darryl poulton - presentation - project portfolio management

Previous Employment – Project Portfolio Management Framework

By Darryl Poulton

1. Context

2. Quality Management System (QMS)

3. Project Office and the role of Programme Management Information Systems Advisor.

ContextAdvantage West Midlands were operational from 1997 to

2012.

- One of 9 Regional Development Agencies (RDAs).- Funding provider for economic regeneration projects

initiated by Public and/or Private Sector bodies under single or multiple funding arrangements.

- Annual Budget of circa £350m.- Commitment to the delivery of Output targets set by

central government for; Jobs created and safeguarded. Businesses created and assisted. Skills – raising the skill set of the regions workforce. Remediation of Land. Attracting Private Sector investment leverage.

Governance Framework

For the organisation to achieve its aims and objectives it set in place a framework to manage its business.

A Quality Management System (QMS) with origins in ISO 9000 and founded on PRINCE2 principles defined how the organisation managed its business operations by –

Providing a structure within which to operate. Allocating roles and responsibilities Putting in place processes and controls. Helping to manage needs and expectations. Ensuring it satisfied the mandatory

requirements placed upon it as an NDPB (Non-Departmental Public Body).

Encouraging and promoting a culture of continuous improvement.

How the Agency’s QMS was structured

QMS was structured into 5 levels:- Agency Quality Manual- Procedures - Process and Project Management- Work Instructions - Agency Forms- Guidance

QMS was -

- Periodically reviewed by PAWG (a cross functional process review group) and the Project Office

- Periodically updated to reflect new business needs/processes using controlled change notifications.

- Electronic only, as paper copies were uncontrolled.

Business Methodology - Six Stage Lifecycle

The Agency employed a two staged application, appraisal and approval process (Outline Proposal and Full Application) and projects seeking financial support from the Agency used one or both of these stages depending upon financial thresholds and/or project complexity.

The Agency’s standard project management process consisted of a six stage lifecycle founded in PRINCE2 principles, as follows –

- Registration- Outline - Full - Contract- Delivery- Closure & Evaluation

Roles and Responsibilities

Key Project Roles were closely aligned to the Business Lifecycles;

Project Sponsors – would help develop the projects with Applicants from Registration through to the Full Lifecycle in order to gain approval from the Investment Decision Group (IDG).

Project & Contract Managers – would inherit the approved projects to formally arrange Contracts and then manage and monitor the performance throughout the Delivery Stage.

Appraisers – independent of the above would be involved in assessments of Outline Business Cases and the appraisals of Full Applications before submission for investment decision. In the Closure and Evaluation Stage they would then be involved in disseminating Lessons Learned.

Registration Stage

Project proposals were registered on the Programme Management System (PMS) to make a record of initial contact.

Business Milestones ;

01-Applicant Starts Developing Project* 02-Initial Registration*

Outline Stage

Applications receiving outline endorsement were invited to submit a Full project application.

Overview Procedure - ADV-PM-03 Project Lifecycle - Outline Stage.

Business Milestones ; 03-Completed Outline Proposal Received* 04-Assessment Ready Outline Proposal* 05-Desktop Assessment Started* 06-Desktop Assessment Complete* 07-Outline Endorsement or Rejection*

Full Stage

Having progressed through the Outline stage, the objective of the Full stage was to ensure the proposal was sufficiently defined so that the Agency can decide whether or not to invest in the project and to enter into formal contracts / agreements.

Overview Procedure - ADV-PM-04 Project Lifecycle – Full Stage


08-Full Application Received* 09-Appraisal Ready Full Application* 10-Full Application Appraisal Started* 11-Full Appraisal Complete* 12-Full Approval or Rejection*

Contract Stage

Following Approval at the Full stage, the Contract stage was the process by which a legally binding agreement was established between the Agency and the relevant parties, enabling project delivery to commence.

Overview Procedure - ADV-PM-005 Project Lifecycle – Contract Stage


13-Pre-Contract Approval Conditions Fulfilled* 14-Contract Issued* 15-Signed Contract Received*

Delivery Stage

Having identified the necessary project controls, the Project and Contract Manager shall deliver the project through to Closure.

Overview Procedure ADV-PM-06 Project Lifecycle – Delivery Stage

A number of other notable QMS procedures relating to the Delivery Stage

- Project Management ADV-PM-09- Risk Management ADV-PM-12- Monitoring and Measuring Performance ADV-PM-

13- Contract Management ADV-PM-14- Financial Management ADV-PM-15- Change Control ADV-PM-16- Issue Management ADV-PM-17

Delivery Stage

A project remained within the Delivery stage until it was both financially and physically complete, i.e. All financial transactions have been completed and all Outputs due have been delivered and reported.

- Business Milestones ;

16-Project Start* 17-Project Management Plan Approved* 18-Mid Term Review* 19-Financial Completion* 20-Physical Completion*

Closure and Evaluation Stage

Ensures projects are concluded in a defined and structured fashion, formally stopping all project management activity and signing off of two reports –

Project Completion Report – - Formal completion – review of deliverables and

contractual commitments.

