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Managing Successful Programmes
(MSP®)
Workbook
Contents
About MSP® ............................................................................................................................... 2
Introduction to a Programme .................................................................................................... 3
Principles .................................................................................................................................... 9
An Introduction to MSP Themes .............................................................................................. 16
Organisation ............................................................................................................................. 21
Additional Governance Support Offices .................................................................................. 29
Additional Individual Roles ...................................................................................................... 30
Design ....................................................................................................................................... 34
Justification .............................................................................................................................. 48
Structure .................................................................................................................................. 54
Knowledge ............................................................................................................................... 65
Assurance ................................................................................................................................. 75
Decisions .................................................................................................................................. 81
Introduction to MSP Processes ................................................................................................ 92
Identify the Programme ........................................................................................................... 94
Design the Outcomes ............................................................................................................... 99
Plan Progressive Delivery ....................................................................................................... 103
Deliver the Capabilities .......................................................................................................... 109
Embed the Outcomes ............................................................................................................ 116
Evaluate New Information ..................................................................................................... 120
Close the Programme ............................................................................................................ 125
Multiple Choice Questions ..................................................................................................... 129
About MSP® Managing Successful Programmes (MSP®) is a best‐practice framework for delivering complex programmes in accordance with long‐term strategies. MSP® was developed for and is owned by AXELOS Limited. Purpose of the workbook
In order to survive and grow, the organisations must persistently improve their ability to respond to changes encountered in their environment. Participating in incremental change programmes in order to realise tangible benefits is a way of doing this. The rate of change experienced by organisations continues to increase. Words
like volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity are regularly used to
describe a rapid and changing world where the path from the current state to
the anticipated future state is not linear and cannot be predicted with any
certainty.
Project Management is often used for defining and delivering new capabilities.
Programme management is documented as an approach that brings together
multiple projects and other work associated with delivering outcomes of
benefit across organisational boundaries. The programme management
approach demonstrates organisations how to adopt suitable governance, pace,
and attention to enable them to move ahead.
The purpose of this workbook is to:
o Define an adaptable set of programme management approaches, leading to
the creation of results of benefit in an incremental way.
o Provide an combined framework that guides the work using three lenses:
● Fundamental principles.
● Governance themes.
● Processes across a programme lifecycle.
The workbook is anticipated for those who are involved in the direction,
management, support, and delivery of programme work. It will also be
valuable for those who sponsor programmes, lead programmes, manage
projects or processes within a programme environment, or support
programmes.
Introduction to a Programme
A programme's primary aim is to understand the results and
advantages of decisive importance. A programme is a temporary,
adaptable company developed to organise, manage and supervise the
implementation of a collection of similar projects and tasks to fulfil
results and profits related to the strategic objectives of an
organisation.
A programme is likely to have a life that spans several years. A
programme offers advantages by a change to an organisation, and it is
based on an accepted idea of how a company or an organisation will
go ahead in the future. Programme Management offers a well‐
organised process for organising, planning, aligning, handling and
monitoring the tasks involved.
In this context Business as Usual (BAU) is defined as the things done
to keep the business operating day‐to‐day. By understanding the
demands on Business as Usual, its lifecycles and critical events, the
delivery of change through programmes and projects can be timed
and managed to ensure the least disruption.
Progressively Achieve Outcomes of Benefit
Programmes are designed to deliver results of benefit to stakeholders
throughout the programme lifecycle by using an incremental approach.
Programme management needs the redesign and design of the progress
towards the desired future state with a focus on accomplishing measurable
benefit as early as feasible. The incremental approach also enables the
intentional alignment with new information as the programme grows. It allows
organisations to be flexible and responsive. Such flexibility and responsiveness
is oftentimes referred to as enterprise agility. The fact that programmes need
an inherently incremental approach does not mean that programme
management depends on executing agile working methods. Projects in the
programme may adopt agile working methods where it is better to deliver
outputs iteratively; the schedule is then organised through time boxes,
whereas much scope as possible is delivered with a fixed collection of
resources.
One or More Organisations
An organisation in a programme context may be a different legal entity,
business unit, public‐sector department, or function in a broader legal entity.
In all cases, programmes work across the boundaries of the organisation and
are concerned with assuring that the requirements of stakeholders are
understood and maximised within significant constraints. MSP (Managing
Successful Programmes) uses the term ‘investing organisation’ to refer to the
body that takes risks associated with funding the programme and realising the
results of benefit. Programme management does not replace the requirement
for competent management of the process‐based and project‐based work that
is grouped together in the programme. Programme management adds value
by assuring that work is optimised and coordinated, i.e. the right work is done
at the right time to meet the priorities of the investing organisation(s).
What is Programme Management?
MSP® defines programme management as ‘the action of carrying out the
coordinated organisation, direction, and implementation of a dossier of
projects and transformation activities (i.e. the programme) to achieve
outcomes and realise benefits of strategic importance to the businesses.’
The MSP® framework is designed to enable the delivery of transformational
change and the achievement of an organisation’s strategic objectives.
Programmes exist in the tension zone between the strategic direction of the
organisation, the delivery of change capability by projects and the need to
maintain business performance and stability while realising and exploiting the
benefits from the investments.
Why use Programme Management?
The following are the reasons for scope of the programmes:
I. Innovation and Growth: A response to the chance to build and exploit
new physical or abilities based on knowledge.
II. Organisational Realignment: A response to acquisitions, mergers, or
divestments, or a drive to restructure how resources are deployed.
III. Effective Delivery: A response to demands from regulators, customers,
or other stakeholders to improve performance and compliance.
IV. Efficient Delivery: A response to sharing limited resources requiring
prioritisation to gain the best results for the least cost across various
processes and projects.
Overcoming Common Challenges
MSP is particularly designed to address common challenges that organisations
encounter while leading investments in change. These include:
o Inadequate support from decision‐makers in the investing
organisations.
o Vague decision‐making.
o Unsustained focus on results and benefits. o Poorly defined, communicated, or maintained the narrative that
supports the vision.
o Lack of clarity about the gap between future and current states. o Unrealistic expectations about the ability and capacity to change. o Failure to influence and engage stakeholders. o Complex dependences unclear an integrated approach.
o Inability to influence the prevailing culture. o Problems in keeping effort focused at the right level of detail.
Programme Environment
A programme is a main undertaking for most organisations, putting important
demands on already busy resources, and requiring substantial change and
funding for the organisations involved. Programmes always exist within the
internal and external context of the organisation. The ecosystem of
stakeholders (e.g. customers, regulators, citizens, pressure groups, competitors
and suppliers) provides threats and opportunities and threats externally—
these form the objectives and their related strategies, policies, investments,
and targets of the organisation. The permanent organisation is designed to
deliver strategy through the means of working embedded in BAU routines of
the organisation.
Changes to strategy inevitably require embedded means of working to alter,
and it has to be done in the context of the prevailing power and culture
structures. As a result, often programmes are seen as disruptors in an
organisation, and programme management requires to establish the right
balance between leading change and respecting and understanding the
established ways to value. Uncertainty is a feature of most programme
environments leading to a different range of peril kinds that have the potential
to influence the objectives of the programme. Also, internal and external
contexts are unstable, so programmes require to adapt to emerging
information and keep a focus on the most achievable and affordable ways
forward.
Organisations have choices about how they manage their investments in
change, and adopting the MSP programme management approach is one of
them. A few organisations will review that a project management method as
defined in PRINCE2 is adequate for the work as the path to achieve the
anticipated outcomes is clear and can be defined at the start. Other
organisations may pick to adopt a portfolio management approach (as defined
in Management of Portfolios or MoP®) as their primary focus to keep their
wide collection of individual investments in change efficient and focused on
strategic objectives. A few organisations may use all three approaches.
How MSP Fits into AXELOS Global Best Practice
MSP is part of a portfolio of global best‐practice publications aimed at assisting
individuals and organisations manage programmes, projects, and portfolios
effectively and continuously. MSP can be used in connection with all the other
best‐practice products, and internal and international standards of the
organisation. Where proper, guidance is supported by a qualification scheme
and consultancy services and accredited training. Every best practice guidance
is intended to be tailored for use by individual organisations.
Multiple Choice Questions 1:
1. What is the full form of MSP?
a. Managing Successful Projects
b. Managing Strong Projects
c. Managing Successful Programmes
d. Managing Strong Programmes
2. Programmes are designed to deliver results of benefit to stakeholders
throughout the programme lifecycle by using a ___________ approach.
a. Visual b. Incremental
c. Qualitative d. Quantitative
3. Which of the following may adopt agile working methods in the
programme?
a. Products b. Projects c. Portfolio d. All of these
4. As per the Programme Management which of the following statement is
CORRECT about Innovation and Growth?
a. A response to acquisitions, mergers, or divestments, or a drive to
restructure how resources are deployed.
b. A response to demands from regulators, customers, or other
stakeholders to improve performance and compliance.
c. A response to the chance to build and exploit new physical or abilities based on knowledge.
d. A response to sharing limited resources requiring prioritisation to
gain the best results for the least cost across various processes
and projects.
5. MSP uses the term ‘investing organisation’ to refer to the body that takes
risks associated with funding the programme and realising the results of
benefit.
Mark the statement TRUE/FALSE
a. True b. False
6. ___________ is defined as the things done to keep the business operating day‐to‐day.
a. Governance themes
b. Business as Usual (BAU) c. Management of Portfolios (MoP)
d. Programme Environment
Principles
Organisations use programme management in a diversity of circumstances and
to pursue the organisation's various objectives: innovation and development;
organisational realignment; and efficient and effective delivery of change. MSP
provides a principles‐based framework which can be applied in all these
different situations. Principles guide the responsibilities that continually apply
from the first identification of the programmes through to their closure.
Principles are built into programme governance by the themes and are
enacted through the processes in the life cycle of the programme. A guiding
obligation that is continually needed to attain value from programme
management.
The following principles direct the programmes aligned with MSP:
1. Lead with purpose
Programmes are purposeful endeavour emphasis on planned change in one or
more organisations. The ability of people included in leading programmes to
visualise and communicate the desired outcomes of the benefits and to
strengthen those desired outcomes over the years is critical to success. The
principle of leading with purposes applies to the entire programme team
across the programme lifecycle. Leading with purpose keeps decision‐makers
and stakeholders focused on what is most significant. This principle reinforces
the need for the clarity of programme vision and relationships with other
programmes and projects in the organisational portfolio to be agreed and
defined
The lead with purpose principle is attained by providing clarity of purpose for
stakeholders (organisation theme) and planning delivery in the most
appropriate way to achieve the future state and associated outcomes of
benefit (structure theme). Maintaining a compelling design and vision of the
target operating model (design theme). Designing the three lines of defence to
support leadership decision‐making (assurance theme). Justifying and
communicating the financial viability over time in the business case
(justification theme). Supporting the organisation and curation of knowledge
(knowledge theme). Gathering, analysing, and presenting decision‐ready
information and communicating the rationale that underpins decisions
(decisions theme).
2. Collaborate across boundaries
Programmes inevitably affect a lot of organisational units. For example, the
organisational units may exist in different legal entities as many investors come
together to create important new infrastructure; or they may be different
parts of public sector body working together to change and implement a new
policy. Alternatively, organisational units may be within a single organisation
with multiple business units and functions involved and affected. Successful
programmes collaborate to facilitate effective cross‐organisational governance
across these organisational boundaries where it does not already exist.
The collaborate across boundaries principle is achieved by articulating benefits
and designing a clear target operating model (design theme), providing
everyone in the programme with access to knowledge and information
(knowledge theme) and developing a unified view of assurance for the
programme (assurance theme). Ensuring approaches used to make decisions in
the light of new information can work across multi‐organisational governance
(decisions theme). Implementing governance for financial decision‐making
related to priorities for cash, investments, and the risk profile of achieving
outcomes (justification theme). Maintaining clarity about the number and
types of resource needed and how they will be sourced (structure theme).
Maintaining mechanisms for stakeholders and organisational units to interact
(organisation theme).
3. Deal with ambiguity
The leading change when using programme management is future‐focused
activity. It is typed by the uncertainty caused by the inability to know for sure
what will happen next. Knowing what we don't know, that is, knowing what is
unclear in the internal or external context, enables us to frame risk. Risks can
be negative threats or positive opportunities. Risks can be related to the
inherent uncertainty of which results will be of highest value to the
organisation and about what path will deliver those outcomes of benefit
All are important in shaping the decisions made during the life cycle of the
programme. Dealing with ambiguity is not the principle to lessen risk as much
as possible; instead, it is a principle that embraces the uncertain, complex,
volatile, and vague nature of programmes and focuses attention on the need
to make eyes‐open choices.
The deal with ambiguity principle is attained by providing a clear vision of
current thinking and the risks perceived (design theme), Defining the appetite
for risk and facilitating information‐sharing, transparency, and evidence‐based
decision‐making (organisation theme). Providing manageable tranches of
delivery that contribute to clear intermediate landing points (structure theme).
Reflecting uncertainty of estimates and specific risks in the business case
(justification theme). Explicitly considering the upside and downside impacts of
decisions (decisions theme). Making knowledge as clear and accessible as
possible (knowledge theme). Adopting a risk‐based approach to assurance that
focuses resources on the areas where greater certainty would be valuable
(assurance theme).
4. Align with priorities
The programme environment does not stand still, and it is common for
organisational priorities to change often during the life of any programme.
Successful programmes adapt to work and emerging information to constantly
improve the quality of decision making in a dynamic environment. This makes
sure that the programme aligns with the organisational strategy and objectives
of the investing organisation over time and does not evade addressing any
conflicting objectives. Occasionally, new information will eliminate the
justification for the programme. In these circumstances the programmes are
closed in a controlled manner.
Often, new information results in altered priorities that lead to the
realignment of programme plans and the reassignment of the limited
resources available to provide work. The align with priorities principle is
attained by revisiting the benefits, target operating model, and associated risks
over time (design theme). Adapting roles, structures, and responsibilities over
time to provide alignment and oversight with business operations
(organisation theme). Supporting stakeholders to acquire the knowledge and
information they need to understand priorities (knowledge theme). Reporting
both historical performance and emerging trends (decisions theme).
Prioritising assurance observations and action plans to reflect risks (assurance
theme). Adjusting the content of tranches to reflect new information
(structure theme). Reflecting new information in the business (justification
theme).
5. Deploy diverse skills
Work done within a programme spans many disciplines and skills. Internal
knowledge and experience are usually complemented with external skills
provided by consultants and prime and second‐tier contracting staff. The
combination of external and internal skills then shapes and provides the
needed results and benefit outcomes. Different skills are required at different
times, and successful programme management deploys the right combination
of skills and contracting routes to meet the changing requirements of the
work. It is important to know when additional organisational capabilities and
resource capacity are needed. In addition, balancing the demand for outside
experts with the requirements of overstretched employees who are learning
new ways of working is a crucial factor in providing change. It is also important
not to rely on exterior help, thereby missing the opportunity for investing
organisation to build the required skills for the future.
The deploy diverse skills principle is attained by providing clarity on the skills
necessary for the target operating model to work as designed (design theme).
Providing oversight of the development of the required organisational
capabilities and resource capacity (organisation theme). Providing visibility in
the budget of the incremental costs of deploying specialised skills from inside
or outside the organisation (justification theme).
6. Realise measurable benefits
Creating results that lead to measurable and defined financial and non‐
financial benefits is at the heart of programme management. The programme
delivers and designs coherent organisational capabilities. These are adopted
and transitioned in routine operations so that the desired results become
embedded, and the realisation of benefits can be measured and observed
Planned yet undesirable results, measured by dis‐benefits, are a reality in
many programmes and are proactively managed along with desirable
outcomes of benefits. Because programme management spans organisational
units and time, it is positioned to be able to drive the phasing and overall
realisation of measurable benefits. The realise measurable benefits principle is
achieved by:
o Make sure that stakeholders are engaged and that there is two‐way
communication about the outcomes of benefit (organisation theme).
o Designing the benefits map and benefit profiles (design theme).
