INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF

PROJECT MANAGEMENT
International Journal of Project Management 25 (2007) 4155 www.elsevier.com/locate/ijproman

The importance of context in programme management: An empirical review of programme practices

Sergio Pellegrinelli a, David Partington b,*, Chris Hemingway b, Zaher Mohdzain b, Mahmood Shah b
b a SP Associates, 20 Templars Crescent, London N3 3QS, UK Craneld School of Management, Craneld, Bedford MK43 0AL, UK

Received 22 November 2005; received in revised form 10 February 2006; accepted 15 June 2006

Abstract The widespread use of programme management has outpaced our ability to grasp and codify a complex and subtle phenomenon. The dominant perspective of programme management is essentially project-based, tending to view programme management as an extension of project management. The most comprehensive and widely used programme management framework in the UK, Managing Successful Programmes, is published and used by the Oce of Government Commerce, and purports to be pragmatic guidance in the form of key principles and techniques. This paper describes research on the actual practices used on programmes in commercial and UK public sector organisations. Using Managing Successful Programmes as a template for the data collection and analysis, we studied six programmes. Even in cases where Managing Successful Programmes was the mandated approach, the processes and techniques were not consistently applied, rather elements of the framework were selectively chosen and adapted. The research revealed signicant and on-going crafting of programme content, structures and processes to reconcile divergent aims and interests, to expedite progress in the face of adversity and to engage multiple sponsors, contributors and stakeholders. The research highlighted the importance and inuence of context, namely the dynamic cultural, political and business environment in which the programmes operate, and the organisationally embedded nature of programme management. 2006 Elsevier Ltd and IPMA. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Programme management; Context; Practices; MSP

1. Programme management Programme management is now a widely used approach for bringing about planned change. The approach is used to implement strategy [1,2] to develop and maintain new capabilities [3], to manage complex information systems (IS) implementations [4] and many other business changes. Perhaps unsurprisingly, when individuals involved in programmes meet one another they spend time trying to understand what the other means by programme management. This ambiguity surrounding the nature and practice
Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 1234 751122; fax: +44 1234 751806. E-mail addresses: sergio.pellegrinelli@sp-associates.com (S. Pellegrinelli), d.partington@craneld.ac.uk (D. Partington). 0263-7863/$30.00 2006 Elsevier Ltd and IPMA. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ijproman.2006.06.002
*

of programme management remains despite well over a decade of academic and practitioner interest. In 1991, Ferns [5] oered a denition of programme management centred on the notion of the programme as a coordinating mechanism for projects that enabled otherwise unrealisable benets to be extracted. Gray [6] reviewed alternative approaches to programme management based on the degree of control the programme management function exerts on the activities of the projects, and the mode of coordination: hierarchical direction versus mutual adaptation based on open information ows. Pellegrinelli [3] built on Ferns conception, adding that programmes could also dene projects and that the direction provided by a programme structure might be towards a common goal. He also drew out qualitative dierences between projects and

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programmes and proposed three archetypal programme congurations based on the purpose/nature of the coordinating benets sought by the programme: portfolio, goal-oriented and heartbeat. Murray-Webster and Thiry [7] proposed that programmes could comprise both projects and operational activities and that the core logic for the creation of a programme was the realisation of strategic or tactical benets. Thiry [8] later sought to introduce the notion of concurrent performance and learning loops in the management of programmes through the introduction of value management techniques. Vereecke et al. [9] note that in 2001 there was considerable confusion over the nature of programme management and suggest that it reects a lack of maturity as a discipline. The divergence of views and apparent confusion may be attributed to the dierent inuences that have tried to shape programme management. Authors and professional bodies grounded in a project management tradition have tended to conceive of programme management as an extension of project management. For example, the Project Management Institutes 1996 Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) [10] denes a programme as: a group of related projects managed in a co-ordinated way. The UK Association for Project Managements Body of Knowledge (APM BoK) [11] notes variations in the use of the term programme, suggesting that, the most common and cogent denition is that a programme is a collection of projects related to some common objective (APM, 2000, p. 15). Consequently, they have sought to adapt, rene and enhance project management concepts and techniques to cope with the complexity of multiple deliveries, multiple stakeholders, inter-project coordination, shared resources and other characteristics they perceived of programmes. In contrast to this project-based view, authors and practitioners from strategic management or strategic planning [12] disciplines perceive programmes as vehicles for implementing strategy and for bringing about corporate renewal, and as alternative organising structures. They have argued that programmes are qualitatively dierent phenomena and that organisations that view programmes as large projects tend to shoe-horn programmes into project-level thinking, and so lose most of the benets sought in setting up programmes in the rst place [3]. In contrasting the strategic management perspective with the project-based perspective of programme management, four key dierences emerge. First, programmes are emergent phenomena and programme managers need to be more conscious of, and responsive to, external change and shifting strategic goals than indicated by a project-based perspective that promotes the denition and pursuit of xed objectives and scope. Second, programmes are conceived as frameworks or structures, and so atemporal or with indeterminate time horizons, rather than having linear life-cycles akin to projects. Third, as a vehicle for enhancing corporate vitality programme management is concerned with the nur-

turing of individual and organisation-wide capabilities as well as the ecient deployment of resources. Fourth, programme management work is intimately bound up with, and determined by, context rather than governed by a common set of transferable principles and processes. The contrasting perspectives are reected in the way programme management practitioners make sense of and carry out their work. Recent research into programme management competence [13] uncovered four distinct conceptions of programme management work. Lower order conceptions were grounded in core project management concepts and practices while higher order conceptions were more aligned to ways of thinking and acting emanating from the elds of strategy and leadership. The competence research and its application in organisational settings [14] suggested that there were relatively few practitioners who held higher order conceptions. Most practitioners, including some senior managers responsible for programme management functions within their organisations, exhibited lower order conceptions. Most programme managers were previously project managers, promoted into their new roles on the basis of good past performance. Organisations, facing the need to coordinate and deliver ever more complex change initiatives and project-based working, have turned to programme management as a potential way forward. Experienced project managers have been entrusted with managing programmes. Consultants and software companies have actively pursued the opportunity to help organisations embrace programme management. They have also been quick to provide newly appointed programme managers with familiar tools and frameworks to operate eectively in their new roles. Diculties experienced as some successful project managers promoted into programme roles have oundered [15] have tended to add to calls for more guidance and structures rather than a re-think of the competence needed to deal with complex business initiatives. A number of authors have sought to codify programme management practices, primarily based on personal or corporate experiences of working in the area, both observing practice and providing advice and guidance [16,17]. Over the last few years one publication issued by the Oce of Government Commerce has begun to dominate the way programme management is understood and undertaken in the UK, and is now being increasingly recognised and adopted in the rest of Europe. The Oce of Government Commerce (OGC) is an independent Oce of the UK Treasury. It works with public sector organisations to help them improve their eciency, gain better value for money from their commercial activities and deliver improved success from programmes and projects. Tasked with supporting the delivery of the UK public sectors 21.5bn annual eciency gains by 2007/2008 and 3bn saving by 2007/2008 in central Government procurement, as well as improving the success rate of mission critical projects, the OGC has expended considerable eort to distil and propagate best practice in project and programme man-

