Developing PMO

capabilities - the Irish

Water experiencePat Geoghegan

Head of Change and Transformation

Quick Background & Introduction

• Pat Geoghegan, Head of Change and Transformation in Ervia Business Services

(2018 to date)

– Responsible for Business Change projects / programmes in Ervia, including Irish Water, Gas Networks

Ireland, Group and Ervia Business Services

– 4 teams Portfolio & Resourcing, Project Delivery, Change Management and Business Process

Optimisation

– Team 40 FTEs, plus we scale capacity via external third party partners, c. 20 resources currently

supporting team (Established Business Change Procurement Framework)

• Previously Head of Business Change in Irish Water (2016-2018), responsible for

change, portfolio and project management including PMO

• Joined Irish Water Programme Team in Oct 2012 as part of the Establishment

Programme; accepted Portfolio Manager role with responsibility for Portfolio

Management and PMO Capability development

• Prior to Irish Water, Worked for 10yrs in Telefonica / O2 Ireland, Various delivery

roles in CIO / CTO functions (PMO manager / head of function)

• Over 20+ years experience working in Portfolio, Programme and Project

Management roles across multiple industry sectors incl. Manufacturing, Telecoms &

Utilities

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Organisational Context

Ervia is a commercial semi-state company providing the strategic national gas and

water infrastructure and services that underpin the growth of the Irish economy.

Through our regulated business, Gas Networks Ireland, we build and operate one

of the most modern and safe gas networks in the world.

Irish Water, our other regulated business, is responsible for the operation and

maintenance of Ireland’s water and wastewater assets.

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Structure of Change & Transformation

The Change and Transformation (C&T) team is structured as an internal service delivery arm of Ervia’s Business Services, where all strategic

change and transformation projects, programmes and portfolio management activity is prioritised, managed and reported on from one central

team. All four teams collaboratie at multiple stages with the business as part of the end to end delivery lifecycle.

Our aim is to ensure controlled delivery by:

Creating and embedding one transparent, consistent Way of

Working, Portfolio Governance and Project Methodology across

the Change & Transformation Portfolio.

Driving improvements in the quality of programme and project

deliverables through rigorous application of the Phases & Gates

Methodology, including monitoring, tracking and analysing.

Improving transparency across work streams of planned

projects through accurate and timely reporting and escalations.

Providing skilled Change and Transformation resources to

programmes and projects.

Improving opportunities to identify synergies and areas of

collaboration across the Portfolio.

Portfolio &

Resourcing

Project

Delivery

Change &

Business

Readiness

Business

Process

Optimisation

Business

Solutions

Ervia Business

Services

Change &

Transformation

PMO Capability

Building our PMO Capabilities in Irish Water

1. Creating one team, building the culture, developing the skills (People)

– Project Managers are certified (IPMA / PMI / PRINCE) practitioners

– Hired a mix of senior and junior level project manager resources; focus on generic skills & backgrounds, in many cases hired non Technical resources

– Create the career path, (junior → senior → programme manager level); these individual contributors need to see a career

2. Implementing a standardised Way of Working (Processes)

– Developed our handbook; known as our Phases and Gates Methodology (‘Lite’ version also)

– Based on PMI PMBOK ; Initiation, Planning, Execution and Closing Phases

– Underpinned with RACI, Standard Templates / and RAG Status Reporting

3. Developed a Central Repository for all Project Artefacts (PPM Technology)

– Project site set up for every initiative in Irish Water, centralised on SharePoint platform

– Project site become ‘single version of the truth’ for reporting progress to all our Stakeholders

4. Comprehensive Training Programme implemented for Handbook

– All new Starters / refresher training for improvements / internal and external project resources

5. Implemented Quality Assurance and Governance to stage gate project movement

– Ensures project control remains between phases (Initiation, Planning, Execution and Close)

6. Established a 3rd party eco-system that provides the scalability necessary to meet excess demands

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Project Delivery: Framework Overview

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Note: This is to be read in conjunction with the RACI.

Inputs Initiation Planning Execution Close Outputs

Pro

ject

Manager

(Ow

ned)

Pro

jectT

eam

(P

roje

ct

Manager

Coord

inate

s)

Appro

vals

& U

pdate

s

Value

Statement

Develop PID

Conduct

Stakeholder

Assessment

Develop

preliminary

budget

Assess & monitor

Risks & Issues

Design Steering &

Governance

structures

Develop Detailed

Resource Plan

Build & Test

Solution

Manage &

Exit PGLS

Finalise Design

Documentation

Close out Budget

(incl. G4)

Archive all project

documents.