Make sure benefits are measurable, either with a direct route to cash, through
the use of cash proxies, or by using a non‐financial measure (justification
theme). Focusing assurance on the risks affecting outcomes of benefit over
time (assurance theme). Ensuring that stakeholders can access details of the
benefits and understand how they are measured (knowledge theme). Keeping
the decision‐making focus at the programme level, that is on the realisation of
the outcomes of benefit (decisions theme).
7. Bring pace and value
An organisation's investment in using the programme management approach
must be justified. The MSP is designed to bring value to the work of the
programme through the coordination and continuous focus between
principles, processes and themes in delivering benefit outcomes. The MSP
brings transparency and structure to the management of investments in
incremental change and applies rigidness to the coordination of constituent
projects and other work. Part of the value of MSP is related to establishing the
appropriate pace of change. Rather than confuse with velocity, pace focuses
on the timing of certain aspects of the work and their alignment to other
important objectives or events. Establishing the right pace will enable the
organisation to attain the desired future results along with the BAU activities
required to provide value. The bring pace and value principle is attained by
focusing on establishing governance that empowers decision‐making as close
to the day‐to‐day work as possible (organisation theme). Expressing the
structure and design of the programme in financial terms to make clear how
the phasing of expenditure and benefits realisation supports the pace of
delivery (justification theme). Keeping the benefits, target, and vision
operating model clear and aligned with priorities (design theme). Planning
assurance that is appropriate and timely (assurance theme). Planning the
delivery of capabilities at the best pace to achieve the outcomes of benefit in
line with the business case (structure theme). Working within clear delegated
limits of authority and only escalating decisions when needed (decisions
theme). Encouraging the learning of lessons and a culture of continual
improvement (knowledge theme).
Multiple Choice Questions 2:
7. Principles guide the _______________ that continually apply from the first
identification of the programmes through to their closure.
a. Authority
b. Assurance
c. Responsibilities
d. Decisions
8. Which of the following principle is attained by providing clarity of purpose
for stakeholders and planning delivery in the most appropriate way to
achieve the future state and associated outcomes of benefit?
a. Lead with purpose
b. Bring pace and value
c. Collaborate across boundaries
d. Realise measurable benefits
9. The deal with ambiguity principle is attained by ________________.
a. Providing clarity on the skills necessary for the target operating
model to work as designed.
b. Providing manageable tranches of delivery that contribute to clear
intermediate landing points.
c. Articulating benefits and designing a clear target operating model.
d. Revisiting the benefits, target operating model, and associated
risks over time.
11. As per Lead with purpose principle, designing the three lines of defence tosupport leadership decision‐making is known as design theme.
Mark the statement TRUE/FALSE
a. True
b. False
10. Which of the following statement is NOT correct regarding “Bring pace and
value” principle?
a. It is attained by focusing on establishing governance that empowers
decision-making as close to the day-to-day work as possible.
b. Keeping the benefits, target, and vision operating model clear and aligned
with priorities.
c. Focusing assurance on the risks affecting outcomes of benefit over time.
d. Expressing the structure and design of the programme in financial terms
to make clear how the phasing of expenditure and benefits realisation
supports the pace of delivery.
An Introduction to MSP Themes
Programme Governance
Governance, like used to a programme, is the authority and responsibility
framework which is applied by the investing companies in order to control the
work and make sure the production of value. Like part of the governance, the
programme requires controls which give transparency and make confident that
works will occur like intended Controls can be procedures, behaviours, tools,
and policies. The themes of MSP of design, structure, organisation, assurance,
decisions, justification, and knowledge define important governance aspects
which are needed to make sure that the programme is arranged with the
principles around the programme lifecycle. For the programme control
environment will be established by the themes application.
Fit with Corporate Governance
Programme governance doesn't stand alone and required to fit inside the
broader control framework of the company. In most of the companies, the
broader control framework of the company will be required to comply with the
needs for corporate governance in the appropriate jurisdiction. In public or
other sectors which are non‐profit, the concepts underpinning corporate
governance also used but various terminology can be utilised, like excellent
governance for charities. Programmes often should comply with the policies of
the company like those which relates to data privacy, corruption or hiring, anti‐
bribery and giving rewards to contractors and staff. Relying on the particular
requirements of the programme, permission to change from the standards of
the company can be asked from senior leadership, but the default condition
will be complete compliance. Where programmes have various companies for
investing, the fit with the different control frameworks of the company should
be agreed, and any disputes solved.
Plan–Do–Check–Act Cycle
Various control environment aspects need a cycle or process which is
structured in order to make sure that there are continual improvement and
effective implementation. The (PDCA) Plan‐Do‐Check‐Act cycle which is also
named as the Deming cycle or Shewhart cycle used to control the main aspects
of programme management like conflict resolution, risk analysis and
management, communication management, stakeholder management, and
information management. This model is described in four phases which
produces a circular, repetitive process.
The first phase 'plan' includes the present situation's knowledge prior to
progressing. It may involve setting risk tolerances in order to express appetite
or analysing the present environment of the programme. The 'do' phase is
utilised when the particular actions are performed which are required, like
prioritising, recognising and reacting to risks; capturing, storing and codifying
information; or planning assurance works. The 'check' phase includes
confirming the outcomes through the previous phase, and if they are not like
intended, recognising where additional step can be required. This can involve
particular work in order to understand the issue resolution's effectiveness or to
write a review of whether governance is working like intended. The 'act' phase
while actions which are validated are used in practice. Constant improvement
occurs when beginning steps and plans are reviewed as well as revised in order
to reflect the present situation and priorities.
Program Strategy
The primary objective of the programme strategy is to describe the control
environment and governance for a programme in line with the corporate
governance needs of the organisation which are investing and making sure
that principles of MSP are used during the programme lifecycle. MSP suggests
that the programme strategy need to be a particular document which includes
various sections outlining the required steps to set effective governance and
control on the entire theme. Many sections in the programme strategy need to
be obtained from the approach information which is described in each and
every theme.
The following are involved:
o Governance approach in the theme of the organisation.
o Engagement approach of stakeholder in the theme of organisation.
o Design approach in the design theme.
o Funding approach in the justification theme.
o Delivery approach in the structure theme.
o Resourcing approach in the structure theme.
o Knowledge and learning approach in the knowledge theme.
o Information approach in the knowledge theme.
o Assurance approach in the assurance theme.
o Decision‐making approach in the decisions theme.
o Conflict resolution approach in the decisions theme.
o Risk response approach in the decisions theme.
The approach information is outlined like a collection of questions which the
programme addresses in order to set coherent governance and controls for the
specific activity. The program strategy is expected to review the control
environment, make it obvious why a specific control is must and giving steps'
details of high‐level required to comply. When the programme strategy has
been evolved to address every question in the approaches, it makes the
baseline of governance for the programme and is kept up‐to‐dated by utilising
formal change.
Programme Plans
Oppose to the programme strategy's objective, the main aim of programme
plans is to describe the particular arrangements for executing the programme
strategy and to manage the team. Programme plans react to the questions
which are more detailed of 'who', 'when' and 'how' to deliver the benefit'
results across time. Companies can select to combine each and every plan for
the programme in a document or have different documents, with independent
change control. MSP doesn't need a plan for each and every approach like in
some situations the approach will be adequate in order to reach the
requirements of the programme. These are:
• Engagement of stakeholder and communications plan in the
organisation theme.
• Financial plan in the justification theme.
• Delivery plan in the structure theme.
• Profits realisation plan in the structure theme.
• Assurance plan in the assurance theme.
If the plans of programmes have been confirmed, they produce the
management baseline for the programme and are up‐to‐dated by utilising
formal change control.
Multiple Choice Questions 3:
12. As per Programme Governance, for the programme, control environment
will be established by the _____________.
a. Themes application
b. Themes assurance
c. Themes design
d. Themes structure
13. Which phase of Plan‐Do‐Check‐Act cycle includes confirming the outcomes
through the previous phase?
a. Plan phase b. Do phase c. Check phase d. Act phase
14. Which of the following is NOT involved in the Program Strategy?
a. Funding approach in the justification theme.
b. Delivery approach in the structure theme.
c. Resourcing approach in the structure theme.
d. Financial plan in the justification theme.
15. _______________react to the questions which are more detailed of 'who',
'when' and 'how' to deliver the benefit' results across time.
a. Programme Strategy
b. Programme Plans
c. Programme Governance
d. Programme Environment
Organisation The purpose of the organisation theme is to describe:
How to organise the programmes to assure efficient leadership, scrutiny,
sponsorship, and decision‐making, involving transparency around roles,
liabilities, and assigned boundaries of authority. How stakeholders are
recognised and involved and how to planned and delivered communication
effectively.
Key relationships between the MSP Principles and design theme
The organisation theme uses the MSP principle
By …
Resulting in …
Lead with objective
Giving transparency of objective for stakeholders
Commitment toward the programme and the enthusiasm to reduce difficulties for stakeholders
Collaborate beyond limits Managing mechanisms for the units of the organisation and interact with stakeholders
Integrated and coordinated decision‐making
Deal with uncertainty
Describing the appetite for risk and information‐sharing, facilitating clarity, and decision‐making based on evidence
Better recognition, analysis, and answer to risks and developing change
Align with preferences
Adapting roles, and accountabilities and structure passing the time to give oversight and alignment with operations of the business
Governance which matches preferences
Deploy different skills
Giving oversight of the progress of the needed organisational abilities and capacity of resources
Better risk management related to skills and resources
Realise accountable benefits
Make sure that stakeholders are involved, and there is two‐way interaction regarding the results of benefit
The commitment of stakeholders during the lifecycle
Governance Approach
In the programme strategy, the governance approach response to the
subsequent questions:
o Which programme governance boards and helping offices are needed in
the organisational structure of the programme, and what are their
conditions of reference
o In which way, the programme governance boards and helping offices will
act with another governance board which exist outside the
organisational structure of the programme, involving investing
organisation(s) and partner organisations?
o What are the personal responsibilities and accountabilities for every
personal role in all section of the organisation structure?
o What is the appetite for risk toward the programme, ideally revealed as
tolerances around targets that are measurable?
o What are the assigned boundaries of authority for every personal role in
every section of the organisation structure, joined with risk tolerances?
Risk Appetite
The describing risk appetite of the programme allows assigned boundaries of
authority to be allocated to particular roles into every section of the
organisation structure. It is also a need for company (and charitable)
governance that executive teams and boards show their appetite for risk in
accomplishing their strategy. Hence, it follows that investments made in
programmes exhibit corporate risk appetite to make sure the alignment of the
programmes with the operational business.
The best method is concerning the risk appetite to be revealed as thresholds
surrounding measurable targets instead of narrative statements. Measurable
targets are the programme goals in the programme context that might be
explained as the costs or gross benefits, or as net profits. For programmes,
showing appetite as thresholds vs. time targets is also feasible, although the
program' objective is to realise measurable profits and hence to utilise time as
a proxy for profits might not be perfect.
Risk tolerances might also be established for the programme on the basis of
key goals of the organisation like customer satisfaction or safety performance.
Organisation Structure
The goal of the organisational structure of the programme is to describe the
governance boards and helping offices which are required to control the
description and delivery of results of benefit in the restrictions related to
investing organisation(s). Several governance boards are usual for the
programmes, involving the programme board and sponsoring group. To meet
their roles, these boards are supported by helping offices that are set for the
planning of governance controls and execute them efficiently
The programme office is the individual needed governance office. The survival
of other governance offices based on the program's nature
The following is the Usual Organisation Structure for a Programme:
1. Sponsoring Group
It is the governance board with assigned authority to govern the
programme. It involves senior leaders who are responsible to the
administrators of the corresponding investing companies, and it is
accountable for:
o Make sure the alignment of the programme goals with the strategic
direction of the companies or units of the company involved.
o The extent of the programme investment.
o Obtaining the expected results of the investment.
o Establishing overall programme preferences.
o Mitigating conflicts within the priorities of the programme and other
programmes, and with continued operations of the business.
o Giving continued endorsement and commitment in assistance of the
programme goals.
o Assigning authority of decision‐making to the programme board, SRO,
and helping offices.
It involves a group concerning senior managers who are responsible for the
sponsoring group.
They are accountable for developing, executing, and managing the strategy
of the programme and responding to the questions in the sections of the
approach of every theme. The programme board's members include the
programme manager, the SRO, the leader of the programme office, the
business change manager.
The programme board's other representatives might involve project
sponsors, a lead supplier, delegates from other supporting offices, and
corporate functions' representatives (e.g. risks, HR, or finance).
3. Programme Office
A group of specialists include in the programme office who is responsible
for the programme manager and accountable for giving the skills, tools, and
processes which help programme board and the SRO to execute their
liabilities and accomplishing their roles.
To accomplish this, the programme office gives services which support the
BCM and programme manager by handling issues, risks, stakeholder
engagement and communications, benefits realisation, and organisational
change management, monitoring and reporting, planning and estimating,
quality, resource planning, assurance, procurement and contracts, change
control, finances, information.
Individual Roles
The governance boards and supporting offices which form the organisational
structure of the programme involve leaders with particular individual roles.
Role definitions are formed while determining the governance approach and
are documented in the strategy of the programme. Their goal is to describe
responsibilities, accountabilities apparently, and assigned boundaries of
authority.
2. Programme Board
The programme board is a governance board with the assigned authority to
drive the outcomes' delivery of benefit in the described restrictions.
1. Senior Responsible Owner
The senior responsible owner (SRO) is responsible for the sponsoring group
and chairs the programme board. The SRO has entire and continuous
responsibility for the successful outcomes' delivery regarding the
programme.
It involves setting plans and strategy of the programme, monitoring the
performance of the programme, making decisions of high‐impact
programme risks, and assure engagement by the sponsoring group.
2. Programme Manager
The programme manager is responsible for the programme board and has
overall and continuing accountability for the successful everyday leadership
related to the programme in assistance of the SRO. It involves:
o Defining and managing delivery plan of an integrated programme,
observing actual growth to date and anticipating the development in
future tranches.
o Describing and managing budget baseline of a programme, observing
actual expenses to date and anticipating expenses for future tranches.
o Observing and reporting the entire performance of the programme
involving risk management, stakeholder engagement, and benefits
realisation.
o Recognising and solving issues of programme level.
o Recognising and assigning project level matters to the suitable project
manager.
o Recognising and escalating problems of the organisational level to the
SRO.
3. Business Change Manager
The Business Change Manager (BCM) is responsible for the programme
board and has the entire and continuous responsibility for the successful
everyday adoption of innovative abilities in the investing organisation in
assistance of the realisation of results of benefit on the side of the SRO. The
BCM is generally a member of the leadership team of the business
operations and will remain nearby the activities of BAU throughout the
The followings are the individual roles in the organisational structure of the programmes:
programme. The BCM assures that programme alterations are valid and
appropriate to the organisation and that the organisation is prepared to
adopt the alterations in collaboration with delegates from the operations of
the organisation
Tailoring Programme Governance
Programme governance necessities to be tailored to its environment. Several
considerations that will inform tailoring contain the programme size, reasons
for the investment and associated risks, and the public profile of the
organisations involved
Programme Size or Complexity
The program's governance differs in the form of its size and complexity such as
the projects' number, people and organisations comprise with the programme
In programmes that are smaller or less complex, some governance boards,
individual roles, and supporting offices might be warranted because working
relations and lines of reporting are more direct
In programmes that larger or more complex, added programme boards,
individual roles, supporting offices are frequently needed in dealing with the
type and number of working relations or reporting lines which are increased
and advantage from intermediaries
Further expert roles might also be needed in larger programmes such as
planning, technical design, reporting, assurance, quality, finance, benefits
realisation, resourcing, procurement and communications
The figure shows the potential support roles or offices to deal with specific
investments:
Reason for Investment Potential support roles or offices for dealing with particular risks
Innovation and growth • Service design office concentrated on service progress, innovation and change control
• Infrastructure design and assurance office concentrated on the
procurement, design, and physical assets' deployment(e.g. railways, roads, buildings, and airports) and assuring the safety
Organisational realignment • Business process design office concentrated on collective corporate transaction execution, e.g. divestment, acquisitions, and merger
• Change office concentrated on assisting individuals in the business by making them ready for a significant transformation
Effective delivery • Programme assurance office concentrated on ensuring administrative compliance with innovative or updated rules directing the organisation (e.g. finance, cyber security, etc.)
