is in terms of symptoms, or the justification for a business initiative is based on questionable assumptions. The first objective is to build a solid business case based on sound assumptions and clear understanding of the fundamental factors which are the real reasons for change or the underlying causes of perceived problems.

Design before you build
Once objectives have been defined, it is important to clearly identify, develop and evaluate solution alternatives that are technically feasible and that can be implemented at the projected cost, with a high degree of confidence. This can be ensured by an adequate up-front design effort.

When projects fail, it is often not because they are mismanaged but because they are misconceived. The consequences of inadequate design are the same in IT as in other fields of engineering: inertia due to confusion about what is to be produced, numerous changes during construction, an inadequate final product, cost and schedule overruns, strained relationship with the client, etc.

View the project as organisational change
Projects designed to implement business initiatives are essentially organisational change programs.

A well developed design solution, chosen from the available alternatives, defines what is to be done. The project plan defines how the initiative is to be implemented. The project plan must be developed from a holistic perspective, from the perspective of overall organisational or business change.

Organisational commitment, communication, training, in addition to the systems development effort itself, are just some of the factors that must be incorporated into the overall project plan.

Project ownership and organisational commitment
To succeed, the project must be owned by the business, there must be organisational commitment to the project at an appropriate level. This usually means senior executive sponsorship and operational reporting to a senior business manager, or to a steering committee including business stakeholders.

The project manager and the project team
The project director or the project manager will have overall responsibility for the project and must drive it to a successful conclusion. Our experience is that the choice of project director or project manager is one of the most critical success factors.

The first step for a project manager is to build a project team that encompasses the range of key skills necessary to successfully implement the project as a business initiative. This will include representatives from business areas that are part of the change process, people skilled in acceptance testing, organisational communication, training etc.

Project Execution and Implementation
If the above factors have been effectively addressed, and there is a sound project plan, project execution will be relatively straightforward. If not, the project is likely to run into trouble.

Reliable project execution requires the systematic monitoring of tasks and task progress and a vigorous, pro-active approach to the management of issues, risks and external dependencies.

The implementation phase of the project, when new systems and processes are activated, will require special attention to planning and training, and to all the details involved. Again the key here is to view the implementation from the perspective of business operations and to ask what is required to ensure that the business initiative succeeds in practice.

These are just some of the key aspects of our total commitment to excellence in the design and successful execution of projects and business initiatives.