Project Close-Out

Report

• Formal acceptance

& handover of

product

• Procurement

closure

• Final performance

report

• Lessons Learned

• Release resources

• Archive project

records

Develop Solution

in detail

Define Benefits

Realisation

Metrics

Develop Business

Case

(baseline budget)

Develop H/Level

Resource Plan

Conduct Change

Impact

Assessment

Develop Comms

Plan

Develop St’holder

Mgt. Plan

Deliver Training

Develop Bus.

Readiness Plan &

Checklist

Funding

(G1)

Enterprise

IT

Change

Approval

Board

(CAB)

Enterprise

IT

PRB

Develop Training

Needs Analysis &

Dev’t Plan

Develop Plan on a

Page timeline

Develop Process

Maps & Req’s

Issue Project

Communications

Baseline Detailed

Project Plan

Manage Change

Requests

Manage Project

Plan & Budget

against baselines

Engage with

stakeholders

Business & IT

Service Transition

Activities

Develop Training

Content

Develop St’ment

of High Level

Benefits

Manage

Resource

Plan

Ongoing Project Controls: Status Reporting, Manage RAID Logs, Steering & Team Meetings, Project Communications (internal), Budget Tracker, Resource Mgt;

Change Control & Project Documentation Mgt.

Change

Assessment

Questionnaire

Training Delivery

Plan

Funding

Allocated

Funding

(G2)

Funding

(G3)Funding

Review (G4)

Develop H/Level

Acceptance

Criteria

Issue Project

Communications

High Level

solution designDevelop test plan

Enterprise

IT

IT Operations IT Operations IT Operations

Enterprise

IT

Hand-off

between

Portfolio

and

Project

Delivery

teams

Gate GateGateGate

Procurement Procurement

LA Updates LA Updates LA Updates

Business & IT

Service Transition

Planning

Benefits

(G5)

Gate

Project Start Date

(date Project Manager on-

boards)

Project End Date

(PGLS Exit date & completion of Execution

activities) and Handover to Portfolio & Resourcing

Team

Pre-Close Activities• Lessons Learnt

• Release Team

• Prepare to close

Budget (including

Draft G4 paper)

• Close RAID Log

• Confirm Benefits (G5)

Owner

• Project documentation

in the C&T repository

• Handoff within C&T

• Close Project Plan

Handover to

IT Ops BAU

& Business

Denotes to be

completed by the

Portfolio &

Resourcing team,

not the Project

Manager

PMO Ways of Working; Key Integrations

• Maintain focus on the integration points and handovers

• Clarity around roles and responsibilities are clearly understood

• Teams deliver the project and programmes according to the Phases and Gates methodology

• Improvements informed by lessons learned

• It’s a framework, it’s not prescriptive in any way

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Role of the Irish Water Project Manager

The Project Manager is like a ‘Conductor’ of the Orchestra, the person has to make

everything happen, in a timely and planned manner; delegates & takes responsibility…….

• Role has e2e responsibility for all project and change management activities of the project

• Works in partnership with the project Sponsor and project Business Lead to deliver the

project objectives

• Adopts the IW phases and gates project management methodology as agreed with the

PMO

• Ensures the project is delivered in accordance with agreed milestones, managing budget,

controlling scope & ensuring quality deliverables

• Ensure we have IW integrated change plans, including the training, communications &

business readiness activities to support the business, including the Local Authorities

• Manages the project relationships, including key stakeholders

• Co-ordinates work between different teams, evaluates resource work-load requirements

and escalates any issues for resolution

• Ensures project governance maintained; cadence of project meetings understood,

monthly project steering meetings

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Project Manager Competencies

Competencies includes the knowledge, skills, experience and attitude required

• The basics include relevant 3rd level qualification (Business / IT related) | min no. yrs of relevant experience | project management certification

• Ability to create and develop good working relationships

• Must have the ability to influence at all levels in the organisation

• Personality is important, how they engage with teams / individuals

• Can navigate complex organisational challenges (governance, processes etc)

• Ability to compromise at the right times

• Strong communication skills, into project teams & to key stakeholders

• Need to be energised and enthused for the role / the role is challenging

• Plans work and executes very well, must be in control (completer finisher)

• Not afraid to share knowledge / good team player

• Ability to set own high standards of performance and delivering desired results

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Types of Projects in Irish Water

The Portfolio and Resourcing team undertake an annual and quarterly portfolio planning

exercise with Irish Water; determines the demand plan and priorities !