• Operational process design office concentrated on streamlining and optimising procedures for better fulfil the requirements of citizens, customers, or other stakeholders
Efficient delivery • Resource planning office concentrated on scheduling the usage of equipment, facilities, and individuals beyond the organisation
• Asset management office concentrate on consideration of the whole‐life expenses of assets.
Public profile of the organisations involved
In programmes, the investments are made by public, private, and not‐for‐profit
sectors. Programmes working in the public sector, or in which the programme
affects the public members, will be influenced by their public profile that might
include:
o A higher scrutiny level by public, media and Parliament
o Extra monitoring and reporting needs to allow public clearness
o Added processes to assure equity and fairness(e.g. while procurement)
Integrating Programme, Project, and Operational Organisation Structures
o Creating the appropriate engagement level within the programme and
its constituent projects and additional work is a vital component of
building an efficient programme organisation.
o There are several forms of the project and operational structure of the
organisation and various methods of combining these in the programme
organisation.
Additional Governance Support Offices
The following are the Additional Governance Support Offices
Programme Design and Change Authority
The programme design and change authority is the governance support office
with main accountability for technical design at the programme level and
change control
The concentration of change authority and programme design differs
according to what the business operation's aspect is altering and needs
thoughtful design and change control expertness (e.g. capital infrastructure,
technology, service or business process)
It is responsible for the programme board and accountable for giving the skills,
tools, and processes that help the manager of the programme in accomplishing
their role
Programme Assurance Office
The programme assurance office is the governance support office with
fundamental liability for evaluating and validating the controls of management
to the programme.
The programme assurance office gives an objective evaluation of the possibility
that the programme will deliver the anticipated quality and results in the
predicted budget and timelines for management, on the basis of good practice.
Responsible for the sponsoring group and accountable for giving the skills,
tools, and processes that will help the sponsoring programme group in
performing their overall responsibilities and accomplishing their roles.
Additional Individual Roles
The following are the Additional individual roles linked with programmes
that are observed frequently in practice:
Organisational Change Manager
The organisation in which various programmes and projects deliver much
change, a change manager for the whole portfolio might exist, they are
probable to have direct input in activities like:
o Describing the approach of stakeholder engagement or plan for
stakeholder engagement and conversations
o Describing the plan of benefits realisation and promoting the change
resourcing and activities of benefits realisation
Business‐Unit Operations Manager
o The Business‐Unit Operations Manager is not likely to have a formal role
in the governance of programme but might be a member of a project
board's member like a senior user.
o Regardless of formal reporting lines, these managers are crucial
stakeholders who describing the beneficiaries of the change.
o It includes aligning project and needs of operational resource, recognising operational issues and risks and solving them where it is
possible, increasing issues and risks to both project management and
operation management when needed.
Stakeholder Engagement
The complexity and scale of change linked with programmes typically forms a
stakeholder environment which needs thorough examination and
management. Stakeholder engagement needs planning and constant review to
assure that the influenced groups and people who can affect the programme
are understood and influenced suitably. The stakeholder engagement that is
well‐design decreases the negative thoughts of blockers, holds supporters, and
converts indifference within support. It will concentrate effort at those
stakeholders with the biggest impact on the program's success.
Programmes are possible to have a great number and several kinds of
stakeholders. Few of them will be comparatively more peripheral and others
much critical. It is essential to increase the influence of engagement and
resources of communication by concentrating on the stakeholders who are
most important, without completely overlooking the others. There is a high
socio‐political complexity in several programmes, for instance the stakeholder
environment is extremely affected by politics, alliances, conflicts, and power‐
plays. It is important that the approach of stakeholder engagement identifies
the potential for such kind of complexity and according that makes the plans.
Stakeholder Engagement Approach
The stakeholder engagement approach describes the questions which should
be addressed by the programme strategy as a least. Its content will differ
based on the program's nature, and the included organisations. In MSP, it is
supposed that the adopted approach will address each of the stakeholders
linked to the environment of the programme
This approach in the programme strategy responds to the subsequent
questions:
o Which elements of the programme can create the environment of
stakeholder hard to maintain?
o What are the fundamental metrics and goals to measure stakeholder
engagement?
o What are the responsibilities of the governance boards, individual roles,
and supporting offices in stakeholder engagement?
o How will governance boards of the programme observe the progress,
success, and risks of stakeholder engagement beyond the lifecycle?
Stakeholder Engagement and Communications Plan
The objective of the stakeholder engagement and communications plan is to
provide details about how stakeholders are recognised, prioritised, and
engaging over the program's life, involving feedback and two‐way
conversation. It assists in gaining commitment from stakeholders to the
modifications being introduced to increase the value and impacts of the
programme results. The plan describes activities of the stakeholder
engagement that are important to the success of the programme and aligns
the level of detail and message content with the requirements of the
stakeholder's priority
The stakeholder engagement and communications plan addresses:
How stakeholders are examined (recognised, classified, prioritised, and
arranged).
How the examination of a stakeholder’s interest and impact is assessed and
measured in the programme.
How the impact and importance of a stakeholder toward a programme are
evaluated.
What type of media and channels of communications will be utilised and on
what frequency.
How feedback will be inspired, assembled, and maintained when got.
What the essential messages and goals for all group must be.
Measures and metrics for observing communication.
Programme Manager • The programme board's memberreporting to the SRO
• Everyday leadership regarding theprogramme
Business Change Manager (BCM) • The programme board's memberreporting to the SRO
• Organisational changemanagement in assistance of theSRO for the programme
Programme Office Lead • Assist the programme board bycapacity control and programmedelivery
Role Areas of focus
Sponsoring Group Members • Assuring the stakeholderengagement approach andgovernance approach is suitable forthe objective
• Recognising strategic stakeholders• Agreeing with the programme risk
appetite
Senior Responsible Owner (SRO)
• The programme board's memberreporting to the SRO
• Everyday leadership regarding theprogramme
Focus of the Key Roles for the Theme The following are the Roles for Organisation Theme
Design
Purpose
The following is the main purpose of the design theme:
o The way in which programmes are planned to make sure that the end‐
state is clear, and the risks and advantages are understood.
o How to make the objective operating model, and how to know the
difference within the present and upcoming states.
Key Relationships with Principles
The design theme adds to the compliance to principles of MSP over the
programme lifecycle. There are various basic relations with the principles,
which are described below:
The design theme applies the MSP principle
By… Resulting in…
Lead with purpose
Managing a convincing image and design of the target operating model.
A vibrant vision of the upcoming state.
Collaborate over boundaries
Articulating advantages and making a vibrant target operating model.
Everybody being conscious of and dedicated to the similar finish goals.
Deal with ambiguity
Giving a clear view of present thinking and the risks supposed.
A point of focus and a target in contrast to which developing risks and trends can be assessed.
Align with priorities
Revisiting the advantages, target operating model, and the risks which are associated over the period.
The avoidance of unnecessary work.
Deploy various skills
Giving clearness on the skills which are required for the target operating model to work as planned.
The organisation positioning and emerging talent.
Realise measurable benefits
Planning the benefits map as well as benefit profiles.
Lucidity regarding the drivers for the programme.
Bring pace and value
Keeping the image, benefits, and target operating model vibrant and allied with priorities
The evasion of misalignment over the period
Design Approach
The design approach describes the questions which the program strategy need
to address like a point. The content will change as per the programme's nature
and the organisation which are involved; though, in MSP it is supposed that the
approach which is adopted will address the needed governance and controls of
every organisation who are investing.
In this programme strategy, the design approach answers the questions which
are the following:
• How will the image for the programme be accepted and approved?
• How will the advantages of the programme be agreed and approved?
• How will the target operating model be described and approved?
• How will the risks to attaining the benefits be captured and prioritised?
Vision Statement
The main aim of the vision statement is to record the vision for the programme
in a way which allows motivation, alignment, and engagement of the
significant stakeholders’ community which are included in the programme,
potentially over various companies. The vision statement defines the intended
future state once the programme ends at a high level, where more detail is
given by the benefits profiles and target operating model. With the vision
statement, those documents should be aligned which are more explained.
The vision statement is recorder like an outward‐facing document which
describes new improvements, services and techniques to work. The vision
statement should be understood by each and every individual, to engage and
earn commitment through various programme stakeholders.
The following are the characteristics of good vision statement:
o It needs to be written like a company’s snapshot in the future, and
articulation of what individuals will experience and view when the
programme has fulfilled successfully.
o It should be written as per the primary stakeholders and their interests,
making a reliable picture of a future which they want to engage with.
o It should be understood easily by various people, refraining jargon as well as technical language.
o It should be concise: a good vision statement can be in one or two
paragraphs lengthy. The much the statement is long, the more
possibility to include inconsistencies and be less motivating.
o It should be compelling: it needs to draw people in the direction of a
beautiful and desirable upcoming state, engaging their minds and hearts
and giving motivation.
o Address why the status quo is not a choice.
The following are the points which are beneficial when writing a vision
statement:
o A vision statement doesn’t require to involve particular timings until it is
time‐sensitive.
o If the delivery time slip, various programme vision statements stay valid
Refrain utilising measurable and detailed goals.
o It is beneficial to have a vision that can be measured so that it is obvious
when the company has attained the objective of the programme.
o Though defining objectives can withdraw from the vision statement’s
main purpose; targets are much usefully captured in the target
operating model & business case
o Refrain involving details which withdraw through the vision's compelling
nature
Benefits
Benefits run programmes. Unless the promise of benefits, companies will not
invest in programmes, and resources will be spent in inaccurate place at the
incorrect time without a concentration on benefits. Programmes should design
and deliver abilities which can be adopted and transitioned so that the results
which are expected are embedded and realised the benefits which are
measurable. Programmes should also understand the problems which are a
consequence of intended negative results, and design the programme in order
to reduce the effect. Many times a benefit to a company, or the company's
part, results in a disadvantage to others. This should be understood and
maintained carefully.
Types of Benefits
Types of Benefit
The following are the types in which benefits fall:
1. Efficiency
It was arising through results which allow the company in order to make
results with fewer resources turns in cost reduction, decreased working
capital, or cost avoidance. Performing much for the similar, or same for less, is
another method to express efficiency such as processing many enquiries with
similar individuals before.
2. Effectiveness Arising through results which allow the company to make excellent outcomes
now, or maximise the possibility of future effectiveness in the context which is
fast‐moving through enhancing adaptability
Effectiveness benefits for good outcomes now can be in the form of greater
standards or compliance levels; great customer or staff's satisfaction; lower
waste levels or enhanced market share
Effectiveness benefits which are related to enhanced adaptability can be an
improved capability in order to respond to varying environments; faster time
to market disorders instantly; or a workforce which is broader and capable of
changing.
The paths to benefits
The way to advantages for a programme which is displayed visually in the
benefits map. The main aim of the benefits map is to display the relation
among results, abilities, outputs, results, disadvantages, benefits, and results
of the company. A method to make a benefits map is, to begin with, the
objectives the company on the left, decomposing them to results, abilities, and
project outputs or other work on the right. Operating through objectives of the
company to outputs answers the question ‘how’. Another way to begin with
outputs on the left and aggregate them by results, abilities, and benefits to of
the company’s objective on the right.
Operating through outputs to objectives of the company answers the question
‘why?’ Practically, the works of benefits mapping is a dirty procedure which
tries to adjust the dissolution of objectives of the company with the outputs
aggregation through projects and other activities. The choice is the last format
of the benefits map. Once it is finished, the benefits map creates the reason
for investments in projects and other activity cleared. It gives the ‘why’ and
‘how’ in order to support the vision statement and is an important input in
order to make the business case.
Understanding Benefits
It is beneficial to see at benefits through the view of stakeholder effect and
timing of benefits realisation in order to make sure a higher understanding
1. Stakeholder Impact
Though the investing companies recognise benefits and dis‐benefits, each and
every benefit or di‐benefit will influence several stakeholders differently. It is
beneficial to know the effect of each and every benefits on every stakeholder
group like this can trigger risks or problems for the programme. The expected
effect can be something different from the perception of the stakeholders, and
this is important information which can stop upcoming difficulties. Where
stakeholders see that a programme can affect them in a negative manner, they
tend to show either resistance or indifference. Both are difficult and can make
important non expected impacts for the programme; so they should be
maintained by BCM (Business Continuity Management) carefully
2. Timing
Benefits are realised at different points throughout and after the lifecycle of
the programme. The specific benefits’ timing is recorded in the benefits.
Risk Identification and Prioritisation
Programmes are naturally uncertain and predominantly deal with a special
kind of risk which is linked with a shortage of knowledge: ambiguity. Uncertain
events which will impact the accomplishment of the objectives of the
programme are programme risks. Programme risks can have a negative
influence or a useful impact. Programme objectives can be explained like the
accomplishment of benefit's results, with the size of risk influence which is
measured in the same parts like benefits. Companies can also want to correctly
recognise risks in order to cost targets or other objectives of the company.
The risk desire for those objectives which are 'at risk' is described in the
governance approach in the programme strategy. This work assures that the
programme has influence scales in order to prioritise those risks which reflect
what is essential to the company which are investing. MSP doesn't define a
specific risk management process other than to require a single process for the
programme which follows a Plan–Do–Check–Act cycle; though, it does need
the usage of a risk register. The goal of the risk register is to register those
uncertain events which will impact one or more than one objectives of the
programme. It also maintains a record of the risk exposure for each and every
event and the management action in order to react to them.
Types of Programme Risk
The risk register tends to involve various types of risk which are wide‐ranging,
including those linked with the following:
o Behaviours of the stakeholder.
o The delivery performance of projects and other activity.
o Developing changes in the programme environment
o Ability and capacity of the company in order to embed changes
Programme‐level risk management doesn’t try in order to maintain risks to the
goals of different projects and other work inside the programme, but it is the
place to:
o Control risks with a straight influence on one or more than one benefit’s
results
o Increase project risks which have a programme‐level influence
o Aggregate project risks which have primary causes or would benefit
through a coordinated programme‐level reply for any other reason
o When a risk is recognised, causes need to be distributed from uncertain
events and effects
o Usually, companies utilise categories of the risk, sometimes relates to
like a risk universe, in order to inspire risk identification
o It can be beneficial to avoid gaps in the risk register
Risk Prioritisation
Each and every risk in the risk should be prioritised so the programme
leadership can choose where it is essential to spend in further responses in
order to maximise certainty
Prioritisation will, as a least, which includes the following:
o An evaluation of the possibility of the risk happening.
o An estimate of the influence on one or more than one objectives of the
programme.
o Calibration of the impact scales used to prioritise risks is a smallest need
which is obtained from the determination of risk appetite; this is part of
the governance approach in the programme strategy.
o When impact scales are calibrated in this manner, it helps the proper
escalation to the sponsoring group of the programme risks which better
programme level‐tolerances.
o Additionally, the risk register, companies can decide to display risks by
utilising a heat map.
o The probability and the impact of the risks which are displayed,
commonly with the status of the risk responses.
