However, there are many models to choose from. Should you pick a delivery supplier but manage the programme internally? Should you pick a big-brand consulting firm to manage and deliver the whole programme with their own people? Should you go to market for a contract programme manager? Or should you pick a specialist consulting firm with strong programme management credentials? The answer, unfortunately for buyers of consulting services, can only be: “It depends…”.
For example, choosing a big-brand consulting firm has some potential advantages such as providing a single point of accountability, international reach, and a wide range of skills and services under one roof. However, it also has some potential disadvantages; will it feel like you have handed over the keys to the programme and lost control? Will this model drive sufficient business engagement and buy-in? And although the firm may claim to provide all the services you need, are they really “best of breed” in all those areas (or are they experts in some, and merely adequate in others)? Similarly, deciding to try and manage the programme internally has some clear advantages: you will have full control over the programme; it is easier to get the business engaged; and it can be cost effective and simpler from a commercial perspective. But will the internal resources really have the skills and deep experience required for managing a critical and complex change programme? Can they be truly independent and bring the fresh perspective often required to drive alignment in a stakeholder group with many different and strong opinions?
In this vein, to help buyers of Programme Management consulting services understand the model that will work best for them, the table below provides more information on the range of possible models, showing for each the circumstances under which they might be a good fit, as well as the potential pitfalls to avoid.
There are many success stories of great Programme Management available, and when it is done well there is no doubt that delivering a successful business and/or IT change programme can genuinely transform and revitalise a business. But one thing is for sure – these programmes are not easy to get right, and the pressure exerted by the current economic climate is only making them harder. Given that, choosing the right programme management arrangements at the start is probably the single most important pre-requisite for success.
Choosing the Right Programme Management Model
The first thing to note is that all of these models can be made to work. But the effort involved in making them work; the degree to which they are successful; and the time / cost range within which they will deliver will all vary significantly, depending on the particular circumstances and suppliers involved. The following table aims to give buyers some brief guidance to help them choose, by illustrating the circumstances under which each model might be a good fit, and the potential pitfalls to avoid in each case:
| Model |
When might it be a good fit? |
Potential pitfalls - what to be careful of! |
| Internal resource |
- There are sufficient internal resources, with suitable Programme Management skills, who are available to be seconded onto the programme full time
|
- Underestimating the level of specific Programme Management expertise required. Just because someone has business or IT experience in this area, it absolutely doesn’t mean they can successfully pull together and deliver a major change programme. Project roles tend to be very different to Line Management roles, and the latter do not tend to equip people to do the former
- Hard for them to be truly independent and bring fresh perspective to the programme
|
| Independent contractor |
- You can find someone really good, who will take enough ownership, and who is prepared to really understand and tackle the content issues, not just manage the process
- You just need a single Programme Manager and nothing else (i.e. you are prepared to source everything else – including the other team lead / management roles - from elsewhere)
|
- You’re dependent on one individual, with no organisation behind them to hold accountable
- They don’t have any vested interest in the outcome
- Hard to assess real quality without trying them out – which could prove to be a costly mistake
- Will they really understand your business, and enough of the specific business or IT content, or will they just try to turn the handle on the management processes?
|
| Big-brand consulting firm |
- You need / want people from the consulting firm on the ground in many countries
- You want a single point of accountability, with a wide range of services delivered by the same firm (not just the programme management)
- The programme has an outsourcing component, where you want the supplier to both deliver the programme and take on the operation of some services afterwards (with one set of commercial arrangements covering both)
|
- The programme will still need lots of business engagement – it can’t be run in a “black box”; need to watch out for the work being done “to the business, not with the business”
- Still need to carefully / effectively govern and manage the programme (and the big-brand supplier). The programme won’t run itself just because there is a big firm at the helm!
- Is the one firm really expert in all the services that you require (or just some)?
- Potential to lose control
- Harder to assess and control consistently high people quality within a large consulting team
- Potential high cost for a large consulting team
|
“Client Side Consulting” approach*
(* - Refer to definition below) |
- There are a range of suppliers (e.g. particular IT vendors, consultancies, strategic offshore partners, internal people) who are all a good fit in certain areas, but none are suitable to take on the overall programme management and leadership of the programme
- You want to retain transparency and control of the programme, and maintain high levels of business buy-in
- You want an approach that maximises chances of success, but in a cost-conscious way
|
- Making this model work relies on top-calibre programme management skills to bring it all together - need to pick a firm with an excellent track record, credentials and references
- Getting the “best of breed “ mixture right can be a challenge – need to plan and mobilise the programme carefully
- Programme management needs to exercise careful control over the scope and responsibilities for each supplier involved to avoid any gaps or overlap
|
Of the four models shown in the table, the first three are generally well established and understood. However the fourth model, “Client Side Consulting”, is an alternative that is becoming increasingly popular. It is perhaps the model that is least familiar to buyers of consulting services, hence it is described below in some more detail.
Client Side Consulting
In essence, the “Client Side Consulting” approach to Programme Management involves the programme team being made up of a mixture of client staff, independent contractors, and various “best of breed” third parties (which may include the big-brand system integrator / consulting firms) – see the example below. A consulting firm specialising in programme management provides a small number of people (typically around 1 to 3) to be seconded in to the programme “on the client side”, taking on the key programme management and leadership roles, and the responsibility for managing all suppliers on the client’s behalf.
The aim of this approach is simply to achieve a balance that is most effective and fit for purpose in terms of both delivery capability and cost. The best suppliers can be selected who are most expert, capable and cost effective for each specific area of the programme, without requiring the client to have the programme management expertise to make all the parts fit and work together. The client-side programme management consultants run the programme on behalf of (and acting in the best interests of) the client. Because they are independent of the suppliers involved, they can make sure that the whole team is acting in the best interests of delivering the programme at all times, independent of any one supplier’s own agenda or vested interests. In simple terms, they take overall responsibility and accountability for: knitting the “best of breed” team together; managing all suppliers involved (making them work together seamlessly); defining, managing & delivering the overall programme plan; and driving the programme to a successful conclusion.
For example, in a business change programme with a large IT delivery component, the team might be made up as follows:
- Programme / Project Management – “client side” consulting firm, specialising in change programme delivery (supported by strong, internal business sponsorship)
- Business analysis, requirements definition & functional design – mostly internal client staff, but supplemented with contractors and/or consultants if necessary
- System development and configuration – cost-effective offshore IT supplier, plus (if required) some expert input / QA from the software package vendor
- Testing – mixture of internal client staff (especially for User Acceptance Testing), and specialist software testing / quality assurance suppliers, or consultants
- Business change and process re-engineering - mostly internal client staff, but supplemented with contractors and/or consultants if necessary
By selecting a “best of breed” combination of the above, the programme team can be optimised to provide the best delivery capability at the lowest cost. In addition, using internal staff as a component in many of the teams both keeps the costs down, and also significantly improves buy-in from the business (injecting business knowledge and understanding which means the programme is much more likely to deliver what the business really needs).
However, this approach is very dependent on the quality of the Programme Management, to make the team really gel and deliver together (despite the number of different parties involved) and to bring rich and deep experience of having delivered such programmes before. They need to know and apply what makes these change programmes really work; quickly resolve people and supplier issues; get the best performance from the team; and know the pitfalls to avoid without learning them during the programme by painful experience.
Read more about The Berkeley Partnership’s experience with client side consulting, including case studies and client testimonials