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agement. Building on earlier prior work by the Central Computing and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA) [18], the OGCs publication Managing Successful Programmes (2003) [19] represents the UK Governments view on the programme management principles and techniques that have been developed and applied for many years. In drafting Managing Successful Programmes (MSP), the OGC consulted widely for views, concerns and contributions from leading practitioners from within the public and private sectors, including professional bodies and leading consultancies. MSP is now the approved approach for managing programmes throughout the UK public sector. Notwithstanding its dominance, questions remain regarding MSPs theoretical underpinning and to what extent it actually reects and informs practice. A critical review of programme management approaches, including MSP, conducted by Lycett et al. [20] suggests that the shortcomings in standard programme management approaches can be traced to two awed assumptions; namely that (a) programme management is in eect a scaled-up version of project management, and (b) a one size ts all approach to programme management is appropriate. 2. The research Our research aim was to study actual programme management practices with a view to grounding and enriching existing conceptions and frameworks. In 2004, we invited a number of organisations to participate in research into programme management conducted by the Information Systems Research Centre (ISRC) at Craneld School of Management. Six organisations sponsored the research and allowed us access to one or more programmes they were undertaking. Three were commercial organisations: DaimlerChrysler UK, AstraZeneca and Microsoft, and three were UK public sector bodies: OGC, the Inland Revenue (now HM Revenue and Customs) and Surrey Police. The OGC facilitated access to programmes being run by other government departments. The publicprivate sector split was deliberately sought to explore dierences in approach. Moreover, the Courts and Tribunals Modernisation Programme (CTMP) undertaken by the Department for Constitutional Aairs (DCA) was put forward by the OGC since it was regarded as an example of the application of the MSP guide. 2.1. Research design In relation to our sample of six programmes, our research question was: What programme management approaches, arrangements and/or practices are employed? The aim was to obtain data from multiple sources on actual practices on the six programmes and create succinct case summaries using a common format to facilitate both in-case and comparative analysis across the six cases. We

decided to use the seven principles (Chapters 39) in MSP as a template for data collection and analysis, since these were expected to be present whatever the stage of the programme. An outline interview and data collection protocol was developed summarising key questions and areas of interest for observation or investigation. The intention was to build as comprehensive as possible a picture of the functioning of the programme. Specically, we were interested in whether the managers within the organisations used the programme management principles set out in MSP, and why they chose to adapt or ignore some or all of them. The research entailed in-depth interviews with multiple informants in relation to each programme over a period of about three months. Two or more visits were made to each organisation to obtain the perspectives of dierent individuals involved in the programme being researched and to review documentary information. Informants included programme sponsors and Senior Responsible Owners (SROs), programme directors, programme managers, project managers and programme oce personnel. In addition, documentary information on specic practices adopted for the programme was analysed. This information included mandates and briefs, benets maps, business cases, plans, organisational arrangements, minutes of steering group meetings and reports. Electronic media used to communicate and share information were also reviewed, such as shared data repositories, discussion forums, and bulletin boards. Using the interview transcripts and observation notes, we mapped out actual practices and arrangements against the seven MSP principles. Summary analyses of each case were drafted and sent to the principal contacts in each participating organisation for review. Comments and feedback were used to nalise the analyses and these were shared with amongst all the participating organisations. Appendix A provides extracts of the summaries shared with the research participants, focusing on an overview of the programmes and salient aspects of the organisations undertaking them. A review of Appendix A enables a better understanding of the ndings and subsequent discussion. 2.2. Research ndings The following sections present and review our key research ndings in relation to each of the seven principles. In each section we rst summarise our ndings in tabular form in relation to the programme principle or theme as set out in MSP. We then review relevant practices from the programmes researched, starting with the programme(s) that most closely followed the MSP guidelines. We concentrate (and highlight using italics) on the subtleties with which the guidance was applied or modied, and where it was not applied. 2.3. Organisation and leadership MSP sets out a number of roles, and the management structures and reporting arrangements to deliver the pro-

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grammes desired outcome. The emphasis is on leadership at all levels and skilled individuals with clearly dened authority, accountability and responsibility (MSP, p. 17). Our research reveals variations and omissions compared to the MSP guidance (Table 1). Surrey Police exhibited the most structured and disciplined approach to organisation and leadership. Programme governance was closely aligned to the organisation structure and to the sources of inuence. Within the Department for Constitutional Aairs (DCA), MSP was used to inform workarounds to compensate for prevailing shortcomings. For example, although the ideal governance arrangement was well documented, the programme had never had a dedicated programme manager nor Business Change Managers to ensure benets delivery. IT people rather than business people performing the SRO role was subsequently recognised as a mistake. The existence of parallel structures was revealed by the research. Since IS had been totally outsourced by the Inland Revenue, the outsource contractor had counterparts to many of the Inland Revenue roles, both to manage the delivery of IT changes and to oversee and/or align developments. The Microsoft programme also had parallel governance structures with three tiers. The Project Board was used as an intermediate point of escalation, focusing senior managements attention at the Steering Board on
Table 1 Practices in relation to organisation and leadership Organisation Daimler Chrysler UK Organisation and leadership

major or strategic issues. In both cases the parallel structures reected the existence of separate, potentially divergent interests. For the Inland Revenues outsourcing consultancy, there was a need to respond to programme requests within on-going service contract, neither comprising future service delivery nor its commercial interests. For Microsoft, the work was partially funded (subsidised) internally and Microsoft had objectives that transcended a successful technology implementation for a client, namely having a reference site, future sales, and the development of technology implementation competence. In DaimlerChrysler UK the programme and its organisation and leadership was identical to the line organisation. Programmes were part of business as usual. Only Surrey Police had a Business Change Manager, who also had the role of deputy Programme Manager and responsibility for leading a large area of work. 2.4. Benets management MSP identies benets management as a core activity and a continuous thread throughout the programme (MSP, p. 17), and fundamental to the realisation of benets from new capabilities delivered by projects within the programme. Emphasis is placed on identication, quantication, assignment of owners and tracking. Our research