Different techniques are utilised for prioritising risks can also be posted; for
instance, thinking of the relation among risks, the proximity of the risk and the
risk velocity. Techniques like this are becoming common as organisations
acknowledge that risks are likely not to occur individually at a time and that
analysis of the communications among risks is needed. For instance, where
there are basic problems, an analysis of risk connectivity can give important
insight. Additional information on modelling the risk effects which are linked to
determine the entire confidence levels and financial contingency is involved in
the justification theme.
Target Operating Model
The vision statement of the programme paints a picture of the intended
upcoming state. The benefits map describes the way to benefits realisation.
The target operating model is built by using these inputs and growing and
developing them into a comprehensive explanation of what the investing
companies will be like when the programme is performed.
The main aim of the target operating model is to articulate the upcoming
structure of the organisation, its working methods and processes, the
information it needs, and the technology which supports its actions. Its
upcoming state should be able to achieve the benefit’s outcomes which are
desired.
The target operating model is utilised during the programme, managing the
concentrate on the upcoming state. It is essential to record that the target
operating model is not worried about how to reach the upcoming state. In
most of the cases, there will be various probabilities, passing through many
common operating models and landing points. Design of the detailed target
operating model will need input by a broad range of experts.
Programme managers may require to bring in staff with professional skills
through outer consultancies and contractors
These can be specialists in the following:
o Business analysis and architecture
o Organisation design
o Infrastructure, technology, and information
o How the companies included operating currently as per culture,
processes, infrastructure, organisation, technology, information and
data, and knowledge and learning
The following table shows current and upcoming state operating model for
the charity organisational realignment programme:
Current state Future state (two years hence)
Processes Common procedures in place linked to finances (salaries, pensions, accounting, etc.). All other policies and processes set in regional operational centres
Common processes for each and every aspect of the charity’s fundamental work
Culture Strong, shared ethos over the charity. Unified organisational cultures in each and every region
Common organisational culture made on the strong, shared ethos
Organisation Regional structure with minimal central support from finance, customer services, HR
Centralised centres of excellence for finance, HR, customer service, and IT, with transformed reporting lines for the staff which are regionally based serving these functions A new compliance directorate with accountability for risk and internal controls Regional structure concentrated on front‐line support for service customers
Technology Core systems in place to support current processes
New systems for digital giving and technology allowed service provision which is made with integration to present systems
Infrastructure No changes to buildings, equipment and machinery are needed. The working assumption is that a small rise in staff numbers in HQ can be accommodated without further investments
Information and data
Information regarding current processes and operations is available Performance management framework is in place
Information and performance metrics adjusted to display the programme’s benefits
Knowledge and learning
Knowledge resides mostly in regional operations with little effective sharing Formal training is organised locally
Effective sharing of knowledge and execution of lessons which are learned over the charity Formal training organised centrally but distributed locally
Documents to Support the Theme
The following are the documents which are produced like records of
application of the design theme:
1. Programme strategy: design approach
Purpose: In order to describe how the vision, benefits, target operating model,
and risks which are linked will be described and approved by governance
High‐level content
Vision: How the vision for the programme will be approved and agreed.
Benefits: In which way the benefits for the programme will be agreed and
approved.
Target operating model: How the target operating model will be described
and approved.
Risk identification: In which way the risks to attainment of the benefits will be
recognised and captured.
Risk prioritisation: How the risks to accomplishment of the benefits will be
arranged.
2. Vision Statement
Purpose: In order to record the vision for the programme in a method which
allows engagement, motivation, and arrangement of the large stakeholders’
community which are involved in the programme, possibly across various
organisations.
High level content
Outward‐facing explanation of the upcoming state that is:
o Concise o Understandable by an extensive range of stakeholders o Engaging o Adequately inspiring in order to make upholding the present state
unwanted.
3. Benefits map
Purpose: In order to display the relation among outputs, abilities, results,
benefits (or dis‐benefits), and objectives of the organisation.
High‐level content: Path to benefits: A graphic representation of the path to
benefits which relates to the following:
o Projects’ outputs and other work
o Abilities
o Results of benefit (or dis‐benefit)
o Benefits to be measured
o Organisational purposes of the programme
4. Benefit Profile Purpose: In order to give an explanation of the characteristics and
interdependencies of an individual benefit and to detail how it will be realised
and measured.
High‐level content
Description of the benefit, including:
● the objec ves of the organisa on to which it relates
● the benefit type
o In which way the benefit will be measured (financial where
possible).
o KPIs in the business operations which will be affected, both immediately after realisation and in the future.
o Current baseline performance levels and the expected
improvement trajectory.
o Results which should be embedded in order to allow realisation.
o Capabilities which are relevant should be delivered, transitioned, and adopted.
o The changes in the business which are required (e.g. to processes, culture, people, and policies).
o The costs of embedding the outcome and realising the benefits
o Linked issues and risks. o Some dependency on events or other projects/programmes
external of this programme.
o The operational owner of the benefit and the operations which will get this benefit.
o Is the person liable for realising this benefit (usually the BCM).
o Any related (intended) dis‐benefits and in which way these will be maintained.
5. Risk Register Purpose: In order to record those uncertain events that would impact one or
more than one objectives of the programme.
High‐level content: Description of risk, including:
o Possibility of the risk happening.
o Effect on the programme if the risk does happen.
o Closeness of the risk.
o Risk owner.
o Risk reactions (ideally with costs).
o Strategic outstanding possibility and effect, supposing responses are
effective.
o Appropriate dates.
6. Target Operating model
Purpose: In order to articulate the future organisation structure, it’s working
practices and procedures, the information which is required by it, and the
technology which supports its operations
High‐level content:
Future‐state description, which involves:
o Processes
o Culture
o Organisation
o Technology
o Infrastructure
o Information and data
o Knowledge and learning
Business change manager (BCM) Giving adequate and proper working resources in order to support the design, assuring that: o the image is vibrant and
adequately motivating for theprogramme team plus theorganisation like a whole
o the benefits are realistic for theorganisation in order toaccomplish
o the target operating model isproper in each and every aspect
o the risks which are linked withthe business change arecompletely understood
Programme office lead Giving professional resources which are required for design theme actions
Role Areas of focus Sponsoring group members Assuring the design approach is
appropriate for purpose Approving benefits and their measures Recognising risks
Senior responsible owner (SRO) Approving the design approach in order to involve in the programme strategy Approving the documents which are linked with the theme
Focus of Key Roles for the Theme The following are the areas of focus for important roles which are associated with the design theme:
Justification
The aim of the justification theme is to define programmes:
Assure that the investment of resources and capital is value for money;
Balance achievability and affordability with the desired benefits of value to
stakeholders; Manage finances over the lifecycle, involving cash flow and
budgeting management.
Key Relationships with Principles
The justification theme contributes to the adherence to MSP principles across
the programme lifecycle.
Lead with purpose:
o Justifying and communicating the financial viability over time in the
business case.
o Managed stakeholder expectations about the programme’s evolving
purpose (benefits) and challenges (costs and risks).
Collaborate across boundaries:
o Implementing governance for financial decision making related to
investments, priorities for cash, and/or the risk profile of achieving
outcomes.
o Decision‐makers having clear expectations, even if they are in different
organisations.
Deal with ambiguity:
o Reflecting uncertainty of estimates and specific risks in the business
case.
o Confidence levels in achieving particular outcomes being understood by
decision‐makers.
Align with priorities:
o Reflecting new information in the business case (e.g. performance to
date, potential changes in direction, changes to the size and phasing of
costs and benefits, and changes to the risk profile).
o Clear understanding of the current expectations about return on investment, given changing circumstances and competition for scarce
resources.
Deploy diverse skills:
o Providing visibility in the budget of the incremental costs of deploying
specialised skills from inside or outside the organisation
o Decisions about resource deployment that balance costs and pace of
delivery of benefits with individual and organisational learning.
Realise measurable benefits:
o Ensuring benefits are measurable, either with a direct route to cash,
through the use of cash proxies, or by using a non‐financial measure.
o Stakeholder confidence that the benefits are real and the investment is
justified.
Programme Mandate
The goal of the programme mandate is to begin early thinking about a
programme. It could attain in any format and is given by the executive
management, though the sponsoring group take the data to create a
document which is used to confirm the following:
Operational or strategic drivers of the programme;
Information about the external and internal organisations likely to be
involved and their roles;
Crucial success factors against which the programme will be judged and
justified;
Any constraints or assumptions
The programme mandate gives first input to the programme brief, that in turn
informs the business case. It also gives important input for crafting the vision
statement. On confirming the programme mandate, the sponsoring group will
also affirm the initial budget for improving the programme and making the
programme brief.
Funding Approach
The funding approach summaries the questions that the strategy of the
programme must address as a minimum. Its content will vary depend on the
businesses investing in the programme and the extent to which decisions
regarding investment can be made as a part of BAU corporate governance or
whether specific decision making processes or funding instruments required.
The funding approach in the programme strategy answers the following
questions:
Who are the investors?
What share of the investment will be accepted by which party?
What funding tools will be utilised, how debt will be serviced, and what
necessities will essential to be satisfied for the different parties?
How will the phasing of investments work over time and what are the
implications for cash flows?
If the programme is proposed to be self‐funding, what controls will be put
in place to release cash based on actual savings or growth?
What approaches will be used to set budgets and size, and manage financial
contingency? How will programme budgeting be aligned with annual
business planning and budgeting?
Funding Mechanisms
When the investment in a programme is in a single privately owned charity or
organisation, the executive team and its board can decide how to fund the
investment. Investments may be financed by borrowing from the market or
investors as loans in the form of capital, overdraft, or funds from shareholders
through venture capital, rights issues or grants. Single organisations can adjust
the funding mechanisms overtime if required to meet the requirements of the
business.
Investment may be made directly by the government treasury as part of
public‐sector borrowing plans in the public domain, or other funding
arrangements may happen that involve private‐sector capital for the delivery
of public programmes.
For example, in the case of a multi‐organisation investment in the programme,
increasing the funding tools is possible to be more difficult and may include
international investors and grant funding from. In these circumstances, the
objectives and agendas of multiple funding stakeholders must to be aligned
and auditable systems put in place to track performance. A main objective in
such circumstances, as is the case with all programmes, is to agree the
delegated limits of authority at local (programme level) so that the programme
can progress without unreasonable delay while keeping the confidence of the
funding bodies.
Programme Brief
The purpose of the programme brief is to verify and build from the programme
mandate and generate the information that represents evolving thinking about
a number of the programme’s regions such as;
Outcomes
Initial vision
Costs of building and embedding new capabilities
Benefits
Perils to achievement of costs, results and benefits
Innovative ideas on financing and cash flows
The programme brief is frequently said to be the ‘first draft’ business case. It
necessity representation any faults in the original mandate. In specific, the
programme brief looks not only at the wanted results of benefit and the (high
level) costs to attain them, but represents a realistic view of the organisation’s
competence, capacity, and culture to be successful.
On the basis of the organisation’s approach to determining benefits in financial
terms, some programmes may have costs that are not balanced by direct
financial benefit. For instance, programmes that are essential to fulfil with
changing legislation may be justified, in part, on the basis of avoided fines, or
programmes intended to improve customer satisfaction may be justified
without attributing all new sales to the programme. The programme brief will
make such underpinning assumptions clear so they can be further developed in
the business case.
Business Case
The objective of business case is to describe the overall costs, the planned
benefits realisation and the risk profile of the programme to appraise its
viability and make suitable decisions for management about its continual
justification. In sanctioning the business case, the sponsoring group authorises
investment for the programme to seek to deliver the organisational objectives
of the investing organisations. It is the one element of programme information
that needs continuous adjustments and review to take into account actual
performance and new information.
Inputs to the business case involve the outputs from work across all the other
themes; for instance, the resourcing approach from the structure theme, and
the target operating model from the design theme. The business case looks at
the combined impact of the:
Costs of delivering abilities
Value of benefits
Costs of embedding outcomes of benefits
Timing of business and investments changes
Risks to achievement of benefits and size of financial contingency
Financial measures of benefits
Financial measures of benefits may involve:
Cost savings vs budget, like reduced staff costs
Future cost avoidance, like the prevention of the requirement to upgrade a
system that is being replaced
Development, like extra sales that are directly attributable to the
programme
Non‐financial measures of benefits
Non‐Financial measures of benefits may involve:
Fulfilment rates with a service from customers or citizens
Staff fulfilment
Safety performance
Asset utilisation, like percentage availability or percentage ‘down‐time’.
Financial Planning
Financial management of a programme involves the work to set plan cash flow,
collect and analyse data on actual benefits realisation and expenditure,
facilitate corrective action as required, report on variances and forecast future
financial performance. Financial management is documented in the financial
plan and applies to all elements of the programme, involving projects and
another work.
The objective of the financial plan is to detail how benefits and costs are
monitored, budgeted and measured over time, as well as the procedure for
handling variations from the plan and the ways of the forecasting performance
of future. The financial plan may be a separate document or be part of the
broader programme plan.
Structure
Purpose
The main aim of the structure theme is to define how:
Programmes plan the project’s delivery and other work in the most effective manner, ensure that the best pace of delivery to enable the organisation to transition to the future state and attain the benefits;
Resources are allocated, selected, and optimised, including individuals, facilities, and equipment
Key Relationships with Principles The structure theme contributes to the adherence to MSP principles across the
programme lifecycle. Key relationship with the principles are given below:
The structure theme applies the MSP principle
By…
Resulting in …
Lead with purpose
Planning delivery in the most suitable way to attain the future state and associated results of benefit
Continual concentration on attaining the goals of programmes in the most efficient manner
Collaborate across boundaries
Maintaining clarity about the number and kinds of resources required and how they will be sourced
Efficient and effective utilisation of programme resources
Deal with ambiguity Giving manageable tranches of delivery which contribute to clear intermediate landing points
Greater clarity in ambiguous environments, even when the final ending point may not be known
Align with priorities Adjusting the tranche’s content to reflect new information
Manageable progress towards the vision with safe places to readjust and stop
Deploy diverse skills Planning delivery utilising the most relevant mix of resources to attain the results of benefit
More efficient utilisation of external skills and development of permanent staff
Realise measurable benefits Ensuring results of benefit are embedded in line with intermediate landing points
Realisation of benefits across the lifecycle of
programme, not just at the end
Bring pace and value Planning the delivery of capabilities at the best pace to attain the results of benefit in line with the business case
Achievable and managed progression towards the future state
Delivery Approach
The delivery approach outlines the questions that the strategy of programme
should address minimally
Its content will differ depending on the investing of an organisation in the
programme and the combination of projects and other work that is essential to
achieve the desired results
Establishing the Appropriate Pace
Definition of Pace
Program delivery time to ensure the proper balance among many factors
The factors involve achievement of needed program results, capabilities of
deliveries, available funds, maintenance of current performance levels, and
Business as usual (BAU) activities.
The objective of a programme is to give maximum improvement to an
organisation with minimum disruption. The programme wants to have enough
funds and essential resources with proper skills for delivery. Affected
organisational units need to have adequate capacity and capability to adapt to
new operations while maintaining the current operation’s performance
The pace is about designing the programme delivery so that the investing
organisation can cope with the change rate.
Balancing Capacity and Ability
o Organisational capacity: The work amount that can be delivered by an
organisation in a given time.
o Organisational ability: The organisation’s overall capacity requires to do the essential work to deliver beneficial outcomes with its existing people,
practices, and processes.
The programme organisation will have a limited capacity for programme
delivery. Operational units influenced by the change will have limited capacity
to adopt to new abilities and adapt new functional results. Additionally,
organisations investing in the programme may not have the collective abilities
to perform the necessary work. Delivery requirements to be coordinated to
take into account the limited resources available to the program and to assure
that resources have the accurate skills to deliver and adapt to change.
