Managing Successful Programmes: brief overview

MSP is another best practise from the office of Government Commerce (OGC). They provide to the public their best practise on procurement, programme management and project management.

For project management OGC’s knowledge and experience is put together in the Prince2 project management standard. One of the basics of Prince2 is its Product Based approach. MSP has another goal to achieve: an approach based upon the realisation of benefits.

Managing Successful Programmes provides a principles based framework that is described in three parts:

• Programme management principles
• Governance Themes
• Transformational flow

Programme management principles

In this introduction I’ll just list the 7 principles of programme management of MSP:

1. Remaining aligned with corporate strategy
2. Leading change
3. Envisioning and communicating a better future
4. Focusing on the benefits and threats to them
5. Adding value
6. Designing and delivering a coherent capability
7. Learning from experience

With these principles OGC provides a common framework of understanding (a FOU??) for all programmes. OGC states that the principles are universal to every programme, self-validating and empowering.

Governance themes

In order to realise the benefits of a programme there is a need to have a control framework for the programme. The control framework, or better said governance, is needed to give attention to the control of the transformation programme. Governance is also needed for control/stewardship of the organisation as a corporate entity.
Governance will help the programme to integrate in the control framework of the organisation. Ideally it will use this organisation framework if possible.

The Governance themes are:

1. Organisation
2. Vision
3. Leadership and stakeholder engagement
4. Benefits realisation management
5. Blueprint design and delivery
6. Planning and control
7. The business case
8. Risk management and issue resolution
9. Quality management

Transformational flow

The transformational flow looks at how transformational business changes are achieved. The steps needed are iterative and interrelated. Although programmes can start with a programme mandate, some programmes emerge on another way:

• a proposed change can be more complex of bigger than originally thought. So another approach is necessary to give the business change a better chance of success.
• various projects are trying to achieve similar changes to the same part of the organisation. Combining those projects result in a more efficient way of reaching the require business change and solving duplication and conflicts between the projects.

For programmes, emerging this way, special attention has to be given to the achieved project results so far.

The following Transformational flow processes are identified within MSP:

1. Identifying a programme
2. Defining a programme
3. Managing the tranches
4. Delevering the capability
5. Realising the benefits
6. Closing a programme

In the next posts I’ll look further into the Programme management principles, the governance themes and the transformational flow.

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