Each Board Director has a programme account manager to work with. Programme account managers plan and monitor projects through their cycle from identication through approval to delivery. The Board approves the annual project portfolio. Programme Sponsorship resides with the Vice President, Quality Compliance and Information Management, and a Steering Group of 18 senior managers from across AstraZeneca comprising the IS Quality and Compliance Leadership Team and additional key players. The members of the Steering Group are inuential in promoting acceptance of the programmes validation related deliverables and reassurance that they are t for purpose. Three tier structure comprising Steering Group, Project Board and Project Managers Meetings. Microsoft has a parallel governance structure to the structure set up by the client. Microsoft personnel attend client meetings but client personnel do not attend internal Microsoft meetings. Governance structures and processes supported by weekly cycle of meetings, conference calls and reviews. Governance framework based on MSP. However the programme has never had a programme manager. The role is fullled on an ad-hoc basis with support from the programme board. The programme has never had business change managers (to ensure benets delivery). SRO roles have been lled by IT people rather than business people. The programme is led by the programme director to whom report strategists and a programme manager. Strategists each own a programme area and are responsible for setting the overall business direction for that area. Project delivery is managed by the programme manager who oversees project managers with the support of the programme oce. IS has been outsourced by the Inland Revenue, so IT changes are delivered by the outsource contractor. Each project has an Inland Revenue PM responsible for overall project deliver and a contractor PM responsible for delivering the IT components. The Inland Revenue programme manager also has a counterpart within the contractor responsible for programme-level IT issues, such as architectural decisions. Programme management is overseen by a Programme Board whose members include Chief Ocers, Divisional Commanders, Surrey Police Authority, Police Federation and Unison, and Senior Management Team. The programme management team consists of a programme manager, a deputy programme manager, and four project managers. The programme manager reports directly to the Deputy Chief Constable who is the programme director and, in turn, reports to the Chief Constable of Surrey Police.

AstraZeneca

Microsoft

Department for Constitutional Aairs

Inland Revenue

Surrey Police

S. Pellegrinelli et al. / International Journal of Project Management 25 (2007) 4155 Table 2 Practices in relation to benets management Organisation Daimler Chrysler UK Benets management

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Expected benets are recorded in the business case. Sponsors are held to account for their delivery. The realisation of committed benets against projects is tracked and reported. Each benet has a number and a status. Unrealised benets can result in action but often simply create learning. All benets are cash, typically annual savings leading to payback. Benets management is undertaken for the programme by one of the work-stream leaders. A benets dependency chart exists, investment objectives (e.g. reduced risk and more eective implementation of change) are identied and tangible benets relating primarily to the reduction in compliance validation eort and reduced duplication have been quantied. The importance of shifts in culture and climate (i.e. greater trust and desire to collaborate) and that these can only be facilitated, but not imposed, is understood but not formalised. Recognition that success depends on winning over hearts and minds sits underneath a more formal, mechanistic approach (facade?) to benets management. The programme is generating a range of benets: technology solution for a commercial client; the rst customer/reference site for the technology; lessons on implementing the technology; adds a new implementation partner with a substantial international presence; builds Microsofts understanding of best practices in o-shore development. The Microsoft PM is focused on delivering the scope of the client contract, and does not track the overall (prospective/realised) benets to Microsoft. No single individual within Microsoft has the over-arching view of and responsibility for realising the multiple sources of benets. Benets management is practiced in conjunction with the development of business cases for projects. Diculties include: some projects in the programme are leaps of faith with no benets; a high proportion of benets are intangible; business cases must limit benets to the Department making the case (other Departments refute the identication of benets to them since this would mean giving up funding). Despite the programme being in a delivery phase, specic benets for projects and realisation trajectories were still under development. Approach to benets management is varied following a shift from considering benets from the programme as a whole to apportioning benets to individual projects. This shift required a much stronger emphasis on delivering, rather than enabling, which led to fundamental changes to the projects objectives, stakeholders and business impacts. In terms of benets realisation, projects must satisfy the requirements of funding bodies. The programme follows the Departments benets management guidelines based on MSP. All benets included in the business case are assigned to a benets owner responsible for realisation, and benets templates are used for describing how benets will be tracked. The benets management guidance does not relate well with the new iterative methodology (IRUP, an adaptation of the Rational Unied Process). The t between benets management and the front-end part of IRUP is unclear, which has led to some diculties in ensuring that benets management and project planning are aligned. Expected benets are laid out in the business case through funding bids. Some of the potential benets identied include increasing customer satisfaction, reducing crime statistics, increasing workload capacity and capability, increasing exibility of the workforce, saving operational costs, and to speeding up training. Many of these benets are intangible and not easily measurable.

AstraZeneca

Microsoft

Department for Constitutional Aairs

Inland Revenue

Surrey Police

showed that these aspects of benets management are not systematically or rigorously practiced (Table 2). DaimlerChrysler UK used formal mechanisms to determine and track the realisation of expected benets. Each benet had a number and a status green (on target), amber (only a proportion of benets will be delivered, or they are dependent on other by others), red (will not be delivered). The prevalence of numerous unquantiable benets was evident. For Surrey Police many of these benets were intangible and not easily measurable. The DCAs programme included projects that were leaps of faith with no quantied benets, and had a high proportion of intangible benets. AstraZeneca formally employed benets management on their Global IS Regulatory Compliance Eciency and Eectiveness programme. However, the monitoring of progress towards the realisation of those benets relied more on intuitive and subjective indicators of shifts in culture and climate, and on whether the work was winning over hearts and minds. The Inland Revenues Performance and Management Information (PMI) programme highlighted how funding can determine what is deemed a benet. In terms of benets

realisation, projects had to satisfy the requirements placed on them by their funding arrangements. The corporation tax project, for example, was mostly funded by Spend to Save and was, consequently, subject to a specic evaluation process managed across the entire Department by a centralised team. In contrast, the programme conducted its own benets management for projects funded via the Spending Review. The DCAs programme had to limit benets in project business cases to the Department making the case, since other Departments would have refuted the identication of benets to them since this would have meant giving up funding. The Inland Revenues programme also suggested that the MSP benets management approach was out of synchronisation with an iterative development methodology. The benets management guidance, requiring benets to be dened as part of denition, was based on the departments conventional linear approach to IS/IT projects. With the new iterative methodology functionality, and hence expected benets, emerges through cyclical processes of denition, development and review. The programme learnt by experience where and why this lack of t created problems and how they could be resolved.

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Microsoft did not track the overall (prospective/realised) benets to Microsoft. No single individual within Microsoft had the over-arching view of and responsibility for realising the multiple sources of benets. 2.5. Stakeholder management and communications Understanding stakeholders interests in the programme, and the impact the programme will have on them, and then implementing a strategy to address these issues and needs is an essential part of successful Programme Management (MSP, p. 43). MSP anchors the discussion of stakeholders and communications to the programme distinct from other organisational interests and processes. The Programme Management Team will often need to inuence, lobby, cajole, manipulate, co-opt, atter and apply pressure to stakeholders in order to maintain momentum and keep the programme on track (MSP, p. 48). Engagement rather than management of stakeholders seems a better description of actual practices (Table 3). Surrey Police had adopted a formal approach to interacting with stakeholders via a series of monthly meetings and highly formalised reports/documents prepared and distributed to various stakeholders. The Inland Revenue regarded eective stakeholder management and communications as crucial to the programmes success, and was integrated into the delivery process, rather than being treated as a separate process. This approach was facilitated by the use

of the IRUP methodology and early creation of prototype software for exposure to end users. In the case of AstraZeneca, the programme team developed dierential forms of stakeholder engagement, as part of their management strategy. The programme team set out to garner, and demonstrate that they valued, the opinions of managers who had ultimately to apply the policies and guidelines. Cross-functional and international Reference Groups were established which were open to all those wanting to comment on or contribute to the work of the programme. These Reference Groups received early drafts of proposals and deliverables to conduct peer reviews. The Groups had a voice but not a veto. Stakeholder engagement was enabled by eRoom, an electronic tool and repository, and supplemented by newsletters published every six to eight weeks. On the Microsoft programme, the governance structure and associated reports were the primary methods for interacting and communicating with relevant stakeholders. Daimler Chrysler programme account managers tried to forge strong personal relationships with their Directors and key stakeholders. 2.6. Risk management and issue resolution The task of risk management is to keep the programmes exposure to risk at an acceptable level . . . The task of issue resolution is to prevent the issue from threat-