Balancing Achievability and Affordability
The model of target operating represents the organisations, cultures,
processes, technologies, infrastructure, data, information flow, and knowledge
and learning for current and future organisations and highlights the gap among
them. The delivery of capability fills this gap through the projects and other
work through the programme.
Balancing affordability and achievability of the programme is an iterative
process accomplished with the advantages of developing the target operating
model and planning the programme’s delivery.
If an acceptable balance among affordability and achievability does not
emerge, it is worth considering:
Closing the programme former than originally planned
Negotiating the allocation of improved funding or allocation of other
resources to the programme
Designing a target operating model in which the gap among the current and
future states is smaller
Delivery Planning
Definitions
Incremental progression: An approach to delivering a programme that
concentrates on giving valuable benefits to stakeholders during the
programme life cycle, adapting as required to align with the latest information.
Tranche: The work required to provide a step‐change in the capabilities and
benefits of realisation. several related projects and other work can be involved
in a tranche. Work can be delivered incrementally across many tranches.
Landing point: A control point, following delivery of a step‐change in capacity
and benefits realisation (tranche) at which a program can be directed or
stopped.
The purpose of the delivery plan is to schedule constituent projects and other
programme’s work to display their relative timescales, resources, and
dependencies. The plan covers the programme as an entire and the next
tranche in detail. An inherent feature of a programme is that it cannot be
delivered through a linear set of delivery stages. Programmes require to
incremental development to the target operating model to account for
ambiguity and complexity.
The programs are designed to assist the organisation in moving from the
current state to the future state through a series of intermediate operating
models. Each increase in MSP is known as tranche. The intermediate operating
model is gained at the end of each tranche, frequently called the landing point
Landing points shows a set of coherent capabilities that give a safe place to
stop when required or a new baseline from which to prioritise in response to
new information.
All the benefits from the tranche will not be realised by the landing point. At
the landing point, capability is delivered and results are embedded which then
allow benefits to be realised over time. Delivering in tranches allows the
programme to adapt to new information and learning. Early tranches may
deliver core changes with later tranches building on that core, resulting in
rapid wins and the decline in programme risk. Early in a programme, the route
to attaining the vision may also be vague.
Structuring a programme into tranches can assist in exploring various
approaches and decide on the most relevant mix of time, cost, benefits, and
risk in attaining the vision. In certain cases, tranches may be planned to
overlap where projects or other work require to begin early and at risk. When
deciding whether to have overlapping tranches, consider the following:
• Ongoing commitment to the programme: If there is confidence that the
programme will continue because progress to date has been to plan, and there
is organisational capability, capacity, and funding to do so, beginning the next
tranche early may be advantageous.
The following figure is an example of a Plan with Tranches and Landing Points:
End of first tranche
Benef it reviews
Benef it reviews
Benef it reviews
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Start ing projects early may increase
No dependency, so unless this is cont ingency, thi j t
End of second tranche
Project
Project E
Benef its real ised after transit ion
Benefits real ised after transit ion
Benefits rea l ised after transit ion
End of th ird tranche
Project F depends on output f rom D
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Multimodal Delivery
Definitions Multimodal delivery: The project life cycles selection and methods of delivering work of programme that is suitable for the work, team, individuals (including clients, stakeholders, leaders, and workers), and the context. Iterative project lifecycle: A project delivery mode that repeats aspects of delivery or design to manage any uncertainty of scope by enabling the outputs to evolve as learning and discovery takes place. Linear project lifecycle: A project delivery mode aimed at completing the
delivery of outputs within a single pass by a group of different phases,
completed sequentially.
Hybrid project lifecycle: A project delivery mode which associates a linear
lifecycle for various stages or activities with an iterative lifecycle for others
Continual improvement: A delivery mode utilised for improvement work
which allows an organisation to recognise waste in a system or process and
work to remove this.
The constituent programme parts, namely projects and other tasks, can utilise
various delivery methods within the single programme, and it is necessary to
use the most relevant modes for the situation. Selecting the most suitable
mode of delivery relies on several factors, such as the organisation’s culture,
the type and complexity of the work required to deliver the programme, and
the people included.
Multimodal delivery utilised several methods of working, depending on what is
most appropriate for those delivering the work and on the work itself
A single program can incorporate approaches mixture to its component work,
with projects utilising iterative, linear, or hybrid lifecycles or continual
improvement activities. In such cases, the scope and quality of outputs build
over time but is limited by the defined and costed time box.
In an iterative life cycle, time and cost are fixed in each time box, and scope
and quality emerge.
It is important to note that agile ways of working are not defined simply by
having an iterative life cycle. Achieving the benefits of agile also depends on:
Customer emphasis (internal or external) and their expectations for
quality
Empowered teams who have delegated authority to make decisions in
the time box
A willingness to adapt and inspect to improve processes and outputs
Dependencies
Definition of Dependency: An activity, output, decision or resource that is
required to attain an aspect of the programme. Planning and control also
involve managing and recognising the programme’s dependencies.
There are three main types of dependency:
Internal dependencies between projects in the programme
Intra‐organisational dependencies of the programme on other projects
or programmes within a portfolio
External dependencies either inside or outside the organisation, such as
strategic decisions and legislation
Program dependency management focus on key dependencies that will
potentially influence the whole programme. Showing these on the dependency
network diagram can assist in illustrating these major interdependencies and
any combined dependencies. Shared resources also shows a set of
dependencies and must be carefully managed and used efficiently.
Benefits Realisation Planning
Programmes exist to realise benefits for the investing organisations; it is,
therefore significant that the intended benefits included in the benefits map
and defined in the benefit profile are really realised. The aim of the benefits
realisation plan is to define the scope and schedule of all the benefits
realisation related work. This involves scheduling organisational change
activities, tracking and measuring the realisation of benefits, assurance to
understand any barriers to benefit realisation, and ensure that corrective
actions are adapted where the organisation has failed to embed results and
realising the benefits as planned.
The benefits realisation plan is also utilised to manage any dis‐benefits related
with outcomes. The benefits realisation plan also includes time to measure the
level of baseline performance before the change. It supports the work to
understand and measure the benefits after the capacity is transitioned and
embedded into operations. Benefit realisation planning is conducted to plan
the delivery of the programme, to ensure the alignment across the delivery of
capabilities, manage transition and adoption, embedding of results, and
benefits are measured and tracked.
Resourcing Approach
The resourcing approach defines the questions that the programme strategy
requires to address as a minimum. Its content will vary depending on the
organisations investing in the programme and the mix of skills, technology,
facilities, and systems required by the programme
The resourcing approach in the programme strategy answers the following
questions:
What infrastructure will the programme need?
What equipment and technology will be required for delivery?
Procurement and Supply Chain Management
The acquisition of goods and services for programmes is an important
contributor to success, to assure that the programme has the resources it
needs to supplement facilities, staff, equipment, and systems in the investing
organisations. It also assures that the MSP principle of deploy diverse skills is
upheld. Deploying diverse skills requires establishing a balance among the
utilisation of external resources for added capacity or enhancing the combined
capability of the team, and the investment in the skills of staff. The similar
principle applies to other resources; for example, whether to lease equipment,
facilities, and systems for the short term or to buy the asset for long‐term use
of the organisation.
The approach to procurement and supply chain management needs to
consider:
The benefits of building long‐term partnerships with suppliers instead of
short‐term transactional relationships
The need to spread risk by working with multiple suppliers
Documents to Support the Theme
The documents produced as records of application of the structure theme are
shown below:
Document Purpose High‐level Content Programme strategy: delivery approach
To define how the programme will be structured to deliver the capabilities needed to achieve the desired outcomes of benefit
Structure: How the programme work will be structured and delivered, based on the organisational environment, programme complexity, and availability of skills and resources Delivery modes: Ways of working most appropriate to the task, team, individuals, and context. Modes of delivery to be used Controlling projects and other work: How projects and work on processes will be started, controlled, and closed to maintain alignment with the target operating model Delivery standards: Delivery standards that are relevant to the programme Dependencies: How internal, intra‐organisational, and external dependencies will be defined and managed
Delivery plan To schedule the constituent projects and other work of the programme to show their relative timescales, resources, and dependencies. The plan covers the programme as a whole and the next tranche in detail
Tranches: Grouping of projects and other work into tranches with clear landing points and sequencing of delivery Next tranche schedule: Identifying dependencies, milestones, and key activities to track at programme level Resources: Activities need to acquire and deploy people, equipment, and facilities to support delivery Transition: Schedules for transitioning and adopting capability into operations Risks and assurance: Timing of impact of potential risks
and associated assurance activities
Benefits realisation plan To detail the scope and schedule for all benefits realisation related work
Schedule of organisational change activities and other benefit‐related work Measuring and tracking the realisation of benefits, including establishing baselines Assurance to understand any barriers to benefits realisation Corrective actions where the organisation is failing to embed outcomes and realise benefits as planned Management of any dis‐benefits associated with outcomes
Programme strategy: resourcing approach
To define how the programme will acquire and manage the resources required to deliver the capabilities
Supply chain management: Approach to procurement, contract, and supply chain management Infrastructure: What the programme will need, including equipment and technology Allocating scarce resources: How scarce resources will be allocated and shared between the programme, its projects, and the wider organisation. This may involve complying with portfolio‐level standards for resource forecasting and scheduling Sourcing specialist resources: How specialist resources will be sourced HR management: How the HR requirements of the programme will be managed: recruitment, performance management, grievances, disciplinarians, the balance between internal and external
resources, learning and development, and termination of contracts Change recipients: How the programme will work with people in operational areas that are the recipients of change
Focus of Key Roles for the Theme
The areas of focus correlated to the structure theme for the roles of sponsoring
group members, SRO, programme manager, BCM and programme office lead are
shown in below table:
Role Areas of focus Sponsoring group members Ensuring that the delivery and resourcing
approaches are fit for purpose
Senior responsible owner (SRO) Monitoring progress and direction of the programme at a strategic level Maintaining sponsoring group support for the programme Approving the documents associated with the theme
Business change manager (BCM) Designing the benefits realisation plan (with the programme manager) Providing sufficient and appropriate operational resources to the programme Ensuring that: ● transi on is planned and will align with the required benefits realisation ● changes are implemented into operational areas ● required performance levels for BAU work are maintained ● opera onal func ons are adequately prepared and ready for change ● changes are embedded and sustained following transition
Programme office lead Providing support for programme planning Providing programme and project resources
Knowledge
Purpose
The objective of the knowledge theme is to define that how programmes:
• Curate, acquire, and use knowledge. • Use experience and knowledge to learn lessons, and to establish a practice
and culture for continuous improvement.
• Manage information to make sure its integrity, controlled access to the
correct versions, and data privacy.
Definition: Knowledge
• An asset embedded tacitly in the minds of people or systematised clearly as
information.
• Most of the knowledge is tacit and only becomes clear when there is an
investment of endeavour to do so.
Key Relationships with Principles
The following table shows the key relationships with the principles:
The knowledge theme applies the MSP principle
By…
Resulting in….
Lead with purpose
Supporting the organisation and curation of knowledge
Everyone being capable to access the knowledge that they require to do their best work Improvement and Learning as the programme progresses
Collaborate across boundaries
Giving everyone in the programme with access to information and knowledge
Everyone being capable to do their work supported by the information and knowledge they require
Align with priorities
Supporting stakeholders to acquire the information and knowledge they need to understand priorities
Reduced re‐work and waste as people are working with current information
Deploy diverse skills
Supporting all team members and stakeholders to obtain access to the information and knowledge they require to do their work
An effective team of individuals from multiple organisations
Realise measurable benefits
Assuring that stakeholders can access details of the benefits and understand how they are measured
A focus on the primary objective of the programme
Bring pace and value
Encouraging the learning of lessons and a culture of continuous improvement
Demonstrable added value from programme management
Knowledge and Learning Approach
The knowledge and learning approach outlines the questions that the strategy
of the programme should address as a minimal. The approach covers the
management and organisation of knowledge, and how individuals will learn
lessons from experience and enhance as the programme runs. Its content will
differ relying on the complexity of the programme's organisational structure
and programme knowledge.
For instance, accessing relevant knowledge across a programme comprised of
several legal organisations is frequently far more challenging than accessing it
in a single‐organisation programme. The learning and knowledge approach in
the strategy of the programme answers the following questions:
• How will clear knowledge be curated, retrieved, captured, stored, and shared to support the attainment of objectives
• What past knowledge does the programme require to draw on?
• What new knowledge is likely to be made throughout the programme, both
explicit and tacit?
• How will the programme encourage of knowledge‐sharing culture and
reflection to recognise lessons to be learned?
• How will the programme encourage a continual improvement culture based
on embedding learning into methods of working so lessons are really
learned?
• How will the programme share learning and knowledge with other parts of
the investing organisation(s)?
Knowledge Management
While dealing with programme knowledge, there will be some clear
knowledge, which is easy to write down and make it accessible to others as
information. On the other hand, tacit knowledge is the kind of knowledge that
is embedded in the experience of people in an organisation and is often
unspoken, unwritten, and sometimes not consciously acknowledged
Therefore, tacit knowledge is difficult to share with other people in a
straightforward way. In spite tacit knowledge being less accessible,
programmes depends on both the tacit and explicit knowledge of stakeholders
for success.
The approach to handling various kinds of knowledge varies. Explicit knowledge can be captured in writing and stored in a well‐designed programme repository as information. People can access the knowledge without requiring assistance if the repository is curated well and data is easy to find. Unluckily, such repositories are often full of information that people know is in there but can't find. To avoid this, it is sensible to design the repository at the start to suit the requirements of the programme. The programme office take responsibility for curating the information in the repository and assuring its accessibility Because tacit knowledge is not easy to capture, the best method to pass
knowledge on may well be to connect the person who requires the knowledge
with someone else who has it.
In this case, team collaboration systems are helpful as they allow people to
connect and promote sharing and networking of skills. Building a visual map of
the expertise and people in the programme will make it easier to find
colleagues who can share experiences and assist others. The other beneficial
option is to build up communities of practice related to diverse programme
areas.
Those included in similar areas across projects in the programme, such as
business analysis, might form a group that meets regularly and assists
members to connect. Regular community meetings, which involve sharing
stories of what does and doesn’t work, will nurture learning among diverse
projects, and across the programme and the organisation as a whole. Such
sessions can also be facilitated with team members who are located in diverse
time zones and geographies. Where it is feasible to do so, it is good to consider
the layout of individuals who are co‐located in the same space.
Proximity of key staff to one another in the work environment can make
informal sharing of tacit knowledge more likely. The culture of the organisation
will affect all parts of knowledge management. To get the best value from
knowledge, it is essential to nurture a culture where sharing knowledge is the
accepted way to work. Such a culture of sharing knowledge also assists with
the correctness of status reports.
Where individuals are encouraged to be honest and open, it is more likely that
the sponsoring group and programme board will have the accurate and full
information they require to lead and direct the programme. This prevents
circumstances where optimism regarding the capability to recover leads to the
status being reported as ‘on track’, when in reality there are underlying issues
that could be resolved if they were shared
Ensuring Lessons Are Learned
Definition: Lessons learned
• Forms of new understand or knowledge that arise from experience and
which have been clearly learned by embedding them into ways of working.
An essential part of the knowledge to be learned are the lessons which are
arise from doing the actual programme work. Sometimes lessons arise from
things going wrong, when others occur from things going well. These lessons
are valuable when they are captured, communicated to those who would
advantage from implementing them, and then put into practice by alterations
to procedures, systems, or ways of working.
Oftentimes, lessons are unsuitably entitled ‘lessons learned’ when they’re not
learned, though just noted, filed away, and forgotten. When some lessons
learned to appear in the form of the relatively easy‐to‐capture clear
knowledge, others are more nuanced tacit knowledge. One way to share a
broader range of learning is to encourage communities of practice of
individuals facing similar difficulties to be built across the programme.