• Significant Transformation Programme in place and supported by the Local Authorities;

this was a shared programme agreed with CCMA/Water Services Transition Office

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• Work and Asset Management,

including deploying Handheld

units

• Leakage Management System

• New Connections and

Developer Services

• Telemetry / SCaDA programme

• Handbook Charter for Domestic

& Non Domestic Customers

• Standardise Operational Plans

and Procedures

• Non Domestic Billing Migration,

LA to IW

• Environmental Information

Management System

• National Labs Implementation

Benefits of PMO to Irish Water

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The Phases and Gates Project Management Methodology is central to delivering successful

programmes / projects whilst increasing project management capabilities across the business

Common Understanding

Assist in establishing a common project management language across the IW business

Ensure that outputs are easily understood and interpreted by all levels of the business

Clear Structure, Requirements and

Control

Provide a structure against which responsibility for delivery is clear

Provide a check list of what needs to be done in order to deliver the project

Provide assurance and control that targeted objectives and benefits are identified, measured and will be delivered, to budget, schedule and quality

Consistency and Transparency

Consistent templates will support decision making and prioritisation

Provide transparency across all levels of the objectives, structure and status of each on-going project and initiative

Increased Productivity and Capacity

Less time spent on developing tools and templates

Increased productivity, consistent way of defining, reporting and analysing project information

Discipline Having a clear process in place drives discipline – repetition makes practice

better

Best Practice & Information Sharing

Project planning is essential to understand what happens within a project and track decisions made and results achieved

Creates an opportunity to leverage best practice; developing a community of project managers across the business

Building the PMO, our experience

• Need to put in place the basic building blocks, commitment needed from

management at the top

– Must be seen as a core capability / adds value to the organisation

• It a continuous Improvement cycle, the journey never ends

– Customers / stakeholders will have high expectations

• Implement Lessons Learned / Post Project reviews

– Don’t continuously make the same mistakes

• Don’t be too prescriptive to the project teams, provide the delivery framework to

manage the projects, good outcomes will happen

– You are looking for consistency of performance and repeatability

• Implement Project Management Maturity Assessments, circa every 18-24 months

– Build a plan, stabilise, measure and move to the next level

– Irish Water had PMM level 3, and that was good enough (measure approach & deployment)

– Maturity Assessments done for Project Delivery and Change Management Areas

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Example PMM Maturity Assessment

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Knowledge Area

Approach Knowledge

AreaApproach

Integration 9 Risk 8

Scope 8 HR 6

Time 8 Communications 8

Cost 5 Stakeholder 8

Quality 8 Procurement 7

Integration

Scope

Time

Cost

Quality

Risk

HR

Communications

StakeholdersMgmt.

Procurement

Level 3 - Approach

Max

Approach

Integration

Scope

Time

Cost

Quality

Risk

HR

Communications

Stakeholders Mgmt.

Procurement

Level 3 - Deployment

Max

Deployment

Knowledge Area

DeploymentKnowledge

AreaDeployment

Integration 8 Risk 7

Scope 7 HR 5

Time 7 Communications 8

Cost 4 Stakeholder 8

Quality 7 Procurement 5

Finally Some Achievements

• 2019 PMO of the Year, PMI Ireland Chapter

• Represented PMI Ireland Chapter in 2020 Worldwide PMO of the Year Global

Awards, May 2020

• Significant delivery of Irish Water transformation projects & programmes with full

support from the Local Authorities since 2014-2020

• Established best practice Portfolio, Project and Change Management practices,

and core services centralised to support the wider Ervia business (2018)

• Delivered an Ervia wide single business portfolio plan, prioritised and signed off

by the senior Executive team

• PMO | Portfolio oversight of c80+ business projects running concurrently in

2019, across 4 Business Units (IW, GNI, Ervia Group & Business Services),

significant capital investment

• IW Project Customer Satisfaction levels high, 93% average score in 2019

• Certified Project Management Professionals & recently certified our Change

Managers in CMI Accrediation

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Thank You