Table 3 Practices in relation to stakeholder management and communications Organisation Daimler Chrysler UK Stakeholder management and communications The success of the prioritisation process depends on a high degree of relationship management the programme account managers must use their people skills to establish and maintain credibility and trust. When the nal list is presented for approval, the Board members are already familiar with the overall prioritisation it becomes a rubber-stamping exercise. Stakeholders have been identied analysed formally in terms of how the proposed changes would aect them and how they might contribute to the programme based on their expertise. There is a conscious and sustained drive to secure buy-in from senior management across the various locations and win over the hearts and minds of those responsible for the detailed IS compliance. In particular the aim is to engender a climate of comprehension, inclusion and trust, and to draw upon expertise globally to create t for purpose policies and guidelines. Engagement mechanisms include: cross-functional and international Reference Groups to comment on, contribute to and make suggestions on the work of the programme; eRoom, an electronic tool and repository for the programme, where interested parties can participate in on-line discussions, make comments and contributions and follow progress; newsletters. The governance structure is the primary method for interacting and communicating with relevant stakeholders, supplemented by informal contact. Little external communications is undertaken. Considerable attention is also paid by the Microsoft PM to managing the clients expectation and controlling random (bright ideas) change request, and to liaising with collaborators on the programme. Most of the communications is in person and initiated by the PM and is intended to engage stakeholders as well as inform them. The formal communication and stakeholder management strategy is not yet developed, but the complexity of stakeholder structures and overlaid policies are recognised. A major bottom-up update is performed every month, in order to compile and disseminate information. Eective stakeholder management and communications is regarded as crucial to the programmes success. Funding and resource constraints have delayed the recruitment of a communications manager so awareness of the programme and its impacts are low. The IRUP methodology has led to the early creation of prototype software for exposure to end users. The prototype evaluation process is regarded as very signicant in terms of securing the buy-in of end-users Communication is achieved through a series of monthly meetings. Projects are highly formalised with frequent reports/ documents prepared and distributed to various stakeholders.

AstraZeneca

Microsoft

Department for Constitutional Aairs Inland Revenue

Surrey Police

S. Pellegrinelli et al. / International Journal of Project Management 25 (2007) 4155 Table 4 Practices in relation to risk management and issue resolution Organisation Daimler Chrysler UK Risk management and issue resolution

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Risk is one of the ve factors used to score potential projects but at present is weighted zero. A lot of eort is put into making sure new systems, often developed under ideal conditions in Germany, will work before they are released to dealers. Risk management is currently not done at programme level. AstraZeneca undertakes formal risk management using an in-house approach: Integrated Risk Management. Business risks and project/programme risks are identied. The programme is intended to mitigate specic business risks (e.g. slow cumbersome change, duplication and squandered eorts) and the attention to stakeholder engagement seeks to mitigate the risk that there is no cultural/behavioural change. There is a formal risk management process where risk are identied, assessed/quantied, allocated to an owner and mitigations developed where possible. Projects are subjected to a comprehensive risk prole covering commercial, legal, brand, partner and technology. If there is a partner involved, the risk proling would address issues such as the partners commercially viable, and the range, quantity and quality of their in-house skills. The risk process scores projects and programmes, and the programme is a high risk assignment. It is recognised as brains type activity leading edge work where no-one has done it before, and people do not necessarily know all the answers nor have template to work against. This is addressed by the deployment of experienced Microsoft leads and their teams to support and manage the work of the other parties. Stakeholder engagement and keeping a low prole are also strategies to contain reputation risk. Risks are cascaded upwards from the projects and the top few are selected on the basis of impact, probability and proximity. Some risks are designated programme-level. Risks emphasise (1) funding contentions in the portfolio, for example if a project spends more than its share; (2) dependencies aecting the Criminal Justice IT programme; (3) business change. Issues are items for resolution (and are frequently risks that have happened), from which lessons may be learned. Risks and issues are addressed at monthly board meetings. At programme level, risks are reviewed at monthly meetings through formal reporting using a template completed by strategists, with all risks given a redambergreen status. Progress in resolving them is presented and key unresolved issues and serious risks may be escalated to the Programme Board. There is no dedicated risk manager for the programme, so the programme oce manager has taken responsibility for programme-level risk management using the departments risk management process. Reviewers from OGC and National Audit Oce (NAO) have been satised with the risk management approach adopted. Further actions are planned, however, to ensure consistency of risk reporting across projects, including the development of a single programme-level risk database. Risks are identied and managed as per MSP guidelines.

AstraZeneca

Microsoft

Department for Constitutional Aairs

Inland Revenue

Surrey Police

ening the programmes chances of achieving a successful outcome (MSP, p. 51) (Table 4). The DCA, Inland Revenue and Surrey Police programme used fairly standard approaches where risks were identied and reviewed periodically through formal reporting using a template with all risks given a red/amber/green status. The completed templates were discussed at monthly meetings, where progress in resolving them was presented and unresolved issues were escalated. Serious risks were escalated to the Programme Board. Two cases show how risk mitigation can be embedded in the programme processes. Microsoft applied a formal risk management process. The fact that the programme represented leading edge work no-one had done before was addressed by deliberate duplication of roles (Microsoft managers and their team managing the work of third parties) and the allocation of highly experienced Microsoft sta to the programme. Stakeholder engagement and keeping a low prole are also strategies to contain reputation risk. AstraZeneca undertook formal risk management using an in-house approach: Integrated Risk Management. The stakeholder engagement activities were pivotal in mitigating lack of buy-in and resulting cultural/behavioural change rendering the policies and guidelines delivered by the programme ineectual. DaimlerChrysler UK did not undertake risk management at programme level.