Programmes require to build in time to permit groups and individuals to
collaborate, reflect, and discuss learning, not just at the end of tranches and
projects, however regularly throughout the programme and project lifecycles
to enable improvement and adjustments. A concentration on collaboration in
agile ways of working is evident by the usage of retrospectives to access
learning and decide what to do with it. This is a particular feature of agile
methods, however is good practice for all work.
Retrospective
Definition of Retrospective:
• It is a regular event that looks at how the procedure of performing work can
be improved. Retrospectives refers to the sessions where individuals collect and explore
what has worked well and what they wish had been diverse. It is essential to
know that asking ‘what went wrong’ tends to lead to negativity or
defensiveness and decreases the flow of ideas, so it is more efficient to frame
conversations in a positive manner.
The outputs are then utilised to make lessons for the rest of the programme or
project and for the future. They are captured and shared proactively with
those elsewhere in the organisation and programme who can take advantage
from them. Sharing lessons by merely placing them in a repository rarely works
and sharing them creatively and in an engaging way at community sessions.
Storytelling and some game forms are highly being utilised to assist team
members access and share knowledge and to think creatively regarding
improvement.
Information Approach
The information approach outlines the questions that the programme strategy
must address as a minimal. It explores how people will be able to access
suitable and up‐to‐date information in a timely way. The information approach
in the strategy of the programme answers the following question:
• What is the information that the programme will create?
• Who will have access to what information?
• How will the status of information integrity be determined and ensured?
• What is the appropriate level of privacy for different types of
information, and how will this be achieved?
• What controls will be used to ensure that people can access the most
appropriate and up‐to‐date information?
• What programme information needs to be retained beyond the life of
the programme, and how will this be managed?
Information Management
Programmes create and use large amounts of information. Information
requires to be stored and managed in a way that enables the right people (and
only the right people) to access the correct version of the information that
they require when they require it.
The following are the three pillars of information security:
• Confidentiality: Only those who require to know can access the information
• Integrity: Information is accurate when it is accessed
As noted in Portfolio, Programme and Project Offices (P3O), information
management and knowledge management are often confused in
organisations. This is specially the case when only clear forms of knowledge
stored as information are acknowledged, such as peer‐reviewed papers or
findings from audits.
One way of knowing the difference is to consider knowledge management as
an input to efficient learning and working in a programme, whereas
information management is concerned with the control of the programme
artefacts. Knowledge that can be clearly defined then becomes information.
Information management requires:
• A way of defining the integrity (quality and relevance) of the information
prior to its stored and when it is accessed.
• Version control to assure that individuals are working from the latest
versions of the software, document, drawing, etc.
• Access control, to ensure that merely the right individuals have access to
the information, to safeguard privacy and privileged information.
• Storage, so that information is accessible across time zones, locations and
boundaries of organisation.
• Archiving, so that past information can be evaluated when needed.
Any storage of personal data must comply with the privacy and data
regulations in force at the time. The policies of information security of the
investing organisation(s) will inform the information approach.
• Availability: It can be evaluated by those who need it, when they need it. If it is not available when need, decisions may be made without the
appropriate knowledge.
Information can be in a physical form (books, documents, papers, and
drawings) or it can be held as digital data assets. Programmes need a
controlled way of gathering, storing, organising, distributing, archiving, and
destroying information.
Documents to Support the Theme
The documents made as records of application of the knowledge theme are
shown in table:
Document Purpose
High‐level content
Programme strategy: knowledge and learning approach
To determine how knowledge and learning will be managed across the programme
• Past knowledge What past knowledge the programme will draw on
• New knowledge that is likely to be created during the programme,
• Clear knowledge How explicit knowledge will be captured as information and stored, curated,
retrieved, and shared to support the achievement of objectives
• Knowledge‐sharing How the programme will encourage a culture of knowledge‐sharing and reflection to identify lessons to be learned, including across other parts of the investing organisation(s)
• Lessons learned How the programme will encourage a culture of continual improvement based on embedding learning into ways of working so lessons are actually learned
Programme strategy: information approach
To determine how information will be managed across the programme
• What information The information that the programme will create
• Access Who will have access to what information
• Integrity How the status of information integrity will be determined and ensured
• Privacy The appropriate level of privacy for different types of information, and how this will be achieved
• Version control The controls to be used to ensure that people access the
most appropriate and up‐to‐date information
• Retention What programme information will need to be retained beyond the life of the programme, and how this will be managed
Focus of Key Roles for the Theme
The region of focus associated with the knowledge theme for the roles of
sponsoring SRO, programme manager, group members, Programme office lead
and BCM are shown in table:
Role
Areas of focus
Sponsoring group members
• Assuring that the knowledge and learning, and information approaches are fit for purpose
Senior responsible owner (SRO)
• Agreeing the approaches for the management of knowledge and learning, and information of the programme with the sponsoring group and ensuring that these are documented in the programme strategy
Programme manager
• Developing the knowledge and learning, and information sections of the programme strategy, and ensuring that they are applied
• With the BCM, fostering a culture of knowledge‐sharing, learning, and reflection across the programme
• Ensuring that all statutory and organisational requirements regarding information, such as privacy, are upheld
Business change manager (BCM)
• Providing sufficient and appropriate operational resources to the programme for knowledge, learning, and information work
• With the programme manager, fostering a culture of knowledge‐sharing, learning, and reflection across the programme
Programme office lead
• Providing support for knowledge, learning, and information work on the programme (e.g. facilitation of learning sessions, training for communities of practice, and administration to manage knowledge and information systems)
• Curation of organisational lessons learned, and advice on appropriate programme knowledge repositories
Assurance
The aim of the assurance theme is to define programmes: Assurance roles and responsibilities related to the three lines of defence. The assurance approach
and how it supports governance. How assurance activities are planned.
Definition of Assurance: A discipline which gives confidence and transparency
to the sponsoring group that the programme will accomplish its goals by
highlighting activities on the riskiest aspects of the programme.
Key Relationships with Principles
The assurance theme contributes to the adherence to MSP principles across
the programme lifecycle.
Lead with purpose:
o Designing the three lines of defence to support leadership decision‐making
o Increased focus of the leadership on those matters in their sphere of
influence and responsibility
Collaborate across boundaries:
o Developing a unified view of assurance for the programme
o Common adoption of methods, processes, tools, and techniques to aid
efficiency and understanding
Deal with ambiguity:
o Adopting a risk‐based approach to assurance that focuses resources on the areas where greater certainty would be valuable
o Better identification, analysis, and response to risks and emerging
change
Align with priorities:
o Prioritising assurance observations and action plans to reflect risks o The ability to prioritise programme work and align it with ongoing
operations
Deploy diverse skills:
o Allocating the right resources to assurance activities, balancing independence, specialist knowledge, and cost
o Cost‐effective and efficient provision of the transparency and confidence required by the sponsoring group
Assurance Approach
The assurance approach outlines the questions that the programme strategy
must address as a minimum. Its content will differ depending on the nature of
the organisations and the programme involved. In MSP, it is expected that the
approach adopted will address the needed corporate assurance and controls
of all the investing organisations. The assurance approach in the programme
strategy answers the following questions:
o What are the requirements for assurance flowing from the corporate
governance of the investing organisations?
o What are the assurance accountabilities, responsibilities, and delegated
levels of authority for the programme governance boards, supporting
offices, and individual roles?
o How will the programme governance boards and supporting offices work
with assurance providers outside the programme organisation structure
(including, but not limited to, any outsourced internal audit function)?
o What assurance activities will be provided by each line of defence?
Assurance at Multiple Levels
Assurance is needed whenever responsibility or authority is delegated to
another team, individual, or organisation; for example, when:
Testing is assigned to a team of specialists (team)
Funding is granted to a programme from the corporate organisation
A systems integrator is contracted to design and implement an IT system
(organisation)
A programme sponsoring group delegates responsibilities to a programme
manager via the SRO (individual)
Lines of defence address the delegation of responsibility and authority from
programme governance boards to other individuals and teams
There are three levels of delegated authority which define the three
associated lines of defence
First line of defence
The first line of defence owns a project and operation‐level measures, risk
controls, and monitoring. It:
Monitors the progress and process of projects and other work in the
programme
Reports finding (via the operation senior manager) to the programme board
Integrate assurance from operational functions, relevant projects, and
service areas
Some programme boards set tolerance levels so that reporting is by
exception and is only needed if there is proof that tolerance is being
exceeded or threatened
Quality management activities performed by projects to validate that
output meets necessities may form a part of the scope for the first line of
defence in some programmes
Second Line of Defence
The second line of defence owns programme‐level measures, risk controls, and
monitoring. It:
Monitors the effectiveness of programme‐level processes and progress
Receives inputs from the first line of defence
Reports findings (via the programme board) to the sponsoring group
Commissions assurance in the first line of defence
Integrates assurance from relevant programmes, corporate functions, and
outsourced functions
Third Line of Defence
The third line of defence owns corporate‐level measures, risk controls, and
monitoring. It:
Provides an assurance emphasis on the business case of the programme
Receives inputs from the second line of defence
Monitors and integrates assurance of the programme with assurance
functions and corporate risks
Assurance Planning
Assurance planning assists programme leaders to; Make sure that the risks
facing the programme have been identified and are being managed well,
Ensure that they are receiving quality information regarding the overall risk
level that the programme is facing, Understand the actual or potential impacts
of risks and issues so they can consider these in decision‐making, Identify
whether good programme management practice is being adopted, Understand
which programme controls are working well and which are not.
The purpose of the insurance plan is to provide details of the scope and timing
of assurance activities that will be used to provide confidence and
transparency to the sponsoring group that the programme is on track to
deliver the desired results of benefits. The assurance plan also recognises the
activities that emphasis on the programme risk. The focus may be on a narrow
group of risks or, if the plan is comprehensive, the assurance activities may
consider a broad range or risks.
Documents to Support the Theme
The documents produced as records of application of the assurance theme are
shown below:
Document: Programme strategy: assurance approach
Purpose: To define how assurance will be managed across the programme
High‐level content: Corporate governance requirements: The requirements for
assurance (if any) flowing from corporate governance of the investing
organisations.
Delegated authorities: The assurance accountabilities, responsibilities, and
delegated authorities for programme governance boards, supporting offices,
and individual roles.
Working with partners outside the programme: How the programme
governance boards and supporting offices will work with equivalent structures
that exist outside the programme organisation structure, including partner
organisations and in the permanent organisation.
First line of defence: The assurance activities provided by the first line of
defence.
Second line of defence: The assurance activities provided by the second line of
defence.
Third line of defence: the assurance activities provided by the third line of
defence.
Document: Assurance plan
Purpose: To detail the scope and timing of the assurance activities that will be
used to provide transparency and confidence to the sponsoring group that the
programme is on track to deliver the desired outcomes of benefit.
High‐level content: Risk‐based focus: The assurance plan identifies assurance
activities focused on programme risks.
Types of assurance activity: The types of assurance that will be provided.
Timing: When the assurance activities will take place.
Resourcing: The resources that will be used for assurance activities (people
and facilities).
Methods/guidance: Any guidance on how to carry out each assurance activity.
Focus of Key Roles for the Theme
The areas of focus associated with the assurance theme for the roles of
sponsoring group members, SRO, programme manager, BCM, and programme
office lead are shown in the table below:
Role Areas of Focus Sponsoring group members
Ensuring the assurance approach is fit for purpose Commissioning assurance activities.
Senior responsible owner (SRO)
Agreeing the approaches for the management of assurance of the programme with the sponsoring group and ensuring these are documented in the programme strategy.
Programme manager
Developing the assurance approach in the programme strategy and ensuring it is applied Developing the assurance plan Supporting assurance activities Ensuring observations and recommendations are fed into decision‐making processes
Helping to implement assurance investigation recommendations accepted by the sponsoring group.
Business change manager (BCM)
Supporting assurance activities Helping to implement assurance investigation recommendations accepted by the sponsoring group.
Programme office lead
Supporting the regular monitoring and review of progress Establishing the methods and tools for each assurance activity Securing assurance specialists for each commissioned activity Coordinating the planning, execution, and closure of assurance activities Providing information to support the assurance activities Potentially conducting some assurance activities on behalf of the programme boar.
Decisions
Purpose
The purpose of the theme of the decision is to describe the following:
In which way the programmes make decisions at different points over the
programme lifecycle, whether those decisions be linked to the problems
which are resolving, reacting to risks, or any other choice needing a
considered and governed approach.
The requirements for effective decision‐making inside the programmes.
Key Relationships with Principles
The following are the important relations among the decisions theme and MSP
principles:
The decisions theme applies the MSP
principle:
By …
Resulting in …
Lead with purpose
Collecting, analysing, and giving decision‐ready information, and by communicating the rationale which reinforces decisions.
Concentration, purpose, and promise to action.
Collaborate across boundaries
Assuring approaches which are utilised to make decisions in the light of new information can work over multi‐organisational governance
Faster decisions and greater arrangement
Deal with ambiguity
Explicitly considering the positive and negative influences of decisions
Keeping the risk profile within defined tolerances
Align with priorities
Reporting both momentous performance and developing trends
Decisions regarding significances being made by utilising the best possible information at the time
Deploy diverse skills
Analysing data in order to estimate the effect on the capacity and capability of the company who are investing in order to deliver the intended results of benefit
The requirement for new/different/more expertise becoming clear
Realise measurable benefits
Keeping the decision‐making concentration at programme level, i.e. on the realisation of the benefit’s results
Concentration and no disruption through the main aim of the investment
Bring pace and value
Working inside clear delegated restrictions of authority and only increasing decisions when required
Timely decisions which keep things which are moving and empower the team
Decision‐making Approach
The decision‐making approach describes the questions which should be
addressed by the programme strategy like a minimum. The content will differ
relying on the programme, and the company's nature included.
The decision‐making approach in the programme strategy explains the
following questions:
For the programme, what are the decision points, both planned and ad‐
hoc?
What are the criteria of decision which will be utilised in order to report
data, analyse information, and get suggestions?
How do the criteria of the decision differ among those at the programme
level and those for the constituent projects and other activity in the
programme?
What are the criteria for escalation and delegation of information among
boards of the governance?
What reports are provided to decision‐makers with what content and at
what frequency?
In which way, the decisions are recorded and interacted?
Issue Resolution Approach
The issue resolution approach describes the questions which should be
addressed by the programme strategy as a minimum. Its content will differ
relying on the programme and the organisation's nature involved. In MSP,
though, the change control process will be involved like the issue resolution
approach's part. In the programme strategy, the issue resolution approach
answers the following questions:
What is the procedure for allotting problems to owners?
What is the designated authority to owners of problems?
How are requests for change logged and processed?
What is the governance for examining change impact analysis and making
judgments?
How will the links among the issue resolution approach and risk response
approach be set?
What reports are given to the makers of decision with which content and at
which frequency?
Risk response approach
The risk response approach describes the questions which should be addressed
by the programme strategy as a minimum Its content will differ, relying on the
programme and the organisations' nature involved. In MSP, though, the
approach which is used will adjusted any difficulties which will have a useful
influence on the objectives of the programme if they happen and those who
would have a harmful influence. The risk response approach in the programme
strategy answers the questions which are the following:
What is the process for allotting risks to the owners?
What is the delegated authority to risks owners?
What supervision is given to risk owners in order to prove any new
investment in proactive responses to the risk which are aligned with risk
appetite?
What is the governance for examining and supporting risk response plans,
both proactive and contingent response plans?
How will the links among the issue resolution approach and risk response
approach be set What reports are given to decision‐makers with what
content and frequency?
Generic responses to threats and opportunities
Programme risks are difficulties which will influence one or more than one
outcomes of the benefit of the programme. Some risks will have an exposure
which is satisfactory for the group which are sponsoring, and the risk will be
taken and monitored, maybe with a contingent plan being placed.