Project Closure and Evaluation Report - Captures and disseminates lessons learnt

Overview Procedure - Project Lifecycle ADV-PM-07 – Closure and Evaluation


21-Project Completion Report* 22-Evaluation Completed* 23-Project Closed*

QMS Documents and the LifecyclesQMS development and administration A Project Office was set up –

- Established and maintained the project management processes [QMS]

- Set and managed the framework for monitoring the Agency’s and its Partners’ compliance [Project Assessment]

- Provided Agency staff with the relevant advice, guidance, training

- Maintained the Agency’s Programme Management Information Systems, project logs and registers.

The Project Office Team consisted of;- Team Leader- Project and Quality Assurance Advisors x 3

- Programme Management Information Systems Advisor

- Project Office Configuration Librarian- Project Support Officer

Programme Management Information Systems Advisor

Key Areas of Responsibility

Portfolio Management System (PMS – Artemis) Development.

Quality Management System (QMS) Documentation.

Business Reporting.

Training Materials, Delivery and Workshops.

Portfolio Management System (PMS)

Key activities

Harmonisation of system with all key procedures embedded within the QMS.

Design and implementation of solutions driven by QMS changes to existing business processes or to accommodate new business activities.

Development of in-house solutions and of functional specifications for Software Company to provide extensions.

Delivering upgrades to new software versions where evaluation perceived it to be of operational and/or administrative benefit.

Effective major change management of the project application within a controlled environment triggered by Project Initiation Document (PID) etc.


Key Features

The Portfolio of Agency activity was structured upon ‘Parent – Child’ relationships driven by Approval flows and processes and the movement and change management of funds.

Portfolio – Programme – Project hierarchies were established whereby;

Strategic Business Units (SBU) were the Portfolios under which Programmes would deliver groups of related project activity reflected in;

Expenditure view categories of Corporate Plan Allocations – Budgets – Forecasts – Actual


Key Components

Expenditure – accommodating multiple funding streams. Outputs. Business Methodologies – standard and bespoke. Lifecycle Stages. Milestones. Risk and Issue Logs. RAG Indicators for key project performance variables. Interface with Financial system. Automated Change Control generation. Role and Lifecycle based securities and permissions

consistent with QMS.

Characteristics – Strategic Fit, Geographical delivery dimensions etc.

Quality Management System (QMS)

The design, production, periodical review and maintenance of;

Procedures Guidance Notes Forms Work Instructions/Flowcharts Logs and Registers

QMS - Procedures

Including the following key procedure documents but not exhaustive;

Financial Management Change Control Management Risk Management Issue Management Project Performance Measurement (Milestones and

Timescales)QMS - Guidance Notes

Including the following key Guidance documents but not exhaustive;

PMS Operating Manual – Registration Stage PMS Operating Manual – Outline Stage PMS Operating Manual – Full Stage PMS Operating Manual – Contract Stage PMS Operating Manual – Delivery Stage PMS Operating Manual – Closure and Evaluation Stage

PMS System Administration Manual

QMS – Forms

Project Management Plan Appendices; Expenditure Profiles Output Profiles Risk and Issue templates Key Milestone templates Appraisal - Value for Money Form

Change Control Forms Grant Claim Forms Outputs Forms Value for Money Form

QMS - Work Instructions/Flowcharts

To support complex obligations of European Funding Programmes namely

ERDF 2007-2013 RDPE 2007-2013

Logs and Registers

Project Decision Records (PDR) Change Control Log Project Office Assessment/Actions Log Process Issues Log QMS Documents Log

Business Reporting

Using Business Objects Desktop Intelligence (BOX1)

Some examples of key reports provided include;

Expenditure/Outputs

1. Allocation Capacity – Allocations to SBU’s less Commitments to date.

2. Budget v Forecast Outturn – variances to contract and change control.

3. Forecast Profiles – Grant in Aid (GIA) claims and cash flow management.

4. Forecast v Original Forecast – ‘capacity building’/training.

5. Budget Capacity – remainder to spend/slippage. 6. Project Pipeline – forecast £££ and Outputs of pre-

committed activity.

Business Reporting

Risks and Issues

Typical reports might include any combination of these data types;

Risk Name Risk Description – consequences should risk

materialise. Mitigating Actions – what do we propose to do about it? Impact Score – H-M-L – 3-2-1 Probability Score – 1-99% Proximity – when is it likely to happen? Risk Author Risk Owner Risk next review date Risk notes/actions to date.

Business Reporting

Milestones

1. Forecasts –resource planning for allocation to future internal activities such as Appraisals, Contracting, Monitoring and Evaluation.

2. Actual – performance measurement of project Development, Appraisal and Approval timescales, identifying process bottlenecks and areas for improvement.

Other Reports

Project Highlight/Summary reports consolidating all of the above.

Use of reported statistics in Agency KPI’s and Balanced Scorecard.

Project Compliance reports – checks upon data integrity at key process points.

Slice and dice – all of the above by SBU/Teams/Sponsors/PCM’s etc.

Training Materials, Delivery and Workshops

PMS –

Development of Training Materials – operating manuals by lifecycle.

Role specific sessions for Project Sponsors, Project & Contract Managers.

‘Cradle to grave’ approach of project scenarios moving from initial Registration to Closure and Evaluation incorporating all role and lifecycle process requirements of the QMS.

Senior Responsible Owners (SRO) and other senior Agency managers – navigational, read only, system enquiry training.

QMS –

QMS Training Materials and Workshop delivery.

Business Objects Reports – Retrieval and refresh of published project management

reports.

Close – Any Questions?

Thank you very much for listening!