2.7. Programme planning and control MSP states that programme planning and control is a combination of various planning and monitoring considerations (MSP, p. 61), most of which are internal to the programme and have corollaries in project management. Key principles distinguishing programme planning from project planning include the prioritisation of projects and the grouping of projects into tranches linked to the realisation of benets (Table 5). Microsoft developed plans at multiple levels of aggregation/detail. Two releases were worked on concurrently which reected Microsofts preferred approach. The Inland Revenue and DCA followed the MSP process and the programme was subjected to gateway reviews conducted by OGC specialists. For DaimlerChrysler UK, programme planning combined a rational process with political intuition and the tranches were locked into annual funding cycles. DaimlerChrysler UK used a well established process to identify the various programmes and their portfolios of projects. The relative priority of each of a Directors prospective projects for the current year was determined by a scoring mechanism. Independent of its score, each project was given a priority level, and all business-critical projects, for example those mandated by head oce in Germany, got the top priority level. Justication of each projects

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Table 5 Practices in relation to programme planning and control Organisation Daimler Chrysler UK Programme planning and control Relative priority is determined by a structured, logical, transparent and consistent scoring mechanism. Provisional annual development programme/portfolio, quarterly reviews to redistribute funds from savings and cost increases. The organisation is currently looking into a PPM tool to replace the current spreadsheet-based process. The composition of the programme is the result of paring down scope to t available funding. The content and design of the work-streams reect both serendipity (e.g. co-option of a US project on risk management and transformation into a global initiative) and work scoped around required knowledge and experience (e.g. Validation Alignment). While the work-streams have no formal dependencies in a hard sense (i.e. output from one work-stream representing an input into another workstream), they combine in a subtle way to form a coherent whole. The current scope is the rst phase of a wider programme aimed at improving eciency and eectiveness. An outline submission of scope for phase 2 has been developed. Plans are developed for each release according to the core elements of the project: requirements, architecture, development, hosted exchange and testing. Plans are also developed by the other parties in relation to their inputs. The planning is done at three levels with a high level plan used by the PM to control the whole project, then another more detailed level used by the leads, and a third level which backs into the work to be undertaken by the other parties and deliverables. There is also a fourth level for the work undertaken by o-shore developer that is not visible to the Microsoft PM. The project is working to a very tight timescale. Two releases are being worked on concurrently which reects Microsofts preferred approach of developing a partial solution then evolving and rening it through subsequent releases. Apart from a faster delivery, concurrent work means that the requirement team, as an example, remains intact and fully utilised over a continuous period covering both releases. There is a locally-developed spreadsheet-based system for planning and re-planning in the face of imposed changes in priority. Reporting is further complicated by incompatible systems, a variety of information formats, incorrect or out-of-date information, and dierent reporting periods. The spreadsheet system will be replaced by a more automated PPM tool (Mercury IT Governance). The PSO will embed its sta in the projects to make sure the new system works. The conduct of the programme and its projects is subject to periodic review by internal auditors, the OGC and the National Audit Oce (NAO). So far, these reviews have not identied any signicant programme planning and control issues. The OGC review itself, however, has been problematic because the gateway review process cannot operate at the pace of the corporation tax project. As a result, only a subset of the gateway reviews will actually take place. Projects are aligned with the national strategy, such as, the government green paper, National Centre for Policing Excellence, Police Standards Unit, and approved acts. The Home Oce, other than setting the direction for policing in the country, also provides most of the funding required for the programmes. Details of project plan are presented to various stakeholders in the funding bid and updated frequently.

AstraZeneca

Microsoft

Department for Constitutional Aairs

Inland Revenue

Surrey Police

score had to be recorded against predetermined criteria, which made Directors more inclined to be realistic. All the Directors projects were grouped and sorted rst by priority level and second by score. Thus all business-critical projects rose to the top. At the point where the cumulative cost estimate column met the xed budget the cut-o line was drawn. The resulting total list of projects ranked in descending order with a clear cut-o line became the basis of discussion, challenge and agreement. The ranking process was structured, logical, transparent and consistent, yet if it did not produce the right result it was adjusted, based on intuition, to make the list politically acceptable to all. Surrey Police were signicantly inuenced by external strategies and directives. The Home Oce, apart from setting the direction for policing in the country, also provided most of the funding required for the programmes. In AstraZenecas case the composition of the programme was phased. The scope agreed was conceived as the rst phase of a wider programme, articulated only at the level of intent, aimed at improving IS Regulatory Compliance Eciency and Eectiveness within the organisation. An outline submission of scope for a second phase was only developed as the programme was progressing well with the delivery of its expected benets.

2.8. Business case management The Business Case eectively describes what the value is to the sponsoring organisation from the outcomes of the programme. Managing the Business Case is about value management of benets, costs, timescales and risks . . . The Business Cases at both programme and project levels are constantly monitored, reviewed regularly . . . and updated as necessary (MSP, p. 71, italics in original). In the programmes researched the business case was not prominent tool used to gauge and optimise value for the various organizations (Table 6). The formal business case for the AstraZeneca programme was deliberately detailed to compensate for the lack of tangible system deliverables for this strategic change. It acted as a symbolic artefact. For the Inland Revenue and Surrey Police, the project business cases were fundamental to securing funding rather than assessing value. When the business case for the DCAs programme became out of date due to descoping to match available funding, it was not updated since it was not considered a useful activity. However, the individual project business cases were closely managed. In Microsofts case there were multiple sources of funds for the programme but the business cases (or whatever analysis/expectations were generated) under-

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Each project has a business case, including the discovery stage if appropriate. Projects that cease to be viable are stopped. A formal business case exists for phase 1 of the programme and a business case for phase 2 has been developed for budgeting purposes. The business case contains all the elements associated with an AstraZeneca IS programme and is deliberately formal to compensate from the lack of tangible system deliverables typically associated with IS programmes. There are multiple sources of funds for the project, and so in principle multiple business cases: e.g. contract payment from client, and internal Microsoft funding funds for development of technology, for case study/reference site, establishing a new o-shore partner. The business cases (or analysis/expectations) underlying the diverse sources of funds are not shared with the PM and not used as a management tool. The business case is now out of date since the programme was de-scoped to match available funding. It was agreed that updating the business case was not a useful activity. However, the individual project business cases are closely managed. The programmes funding arrangements have required the production of business cases for each project, rather than for the programme as a whole. In some cases multiple sources of funding for an individual project introduces complexity into the development of business cases and future processes, such as benets management, but is necessary to satisfy the reporting/ audit requirements attached to the dierent funding mechanisms. Business case is presented and assessed through a rigorous funding bid which includes, among other things, details of concepts, operationalisation, and costs of the proposed projects. Business case is critical as projects are nanced by parties outside the force.