Additional risks will have an exposure which would be non‐tolerable for the
group which are sponsoring. They would, therefore, see value in investing
extra time and resources now to maximise certainty, either by making an
opportunity more tends to happen, or a threat less tends to happen. The costs
of executing a risk response need to be verified, i.e. the rise in certainty should
have a value which is higher than the time and money which are required to
achieve the response effectively.
The following are the response options for threats and opportunities:
Avoid a threat Exploit an opportunity: This option is regarding performing
the uncertain situation certain through eliminating the risk
Reduce a threat Enhance an opportunity: This option selects specific action
now in order to change the possibility or the influence of the risk
Transfer the risk: Transfer is an alternative which intends to pass risk
components to a third party
Accept the risk: The ‘accept’ option refers to that the company ‘took the
chance’ that the risk will happen, with its entire influence if it did
Prepare contingent plans: This option includes making plans now, but not
taking action
Data‐gathering and reporting
In order to make appropriate and timely decisions as a component of
programme governance, decision‐makers require access to appropriate and
timely data regarding performance to date or things which have happened,
and developing trends regarding the future or things which can occur.
Looking back
The decision‐making approach defines the arrangements for reporting for the
programme. The data which is provided should be correct and perfect as
practicable with clear direction to decision‐makers regarding the opinions
which are made and highlighting any limited confidence in the data which is
reported. Data also should be 'decision‐ready', making it obvious where
decisions are required in order to improve negative trends, resolve issues, or
placed in further risk responses, and the choices and options which have been
considered. There are similar links among the information and assurance
themes and this work. The programme team will build innovative and
refreshed knowledge and will give the information which is based on activities
of assurance. The decision‐making approach will define the content and format
of the required information.
As earlier discussed in the knowledge theme, the company's culture plays a
vital role in giving appropriate and timely information for decision‐makers.
Various cultures have embedded behaviours which makes it difficult in order
to distribute what is seen as 'bad' news, either in the form of negative change
from the plan or the identification of risks which are downside.
Where this is the case, it may create fractional reporting of actual growth or
over‐optimistic evaluations of risk exposure. The number and volume of
problems which arise will be intended to be more generous in cultures where
the early view of risks and realistic reporting allow decision‐makers in order to
predict, drive improvement, and stay on the 'front‐foot ‘. Giving incorrect
information on historic performance damages the value. The SRO and
sponsoring group are liable for making a culture where it doesn't occur.
Looking Forward
Programmes which are expected to deal with ambiguity, adapting and
rearranging in order to assure that the investment in benefit's results is
continuously affordable and attainable. In order to achieve this, decisions
should be made with as many vision as possible. Individuals who are managing
the projects and other work inside the programme will be concentrated on
delivering products into the resource constraints and therefore, keenly aware
of the risks which are associated.
Though, the focus of programme‐level is upwards as well as outwards. The
programme team seems for innovative information on developing risks and
disruptive trends in the programme environment and is informed of weak data
signals and established information. An activity like that is usually related to as
horizon scanning. Effective monitoring of the outside context for the
organisation which are investing allows making timely decisions on risks or
issues which may influence the capacity and capability in order to embed
results to realise benefits.
Various methods which are used by the programme team in order to give
information to decision‐makers. A few will give the information in the risk
register or issue register format as the format is an installed component of
governance, which is understood by the individuals who are involved. Others
may draw from the risk register and issue register formats in order to display
data, so this is the most excellent opportunity of being understood and
considered. Techniques which are established in order to evaluate the
programme environment can be used as a medium of horizon scanning.
A technique like this, PESTLE, economic, sociological, analyses political, legal,
technological, and environmental factors. Though some would, accurately, see
these techniques like a form of risk identification, they can be helpful for
programmes in order to keep a particular focus on trends which are longer‐
term in the programme environment. Other related techniques involve
scenario analysis, where various possible futures are defined. Decision‐makers
are capable of think about the new information, and the potential should
rearrange and prove the programme which is armed with a considered
'forward‐look'.
National Rail network programme
The National Rail network programme is a programme spanning a amount of
years funded primarily by the government with some private‐sector funding
that includes many companies and builds various reports. The risk profile for
the programme is estimated to change over time, and data‐gathering and
reporting are utilised on an ongoing basis to assist prepare the leadership for
an uncertain future.
The programme office recognises and reports possible risks which can affect
the National Rail network programme approach and plans using horizon
scanning, for instance:
A voting resulting in a change in government which will lead to diverse
funding priorities.
An increment to the cost of government borrowing leading to enhancing
costs to the programme.
Development of new rail monitoring technologies and data analysis
techniques leading to various methods to convey the target operating
model.
Introduction of new government policies, legislation, or regulations
resulting in different mandatory quality needs for the programme.
Options Analysis
‘Decision‐ready’ information carries an options analysis which is available to
the decision‐makers. Various reports to governance are for just information:
reporting on growth and maintaining the programme board and sponsoring
group abreast of status. No decisions are required. Where decisions are
required, though, decision‐makers will have their partial view on the situation;
therefore, the information which is provided should challenge those views in
order to assure those sub‐optimal decisions are not taken on the basis of
biased positions.
It can be beneficial in order to consider the quality of a decision. This cannot be
judged on the results as other things will surely have occurred among the
decision point and those results. The quality of decisions, therefore, depends
on a strong procedure of decision‐making.
The following are the important features of any decision‐making process:
A simply understood decision’ frame’. What is the problem which should be
solved? What are the circumstances and limits which are joined with the
decision? Which decision’s aspects are ‘givens’ and which are tradable?
The availability of good ad appropriate information from which to build
options.
Alternatives underpinned by clear logic, which involves a clear
understanding of what cannot be identified for sure at the decision point.
Clear motivation and dedication to work through important stakeholders.
Usually, it is also a part of the culture of the company to behave as if there
is only an accurate option in any situation which is provided.
Therefore, behaviours are aimed at explaining why the option selected is
the only one which may be correct in the situation.
If this is the culture, the options which are given may be biased and
misleading.
Decision‐makers don’t like being shifted into a corner.
When a programme is on an important decision point, understanding this
‘do nothing differently’ baseline is essential prior to present at least two
more options which are viable.
It gives decision‐makers with a real choice in order to create or a context
from which other options which are creative can be explored.
Documents to Support the Theme
The following table shows the documents formed as application’s records of
the decisions theme:
Document
Purpose High‐level content
Programme strategy: decision‐making approach
In order to describe the decision points in the programme and the information which is given to decision‐makers to arrange with new information as the programme developments
Decision points: The points of decision for the programme, both planned and ad‐hoc Decision criteria: The criteria which will be utilised to report data, analyse information, and make recommendations How the criteria differ among various levels Escalation and delegation: Criteria for escalation and delegation of information among boards of governance Reporting: The reports which are given to decision‐makers: content and frequency Audit trail of decisions: How decisions made by governance boards are communicated and documented
Programme strategy: issue resolution approach
In order to describe the particular arrangements for capturing, assessing, and determining how to act on change requests or issues arising
Issue owners: The process for allotting issues to owners Delegated authority to issue owners: The restrictions of authority which are delegated to issue owners Change requests: In which way the change requests are logged and processed Change impact analysis: The governance for reviewing analysis of change effect and making decisions Links with risk response approach: How links among the issue resolution approach and risk response approach work Reporting: The reports which are given to decision‐makers: content and frequency
Programme strategy: risk response approach
In order to describe the criteria to be utilised when selecting whether to accept risk and placed reactive (contingent) responses if risk events happen, or in order to invest in proactive responses to threats and opportunities
Risk owners: The procedure for allotting risks to owners Delegated authority to risk owners: The restrictions of authority which are delegated to risk owners Guidance provided to risk owners: In order to explain further investment in proactive responses to risk which are aligned with risk appetite Governance: For reviewing and approving risk response plans, both proactive and reactive response plans Links with issue resolution approach: How links among the issue resolution approach and risk response approach work
Reporting: The reports which are given to decision‐makers: content and frequency
Decision Register
In order to record decisions which are made by each and every governance board, giving an audit decisions’ trail and their underpinning rationales
Decision description Options considered Choice made and rationale Decision owner Relevant dates
Risk Register
In order to record those uncertain events which would impact one or more than one objectives of the programme
Risk description Possibility of the risk happening Effect on the programme if the risk occurs Proximity of the risk Risk owner Risk responses (ideally with costs) Intended outstanding probability and effect, assuming responses are effective Relevant dates
Focus of key roles for the theme
The following are the areas of focus for key roles which are associated with
the decisions theme:
Role Areas of focus
Sponsoring Group Members
Assuring the decision‐making, risk response, and issue resolution approaches are appropriate for purpose Making decisions at important decision points which are planned or unplanned
Senior Responsible Owner (SRO)
Approving the approach for the management of decisions (including issue resolution and risk responses) with the
sponsoring group and assuring these are recorded in the programme strategy Leading the process of decision‐making at key decision points which are planned or unplanned
Programme Manager
Emerging the decision‐making, issue resolution, and risk response approaches in the programme strategy, and assuring that they are used Giving decision‐ready information for the boards of governance
Business Change Manager (BCM)
Supporting the programme manager in giving information which is decision‐ready for governance boards
Programme Office Lead
Managing risk registers, issues, and decisions Supporting the programme manager in giving decision‐ready information for governance boards by the following: ● gathering data from various sources, which involves new knowledge and products from assurance works ● Doing analyses and giving back‐up data
Introduction to MSP Processes
Definition of Process: An organised set of activities which define the series of
actions and their inputs and outputs to achieve a particular objective. Investing
in programme management and programmes can be essential and span over
several years. In an MSP programme, the focus is on assuring that the seven
principles are met through the design and application of a tailored governance
and control environment informed by the seven themes.
This control environment should be implemented over time and are MSP
processes that determine how this is done throughout the life of the
programme.
Programme Lifecycle
The life‐cycle of any programme is incremental. Programmes are designed to
deliver valuable advantages to stakeholders during the programme life cycle.
Adjustments are made as new information becomes available. Programme
management should concentrate on learning, designing and redesigning of the
progression toward the desired future state.
As a result, the processes in the programme's life cycle are designed to support
programme governance, by supervisory to orderly progress with clear decision
standards. They also provide an adaptable and flexible way to make sure that
the programme follows the principles of MSP.
Each process in the programme's life cycle addresses the MSP governance
themes of structure, an organisation, justification, design, knowledge,
decisions and assurance. Lifestyle has a controlled beginning (identify the
programme) and a controlled end (close the programme).
Between these points, the incremental lifecycle assures that:
• The benefits are progressively stabilised and delivered at landing points.
• The target operating model represents the future state that is required to
embed results and realise benefits.
• The programme strategy and plans continue to represent the optimal way
of managing the programme.
MSP Processes
The first (identify the programme) and seventh (close the programme)
processes are the only linear parts of the lifecycle. Processes 2–6 are repeated
by the programme, forming an incremental spiral of progression towards the
defined vision and outcomes of benefit.
At the end of each tranche or landing point, Process 6 specifically addresses
the progress and what has changed in the programme environment to inform
Process 2 in the next cycle. Process 3 emphases on the business case for the
whole programme at a high level and planning the next tranche in detail.
Processes 4 and 5 emphases on programme delivery and embedding the
outcomes to realise benefits within a single tranche. Each process chapter
addresses:
The objective, purpose, and context of the process.
The activities incorporated and the information flow to transform inputs to
outputs.
The mapping of programme roles to the activities included in the process.
Identify the Programme
Purpose
The main purpose of recognising the programme process is to analyse the
drivers and justification for the programme, ensure that it is consistent with
the overall strategy for the investing organisations and is probable to offer a
worthwhile investment, before carrying out the more comprehensive work to
structure and justify the programme and plan its delivery.
The time to implement this process is usually short of work. The aim is to turn
the initial idea into a concrete business concept to decide whether the next
work on the program is worthwhile.
Objectives
The objectives of recognising the programme process are to ensure that:
High‐level costs, funding, and cash‐flow implications have been
considered.
The programme has a clear justification of business which warrants
further investigation.
Key roles have been appointed and recognised.
The resources, costs and timeframes needed to design the programme
in more detail have been planned.
Major risks have been recognised.
Context
The programme mandate is triggered to begin this process. Although it may
not primarily exist as a document, the executive management communicates
the drivers and the main purposes of the programme. An important part of this
process is for the sponsoring group to verify the information in the programme
mandate and then grow it into a coherent programme brief that describes the
benefits, high‐level costs, and risks related with the programme.
The following table displays the Activities, Inputs and Outputs for the Process:
Inputs to the process Activities Outputs of the process Programme mandate Confirm the organisation
structure Confirm the SRO Confirm the programme mandate Develop the programme brief Establish the initial programme strategy and plans Prepare for the next process Agree to proceed (or close)
Programme brief Programme strategy (initial) Programme plans (initial)
Activities
Confirm the Organisation Structure
The sponsorship for the programme and the overall programme governance
structure requires to be confirmed at the earliest opportunity. The sponsoring
group is appointed first, followed by the programme board.
Confirm the SRO
The sponsoring group appoints the SRO, which is the role responsible for the
success of programme. The SRO needs to be a peer and member of the
sponsoring group to ensure the suitable level of seniority and decision‐making
authority.
Confirm the Programme Mandate
The Programme mandate can be received from the executive management in
any format, or from policy development cycles or strategic planning. It cannot
be received as a single, cohesive document. Before proceeding, the sponsoring
group makes a single document and confirms that the programme mandate
correctly reflects the purposes of the investing organisation and drives for
change.
Develop the Programme Brief
The programme brief builds from the programme mandate and gives a formal
basis for evaluating whether the proposed programme is attainable or viable. It
shows the programme’s particular objectives, costs, benefits, and risks,
together with a view of the organisation’s capability and capacity to be
successful. Consideration of the first options is documented while emerging
the programme brief. After it has been sanctioned, the programme brief
delivers the basis for emerging the full business case of the programme.
Establish the Initial Programme Strategy and Plans
It may be suitable at this point to establish initial governance approaches to
cover certain aspects of the programme; for example, assurance, funding, and
organisation. These are involved in the initial programme strategy, which will
be developed and refined further in the next processes. Initial versions of plans
covering some programme components may also be developed. If possible, the
SRO or the sponsoring group establishes the programme board and appoints
other members of the programme board, containing the BCM and programme
manager, to set up governance and provide prompt input to the business areas
that will be affected.
Prepare for the Next Process
The programme brief may be reviewed independently. This assures that it
reflects the purposes, advantages, high‐level costs, timeframes, and risks of
the programme and the degree to which the organisation has the capability
and capacity to realise and deliver the anticipated benefits. The next process
contains refining the programme vision, analysing the programme benefits,
and developing the target operating model. This can be complex work,
requiring specialist skills or resources, which may require to be formally
planned in detail.
Agree to Proceed (or close)
Formal approval to proceed refers that:
The SRO confirms that the programme properly reflects the drivers and
objectives.
The sponsoring group approves the outputs from the process.
The programme board commits to supporting the following process in
the programme lifecycle.
If formal approval cannot be provided, the programme will close.