Microsoft

Department for Constitutional Aairs Inland Revenue

Surrey Police

lying the diverse sources of funds were not shared with the Microsoft PM and not used as a management tool. 2.9. Quality management MSP focuses on three aspects of quality relating to programmes: conguration management and change control on documentation, quality assurance and the review of outputs to ensure they are t for purpose, and quality of programme governance arrangements (Table 7). Quality management did not feature prominently in the cases studied as a programme specic process or consideration. Rather the programmes absorbed or employed organisation-wide processes, attitudes and behaviours in relation to quality. Only the DCA highlighted the fact that they had a documented quality management strategy, but quality plans were developed specically to meet the needs of each project. Exception reporting (a feature of PRINCE2) was followed. Quality pervaded all of DCUKs eorts but was not a self-contained programme activity. In line with the national policy, Surrey Police aimed at achieving high quality of public services and consistent high standards of performance. The iterative methodology used for IT development by the Inland Revenue was intended to ensure that the quality of the system. Microsoft had a rigorous organisation-wide process which was applied to the programme. 3. Discussion and implications The analysis of actual practices highlights both their diversity and that the MSP guidelines were frequently adapted in subtle and creative ways, ignored completely or contradicted. Clearly, six programmes is a small sample from which to draw anything but tentative conclusions. However, the diversity of practices, especially between

the three public sector programmes that formally applied MSP, suggests that programme management is far from uniform and mature when compared to project management or other disciplines. The relevance and robustness of the MSP as a guide to practice is also called into question. While MSP states that the principles, techniques and organisational arrangement contained therein need to be adapted to specic circumstances, it does purport to be and is actively promoted as a cogent guide to managing and evaluating programmes. Even in the Courts and Tribunals Modernisation Programme (CTMP) undertaken by the Department for Constitutional Aairs (DCA), supposedly an example of the application of the MSP guide, not all the guidelines were followed. Except where mistakes were acknowledged, one could argue that the MSP guidelines were either not useful or did not make sense to managers involved in the programme. The tendency towards prescription based on a one size with minor variations approach may warrant re-examination, and the insights gained from this and other research into actual practices incorporated into future editions. One fundamental limitation of MSP, and all similar frameworks, becomes apparent when the programmes are analysed as holistic examples of programme management practice; namely that the MSP is programme-centric and so is largely silent on the context within which the programme operates. Managers at all levels were acutely aware of the context in which they operated: contextual factors focused their attention and eorts, caused them to make compromises and re-shape the programme, dictated core processes and prompted the stances they took. A focus of attention, dominant theme or critical success factor, emanating from their contexts, can be discerned for each programme studied. These themes were corroborated by our principal contacts and key informants within the six organisations.

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Table 7 Practices in relation to quality management Organisation Daimler Chrysler UK Quality management In common with their competitors DCUKs aim is to get high quality products to the customer in the shortest possible time. The vision is all about quality of product, process and employees. Quality management pervades all of DCUKs eorts but is not a self-contained programme activity. The programme adopted company-wide standards and approaches to quality. Microsoft has a rigorous process, undertaken/monitored by a separate group in Services Quality Assurance (SQA). The process is applied to all signicant opportunities or proposals to make sure that they are in line with Microsofts strategy and represent acceptable commercial, legal, brand, technology risks. There is a documented quality management strategy, but quality plans are developed specically to meet the needs of each project. Exception reporting (a feature of PRINCE2) is followed. There is a tendency to avoid reporting problems but escalation mechanisms are in place and will be more closely enforced when the new software package is implemented. The iterative methodology being used for IT development is intended to ensure that, from a very early stage in systems development, user feedback on the quality of data analysis and presentation is collated and used to improve future software releases. Ultimately, however, the quality of any management information system is limited by the quality of the data it obtains from operational databases. Addressing data quality in operational systems is, however, beyond the scope of the PMI programme. In line with the national policy, Surrey Police aims at achieving high quality of public services and to consistently achieving high standards of performance. In the recent performance assessment by Her Majestys Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), for example, Surrey Polices performance was rated excellent in reassurance, leadership and direction, strategic management, and crime and disorder reduction partnership.

AstraZeneca Microsoft

Department for Constitutional Aairs Inland Revenue

Surrey Police

The focus of attention and eort on the part of the AstraZeneca programme team was on engagement. Specifically, there was a conscious and sustained drive to: secure buy-in from senior management (key stakeholders) across the various locations, including sensitising them to a problem they did not believe existed they believed that change management was currently handled well; win over the hearts and minds of those responsible for the detailed IS compliance (local specialists), and make the changes feel less painful and inicted. In particular the aim was to engender a climate of comprehension, inclusion and trust, and to draw upon expertise globally to create t for purpose policies and guidelines. The programme was developing best practice in IS Regulatory Compliance change management, so absolutely had to role-model the approaches and behaviour it sought to embed within the business. As a Corporately funded IS programme, it also had to overcome a credibility gap in relation to managers in the business. Eort was consciously made to be outward focused, inclusive and demonstrably walk the talk. For DaimlerChrysler UK the focus of attention and eort was on securing acceptable prioritisation by managing the expectations of the seven Directors in the allocation and management of a xed annual budget for the total IS portfolio, using a combination of a structured project scoring system and intuition. The motto was: Apply the science, apply the intuition. Microsofts practices reected a need for controlled innovation. Specically, there is a conscious and sustained drive to operate at the leading edge, develop new capabilities and partnerships

yet contain the inherent contractual and reputation risks. Creative expedience was the key focus for the DCAs programme where the complexities, pressures and changes bred sophistication in developing creative, practical, politically acceptable compromise solutions. Surrey Polices programme team strove to gain endorsement from the relevant authorities (e.g. Surrey Police Authority, Home Oce, Association of Chief Police Ocers, and local government), and support from relevant departments (e.g. Finance, Corporate Development, Human Resource, and ICT), and commitment from users/sta. The Inland Revenues Programme Director had to become a master of reconciliation. The programmes fast-changing environment in relation to funding, organisational priorities and other factors signicantly shifted the Departments expectations. This required continuous recasting of the programmes objectives and priorities, reconciling what the programme had achieved and commitments made with emerging or changing requirements and expectations. The programmes, or more accurately the teams working on the programmes, were both inuenced by and sought to inuence their contexts. The programme boundaries were more porous and their scope and course more malleable than implied by MSP (and other standard programme management approaches). By focusing on the creation of a tight link between purpose and process in programme management, the standard approaches underplay the necessary connections and interfaces the programme should, and in practice does, have with the broader organisational context. The research suggests that these connections and interfaces shape programme management work as much if not more than the processes and products contained in MSP and other standard approaches.

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Greater attention to context suggests re-thinking the role of and relationship with stakeholders, maintaining necessary programme integrity and corporate perspective and accepting greater ambiguity and uncertainty. In most of the programmes researched the programme teams actively sought to engage stakeholders (rather than manage them) to gain their inputs, their insights, their contribution, their support and their buy-in. Achievement of programme goals and the realisation of desired benets required changes, sometimes disruptive and not always obvious, in the organisation. Stakeholders have the intimate knowledge of the micro-level details, views on what is valuable and desirable and ultimate responsibility for enacting changes to behaviours, routines and processes. The role of Business Change Manager, while attractive from a control perspective, was only present in one of the programmes researched. It is hard to image how one individual (or even a team) could reasonably track that the deliverables generate the intended benets, prepare the organisation, embed the changes and engage with sponsors and stakeholders, or how that can be sensibly separated from the delivery process or operations. The Business Change Manager role is intended to straddle a divide between the programme and its organisational/business environment that is articial and not reected in practice. The stakeholder community should and can be simultaneously shaping, contributing to, criticising and beneting from the work of the programme. The sources of funds and implications for funding had a profound, typically fragmenting eect on the objectives and scope of the programmes, and on what was deemed to constitute a benet. MSPs assertion that a benet is something of value to a stakeholder may be morally appealing. The view that business cases should consider relevant costs and benets enterprise-wide may be theoretically correct [21]. Though espoused, this holistic corporate stance is not followed through in techniques put forward in MSP. There is an underlying reductionist tendency to see programmes as the aggregation of their constituent projects. Consequently, the programme business case is the aggregation of the project business cases (MSP, Fig. 8.2, p. 72). However it is clear that the benets expected from a programme cannot always directly and unequivocally be decomposed and allocated to projects. The DCAs Courts and Tribunals Modernisation Programme and the Inland Revenues Performance and Management Information programme revealed an undesired but real disconnect between recognising the benets to all stakeholders and the construction of defensible project business cases. Parochialism creeps into programme governance under the guise of prudent control of funds, and benets are seen in the eyes of those funding the programme, whether directly or indirectly. Again, MSP and other standard approaches, presume an overly rational organisational environment which, as this and other research [22] have shown, is rarely present. Reductionist tendencies allow projects and programme activities to be disconnected

from the over-arching strategic purpose and enterprisewide perspective that are advantages claimed for setting up a programme. The research revealed the prevalence of uid, dynamic programme environments and powerful forces that inuence programmes. The inter-related themes of Blueprint, Benets and Business Case, in their current form, seem ill-suited as the platform for shaping and evaluating the merits of a programme. They presume far greater certainty and clarity of outcome than was present in the programmes studied. In none of the programmes studied was there a well dened Blueprint. Applied rigidly, Blueprints in particular can promote a focus on what can be dened or constrain the exibility of the programme to adapt to changing organisational requirements [20]. Moreover, seeking greater control, order, alignment and/or predictability by extending standard programme management approaches throughout the enterprise [17,23] can at best be appropriate in a small number of organisations. These approaches are forms of mechanistic systems [24], suitable for stable conditions and relying on bureaucracy, boundaries, a breakdown of tasks and hierarchical control. Even traditionally stable Government Departments and programmes are bueted by the winds of globalisation, social change, supra-national legislation, as well as the shifting aspirations of politicians. It would seem that organic systems [24] would be a better base from which to conceptualise ways that programmes can achieve and retain their relevance and contribution. 4. Conclusions MSP is a sound framework and approach for programme management. It is acknowledged and used to a greater or lesser extent by many organisations. Our research supports this. We could map the programme structures and processes, and the actions of programme teams against the MSP principles, even where the guide was not the formal methodology (as it was not in Microsoft). At one level, our ndings complement MSP by showing how the principles can be adapted and applied in specic situations. It provides richness and depth for novice practitioners, and may prompt reection and oer ideas to experienced managers. It also oers some thoughts on areas that programme professionals using MSP as a framework might want to question and if appropriate modify to their circumstances. At another level the research highlights an apparent gulf between the broad, holistic perspective on programme management espoused in the rst two chapters of MSP and the more reductionist, project-based underpinning of the tools and techniques contained in the rest of the guide [20]. The mechanistic application of MSP tends to support a tactical, controlling agenda rather than a strategic, empowering agenda. Some public sector informants hinted that following the MSP guide was more a matter of compliance than conviction.

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The research raises the importance of programme context, bringing it on a par with purpose and process, and exposes the part context plays in shaping the course and outcome of programmes. It shows how programmes are embedded in wider organisational processes, have porous boundaries, and accommodate shifts in direction. Programme management work is as much about coping as it is about planning and rational decision making, as much about re-shaping the organisational landscape as it is about delivering new capabilities. Programmes shape and coordinate projects and related activity in pursuit of organisational goals and benets in the context of a dynamic organisational environment. Appendix A A.1. DaimlerChrysler UK: Workshop Capability Programme The Workshop Capability Programme is a typical grouping of systems replacement and enhancement projects that forms part of a rolling portfolio of projects funded by an annual budget. The projects include cabling, tools, and network connections, all aimed at improving facilities in DCUKs dealer network. The portfolio is the responsibility of DCUKs Business and IS Programme Manager. DCUK, based in Milton Keynes, is intermediate between the Centre (in Germany) and its dealer network in the UK in the supply chain of cars, parts and service equipment and systems. DCUKs annual IS budget covers upgrades, licence fees and general dealer support. Some systems are mandated by the Centre. Most are developed in Germany. Some are modied locally. DCUK must maintain a balance between keeping the dealer network up to date with new technology, at the same time being realistic about the systems the dealers will need in order to run it (e.g. bandwidth considerations). A limited, xed budget for IS projects is set annually by the Centre. Only some of the total DCUK wish-list of projects can be funded in any annual cycle. DCUK has seven Directors, among whom the budget must be divided (CEO, CFO, After Sales Director, Mercedes Car Group Director, Chrysler Group Director, Commercial Vehicles Director, Network Development Director). A.2. AstraZeneca: Global IS Compliance Eciency and Eectiveness Programme The aim of the programme is to improve the eciency and eectiveness of IS Regulatory Compliance throughout AstraZeneca via the development and adoption of more readable, relevant, useful and consistent change management procedures and guidelines. For the procedures and guidelines to be embraced by the business in all locations globally requires the programme undertaking the work in ways that win over key senior managers and engages the

recipients of changes to systems, infrastructure or processes. By creating greater consistency in working practices, sharing, consultation and involvement, and an associated climate of understanding and trust. The aim is to develop portable solutions and reduce the degree of duplication in local investment, reduce validation eort and the adoption of a more rational, formal risk-based approach to validation testing. The programme is divided into three work-streams, each containing one or more projects: Validation Alignment stream; Adoption and Tracking stream; Risk Management stream. AstraZeneca operates in a highly regulated industry. Its information systems must be openly t for purpose, meeting both the companys own quality standards and the requirements of the regulatory authorities. A failure to pass regulatory inspection could delay or jeopardize regulatory approval, result in nes or the closure of the location. Primary responsibility for regulatory compliance rests at local level, with senior managers personally liable for breaches of the regulations. AstraZeneca is an international organisation subject to dierences in both national and international regulatory requirements, dierent perceptions and attitudes towards IS compliance, risk and risk management. For historical reasons, AstraZeneca has diverse systems and cultures. This aects the degree of local autonomy desired/sought in relation to the use of own systems and the validation of systems distributed from the centre and other areas. While English is the common business language, for many it is a second language, sometimes making it dicult for them to grasp the nuances and meaning of global guidelines and terminology. A.3. Microsoft: Beckton Programme The objective of the programme is to provide a telecommunications company (Telco) with the services and infrastructure to oer a range of services to small business based around core Microsoft products leveraging Telcos wide area network capabilities and broadband technologies. As part of the programme, Microsoft is adapting a new technology, currently still under development, which sits on top of a product to t Telcos infrastructure and the services Telco requires Microsoft to provide. This is the rst, case study implementation of the technology. The Microsoft Program Director (PM), part of a specialist group based in Reading, is coordinating the work of technical leads and their teams, and four external parties: Microsofts product development team in Redmond (Seattle), an external company implementing the infrastructure, a software development house primarily based in India, Telco teams enhancing the network. The plan is for Microsoft to manage the st two releases of the tech-

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nology, then hand over to the software development house for further releases/development. The project/programme is organised as a matrix, with technical leads covering the main elements/phases; requirements, architecture, development, hosted exchange and testing. The leads are responsible for delivery in their areas, though most of the work is done by the other parties. The two releases are being worked on concurrently for instance, once the basic requirements for the rst release are passed to development, then the requirements for the second release are started. Microsoft is primarily a product-based organisation that focuses most of its eorts on, and earns most of its income from, developing and selling suites of software products and technology. Microsoft Services, a division within Microsoft, provides consulting support to organisations that have or would like to purchase Microsoft products or technologies. Microsoft Services is expected to breakeven on a global basis. Specialist programme management groups within Microsoft Services, of which the group based in Reading is at the leading edge, work closely with early adopter clients to implement, ne-tune or custom develop new products and technologies. These programmes are usually mission critical or going to give clients signicant advantages in their markets. An important aim is to nd an opportunity that will become a case study and so prove to the rest of the market that the Microsoft product or technology can address a specic functional space and that it works (i.e. debugged, enterprise-scale, etc.). A.4. DCA (Department of Constitutional Aairs): Courts and Tribunals Modernisation Programme The Courts and Tribunals Modernisation Programme (CTMP) will provide new hardware, applications and business processes that will enable information to be keyed once and shared among dierent agencies including police, prisons, probation services and courts. CTMP began in 2001 and is on schedule to be completed in 2006. It is a cross-jurisdictional programme because it covers three justice jurisdictions (the three are Criminal Justice, Civil and Family Justice, and tribunals). The programme consists of 15 projects, two of which also form part of the wider Criminal Justice IT programme. In addition the DCA has seven Public Service Agreements, each of which is now run as a programme in its own right, to which each CTMP dierent CTMP projects also report. The programme sits within complex, dynamic chains of objectives and accountabilities. For example, in the programmes Vision Statement the following cascade is discernible: (1) ministerial objectives (e.g. disperse justice fairly and eciently); (2) work (e.g. reducing delay); (3) structural changes (e.g. fully utilised courts);

(4) IT opportunities (up to date accurate info for all who need it); (5) aims (on-line tracking of cases by 2005); (6) systems (XHIBIT Pilot 1 real time provision of hearing information by public screens, mobile phone and pager); (7) targets (increase year on year satisfaction of users). There is a requirement to respond quickly to multiple routine and ad-hoc requests for standard and non-standard information that must be processed or summarised in a variety of ways. For a variety of reasons people do not always full governance roles to which they are allocated. For example, CTMP has always been missing a Programme Manager. Programmes have interconnecting projects competing for funding both within and between departments. Expected benets to other departments are likely to be refuted. A.5. Inland Revenue: Performance and Management Information (PMI) Programme The aim of the PMI programme is to provide the department and Ministers with improved management information for administering corporation tax; monitoring and managing performance against Public Service Agreement (PSA) targets; and improving the departments eciency, particularly by making the sta savings required by the Gershon eciency review. The current PMI projects are: Corporation Tax This project began in April 2004 and has software releases scheduled for January, May, August and December 2005. The software is intended to provide better information and analytical capability for corporation tax compliance and provide data for improving existing tax forecasting models. Cost and Resource Information This project will get underway in October 2004. Its purpose is to provide more accurate, ne-grained data on the costs and utilisation of sta to support delivery of the sta savings required by the Gershon eciency review. Organisation Planning Model This project will develop a more comprehensive version of an existing tool used for modelling the impacts of proposed changes in staing levels and utilisation. PSA Information This project will provide data and software tools to support modelling of the departments PSA targets. The aim is to enable the department to enhance its processes for setting and monitoring PSA targets, and for understanding how alternative uses of resources will aect performance against these targets. Information Centre This project aims to deliver an improved information management capability for PMI within the department by centralising the governance of corporate data and establishing a multidisciplinary group to support the department in making better use

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of the PMI delivered through the programmes other projects. In the 2004 Budget, the UK Chancellor announced that the Inland Revenue and HM Customs & Excise would merge to form Her Majestys Revenue and Customs (HMRC). HMRC ocially came into operation in 2005. There is a requirement for systems being developed to be able to meet the needs of HMRC and to consider how systems developed by either of the current departments will interoperate. Following a review of central government eciency by Sir Peter Gershon, the Chancellor announced in Budget 2004 that HMRC will be required to reduce its sta by around 10,500 by 2008. Given 2004/2005 sta numbers of around 77,500 for Inland Revenue and 23,000 for Customs and Excise, this equates to a reduction in headcount of around 10%. When the PMI programme was rst established, it was provided with departmental funding. In late 2003, this funding was withdrawn and the programme was required to apply directly to Treasury for funding for each of its projects, either as part of the 2004 Spending Review or through a funding mechanism known as Spend to Save. This approach to funding made it necessary to prepare business cases for each project in the programme that were largely self-contained in terms of costs and benets. A.6. Surrey Police: Staying Ahead 3 Programme Programme Staying Ahead 3 (SA3), is an extension of a series of programmes that started in October 2000. Staying Ahead programmes are aimed at building a capabilitybased policing model called Targeted Neighbourhood Policing (TNP), and SA3 is a transformational business modernisation stage to deliver and sustain TNP. SA3 projects include: Workforce Modernisation to increase exibility of the police workforce. Private Sector Support Models to create a new model of policing involving private sectors in areas such as searching, scene guarding, house to house inquiries, and mobile custody. Strategic Alliances to develop new ways of working with neighbouring forces in order to cut cost in delivering some specialist or support services and increase overall policing capacity. Customer Service to deliver a quality service that is responsive to individual and community needs by emphasizing reassurance, local accountability, fairness and equality, and customer service. Business Process Modernisation to reengineer all key processes in order to produce optimal capabilities and increase capacity within a cost-eective framework. Mixed Economy of Policing to create a new model for reconguration of sta-mix, new management proce-

dures, and working practices in the investigation of volume and major crimes and reassurance policing. Many projects are mainly driven by parties external to the force, such as, national policy, Home Oce, and Surrey Police Authority. These projects are aligned with the national strategy, for example, the government green paper, National Centre for Policing Excellence, Police Standards Unit, and approved Acts. Also many of these projects are mainly pilot projects funded by the Home Oce. As the projects could also benet other police forces, there is a risk that these projects may be taken over or reassigned to other forces before Surrey Police could complete them. Surrey Police views itself as one of the most innovative and modern police forces in the country, with a reputation for pioneering innovative techniques in operational policing and support functions. The programme management team receives strong support from top management via a large and powerful programme board. The programme management team must deal with frictions arising from established ways of working in dierent functions such as IT, HR and Finance (procurement). References
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