Responsibilities
The following table represents a RACI Chart for the activities in the process,
split among the core MSP Governance Boards, Supporting Offices, and
Individual Roles:
Activity Sponsoring group
SRO Programme manager
BCM Programme office
Confirm the organisation structure
A/R I I I I
Confirm the SRO
A/R I I I I
Confirm the programme mandate
A R C C C
Develop the programme brief
A R R C
Establish the initial programme strategy and plans
A R C C
Prepare for the next process
A R C C
Agree to proceed
A R C C C
Application of the Themes in this Process
The following table shows how the themes apply to identify the programme
process:
Theme Application to the identify the programme process
Organisation Appoint key programme roles and establish initial programme structure Identify key stakeholders
Design Identify an initial set of key programme risks and issues Document the current‐state target operating model Develop an outline view of the programme vision, target operating model, and benefits
Justification Develop an outline business case (programme brief)
Structure Plan the work required for the next process Develop the initial governance arrangements Identify existing projects which may form part of the programme
Knowledge Identify initial lessons to incorporate into the programme
Assurance Consider initial assurance requirements Identify the programme’s critical success factors Conduct independent assurance of key documentation
Decisions Identify key decision‐making criteria and initial escalation paths
Design the Outcomes
Purpose
The purpose of the design the outcomes procedure is to establish solid
foundations for the programme. It means enabling the companies included to
know the programme benefits, vision, risks, and the target operating model,
including the gap amongst the future and current states, before starting to
plan the programme in detail. This process is where the design work and the
detailed definition of the programme is undertaken. It is returned at the start
of each tranche to either validate the outputs or adapt them to new
information.
Objectives
The objectives of the design the outcomes procedure are to make sure that:
• There is a compelling and explicit vision for the programme, set out in the
vision statement.
• The advantages and disadvantages of the programme are understood and
documented.
• The design approach has been decided upon and documented.
• The risks to the programme have been captured in a risk register and
analysed.
• The target operating model is in place for procedures, culture, organisation,
technology, learning and knowledge, infrastructure, and information and
data.
• The gap amongst the target operating model and current state is
understood and documented.
Context
The design the outcomes procedure improves the first vision statement, which
is in the programme brief, and expands it into two things:
• A set of benefits to be realised and a detailed future state comprising the
target operating model.
Each benefit is described in a detailed profile of benefit. The connections
among benefits and project abilities, outputs, results, and the strategic
objectives of the organisation are shown in benefits maps. At this stage, risks
will be recognised and prioritised in the programme risk register. This is also
the right point in the process for learning from previous programmes, projects,
and other work to be incorporated and acknowledged into the programme.
During this procedure, the strategy and plans of the programme are likely to
be updated. The programme brief is used as input to the business case.
Activities
• Identify Previous Learning: The programme team and manager spend time
recognising learning from previous projects, programmes, and other work
to implement on this programme before proceeding.
• Appoint the Programme Roles: In this process, the programme team will
require to expand beyond the initial team, which created the programme
brief. Expert skills will be needed, such as benefits experts and business
analysts, to help with the construction of the target operating model,
analysis of benefits, and options analysis going forward. Skills which aren’t
available nearby will be brought in utilising temporary experts. It is
significant to set up an infrastructure to support them to work efficiently. It
means organising items, from office accommodation to office equipment
and computers, and from software tools to configuration management
solutions. In this process, the amount of information will grow significantly,
and the documents created will rely on the other's contents. Version
control will assist in keeping everything in sync so that individuals are
working with up‐to date information.
• Develop the Vision Statement: The vision statement establishes from the
initial vision in the programme brief. One method of developing this vision
is to hold a vision workshop for the representatives of diverse stakeholder
groups to explore the possible end‐state of the programme. The outputs of
this workshop needs to be verified before being involved in the vision
statement.
• Identify and Validate Benefits: The vision statement, with the initial
benefits recognised in the programme brief, guides the team of the
programme to evolve the programme benefits. A benefits map will show
the connections between capability, outputs, benefits, ability, and strategic
objectives so that these relations are clearly understood before the benefits
are validated. Generating a benefit profile for each benefit will develop and
validate the benefit further.
• Identify and Prioritise Skills: The programme team makes and manages a
risk register to capture those uncertain events that would impact one or
more outcomes of benefit. The risk register is also used to keep a record of
the risk exposure of each of those events and the responses planned. Risks
recognised in earlier processes are involved if they are still valid. To
prioritise risks consider, as a minimal, an assessment of the feasibility of the
risk happening and an estimate of the size of effect on one or more results
of benefit.
• Develop the Targeting Operating Model: This step takes the vision
statement and expands it into a detailed target operating model. This needs
concentration on various diverse aspects: culture, procedures, organisation,
technology, infrastructure, Knowledge and learning, and information and
data. The work is likely to bring in a much wider range of people, from
experts in business analysis and architecture, to process analysts,
organisation designers, technology experts, and data analysts.
• Develop the Programme Strategy: Building on the initial work in the
previous procedure (recognise the programme), here facets of the
programme strategy will be developed, involving the approaches to:
Stake engagement; Governance; Design; Funding; Resourcing; Information;
Knowledge and learning; Assurance; Decision‐making ; Issue resolution.
• Develop the Programme Plan: During this process, the team will have
insight much more about the programme, involving the vision, the target
operating model, and its risks and benefits. It means that programme plans
can start during this procedure, although they will not be completed,
amended, or (re)confirmed until the plan progressive delivery procedure.
• Develop the Business Case: Building from the programme brief, the team
will gather information regarding costs, benefits, and risks, and feasibly
reconsider certain choices explored when developing the programme brief.
All of this information is a significant input to the business case which will
be completed, amended, or (re)confirmed in the next procedure.
• Prepare for the Next Process: The next process is a difficult one where the overall programme is planned, and the first tranche is planned in detail.
Programme justification also befalls in the next process. For the progressive
delivery process, it makes sense to plan.
• Agree to Proceed (or Close): Formal approval to proceed means that: the
sponsoring group approves the outputs from the process; the sponsoring
group authorises and commits to resource the further process; the SRO
verifies that the vision statement correctly reflects the desired end‐state of
the programme; the sponsoring group commits to supporting the further
process in the programme lifecycle; The programme will close, if formal
approval cannot be provided.
Plan Progressive Delivery
Purpose
The primary purpose of plan progressive delivery process is to make on the
programme design. The procedure plans the programme, structuring the
projects and other activity into delivery tranches to achieve the abilities which
are required and understand the benefits. It also confirms the programme's
propriety before selecting whether to move with programme delivery.
Objectives
The objectives of plan progressive delivery process are to ensure the following:
The projects and other activity involved in order to deliver the
programme which is intended.
The tranches of delivery and common landing points are defined
The delivery approach and the working methods are defined. The way to
understanding benefits which are planned.
The approach to maintaining and getting the resources which are
needed to deliver the programme is defined.
The delivery pace is arranged with the change rate which may be
supported by operational areas.
Context
Planning progressive delivery is about knowing the way in which the results of
benefit will be achieved by the projects delivery of programme and other work.
This process assures that the programme will deliver capacity at an
appropriate pace, managing a balance which is acceptable among delivery,
benefits' realisation, transition, and affordability.
Inputs to the process Activities Outputs from the process
Approval to proceed Vision statement Target operating model Benefit profiles Benefits map Programme strategy (latest version) Risk register Issue register Decision register Business case (latest version) Programme plans (latest versions)
Validate needed resources Complete the programme strategy Continue to develop and validate the programme plans: ● delivery plan ● benefits realisa on plan ● stakeholder engagement and communications plan ● assurance plan ● financial plan Confirm the business case Prepare for the next process Agree to proceed (or close)
Programme strategy (completed and approved) Programme plans (completed and approved) Business case (completed and approved) Risk register Issue register Decision register
Activities
Validate Required Resources
The resources which are required during the process of plan progressive
delivery should be confirmed, earned, and established. As with the design of
the results procedure, resources may include tools, infrastructure, equipment,
and the team to complete the activities which are needed. Professional skills
can be required to plan the programme and finalising the business case. Where
the skills which are suitable are unavailable in‐house, they can be completed
by external professionals.
Complete the Programme Strategy
The programme strategy arranges with current processes and governance of
the company. It enables effective communication flows and efficient decision‐
making among the programme team members and stakeholders. The aspects
of programme strategy will have been evolved in the earlier procedures, but
this activity confirms, validates, and finalises the whole programme strategy,
which includes the approaches to the following:
Governance
Stakeholder Engagement
Design
Delivery
Funding
Resources
Information
Decision‐making
Assurance
Knowledge and learning
Risk response
Issue resolution
Continue to Develop and Validate the Programme Plans
The benefits profiles, vision statement, target operating model, and benefits
map give the reason for creating the projects and other activity which is
required to deliver new abilities. Several alternatives can be available to
achieve changes which should be explored according to their timing, content,
and risks and benefits which are related. Some projects and other activity can
already be constant, and while others will be new initiatives which the
programme will deliver, those projects and other activity will be utilised in the
programme.
The following are the programme’s aspects which should be planned:
Delivery of New Capabilities
The programme’s projects and other activity should be sequenced into
delivery's tranches, which showing their relative timescales and crucial
dependencies. Plans which are detailed are required for the next tranche.
Benefits Realisation
Timeframes to measure benefits.
Stakeholder Engagement and Communications
Activities in order to recognise, analyse, and engage with stakeholders.
Assurance
Monitoring and control of programme, and independent activities of
assurance.
Finances
Monitoring, budgeting, and the measurement of cost and benefit.
These plans can be joined in whole document or managed as separate stand‐
alone items. The programme plans contain the delivery of the complete
programme; though, they tend to include comprehensive information for the
first (or next) delivery's tranche and less detail for subsequent tranches. Plans
for every incremental change will be cleaned every time while this process is
undertaken.
Confirm the Business Case
The business case will have commenced developing in recognising the
programme process and moved further developed in the design of the
resulting process. Here, the business case is attained like the arrangements for
programme management, and delivery are developed. When the information
regarding the benefits, timing, costs, and risks of the programme is
understood, the viability of programme can be assessed and confirmed.
Prepare for the Next Process
The programme can promptly prepare for the first delivery's tranche. Planning
for the forthcoming procedure may contain making in order to set governance
and describing any physical equipment or requirements of the infrastructure.
Subsequent tranches can require similar preparations.
As per the assurance plan, the programme documentation can be subject to an
assurance review which is independent to get objective confirmation that the
business case is viable, the programme delivery is achievable, and the stated
outcomes and benefits are genuine. This assurance should be done before the
decision is made to proceed with delivery.
Agree to Proceed (or close)
Formal approval in order to move refers to that:
The programme business case and other documentation are approved
by the SRO approves.
The group who is sponsoring authorises and commits in order to
resource the first delivery's tranche.
Programme's delivery can be started.
The programme will close if the formal approval cannot be given.
Responsibilities
The following table represents the RACI chart for plan progressive delivery:
Activity Sponsoring group
SRO Programme manager
BCM Programme office
Validate required resources
A R C C
Complete the programme strategy
A R R C C
Continue to develop and validate the programme plans
A R C C
Confirm the business case
A R C C C
Prepare for the next process
A R C C
Agree to proceed (or close)
A R C C C
R – Responsible; A – Accountable; C – Consulted; I – Informed.
Application of the Themes in This Process
The following table shows the way in which the themes apply to the plan
progressive delivery process:
Theme Application to plan progressive delivery process
Organisation Finalise the project and programme’s structures Confirm the governance approach Confirm the stakeholder engagement approach Emerge the stakeholder engagement and interactions plan
Design Modernise the target operating model, if required Validate and refine benefits
Justification Finalise the business case Emerge the financial plan
Structure Confirm the delivery approach Identify projects and delivery’s tranches Develop the delivery plan, which involves the next tranche in detail Develop the benefits realisation plan
Knowledge Confirm the approach to manage information and knowledge Incorporate learnings into programme plans, and share more broadly inside the companies
Assurance Confirm the assurance approach Emerge the assurance plan
Decisions Confirm the approach to decision‐making and ways of growth
Deliver the Capabilities
Purpose
The main purpose of the process of delivering the capabilities is to supervise
programme delivery, assuring projects and other activity which are completed
in a proper manner. The process displays progress and takes helpful step in
order to remain programme delivery on track, delivering the capabilities
described in the target operating model.
Objectives
The primary objectives of the process of delivering the capabilities are to make
sure the following:
The approaches in order to manage various programme’ aspects which are
defined in the programme strategy are implemented.
Capabilities are being delivered by the projects' achievement and other
work, as specified in the delivery plan.
Projects are commenced and finished in a controlled way.
Project outputs are arranged with abilities in the target operating model
The progress of the programme is observed and reported.
Risks and issues are managed in the control.
Action which is corrective is taken when required.
Context
The following are the two primary functions of the process of delivering the
capabilities:
Managing the work which should direct each and every delivery's tranche,
concentrating on executing the governance themes as specified in the
programme strategy.
Make sure that the projects in the programme are commenced,
maintained, and finished in an appropriate manner and remain aligned with
the target operating model.
The following table shows the inputs, activities, and outputs for deliver the
capabilities:
Inputs to the process
Activities Outputs from the process
Approval to proceed
Programme brief
Programme strategy (initial)
Programme plans (initial)
Risk register
Issue register
Decision register
Deploy the required resources
Conduct the planned activities
Manage the tranche
Validate the adequacy of the programme
strategy and plans
Prepare the business for change and plan
transition
Prepare for the next process
Agree to proceed (or close)
Capabilities delivered
Updated programme strategy and plans (as required)
Risk register
Issue register
Decision register
Activities
Deploy the required resources: Further resources can be needed in order to
support programme delivery. These can involve the following:
Increasing the programme office in order to perform like the information
hub for the programme or specific projects.
Establishing the physical environment, which involves buildings, space for
office, and other equipment.
Obtaining tools like planning, risk management tools or configuration
management.
Getting further professional resources.
Conduct the planned activities: The programme plans describe the work to be
performed throughout the tranche in order to assure that the projects and
other required activity by the programme are delivered as intended.
I. Delivery Plan: Projects and other work which is required to deliver
capabilities should be managed as per the delivery plan. This describes
the delivery's tranches and involves the projects, timeframes, critical
dependencies, and resources. The detail in the target operating model
gives input to the needs that need to deliver by the projects. Delivering
the capabilities includes the following:
a. Starting projects: Make sure that the important roles of the project
are selected; that there is transparency around the project scope,
critical dependencies, and governance and escalation requirements;
and that the projects arrange with the objectives of the programme
and benefits realisation plan.
b. Controlling the delivery of projects: Make sure that the growth of
the project is observed and controlled at a high level against the
delivery plan; that project risks, issues, and dependencies are
maintained effectively; and that any prediction tolerance's breaches
are escalated as soon as possible.
c. Closing projects: Make sure that the outputs of the project meet
acceptance criteria and arrange with the capabilities which are
specified in the target operating model.
II. Other programme plans: Other activities that should be completed in
this process, as per the programme plans which are relevant, include the
following:
a. Stakeholder engagement and communications: Make sure that the
stakeholders are kept informed and engaged in the programme's
work.
b. Assurance: Performing monitoring and control actions and leading
independent assurance reviews at crucial decision points.
c. Financial management: Controlling and monitoring budgets, financial
benefits, costs, and cash flow of the programme.
d. Benefits realisation: Setting measures of baseline.
Manage the Tranche
The programme needs constant monitoring and control in order to remain on
track. It includes maintaining the various programme’s aspects as per the
appropriate approaches described in the programme strategy. This may cover
the following:
I. Resource Management: Maintaining people and other resources, which
involves appropriation, supplier and contract management. Maintaining
suppliers and managing the arrangement of their activities with the entire
programme’s direction, which requires particular management attention
and intervention if things are not done according to the plan. Supplier’s
reviews which are scheduled regularly and their performance against
expectation and the contract can become important.
II. Information Management: Tracking and controlling documentation ensures
that it is finished, timely, and accurate, and available to the appropriate
people at the correct time. It is also essential that the information is
appropriate, which is being provided, in order to support programme
control and decision‐making.
III. Reporting: Reporting of the daily progress from the projects should be done
in order to inform monitoring of the growth of the programme and remain
the programme on track. Monitoring progress can recognise difficulty areas
needing management intervention, and these will need to be actioned or
escalated as soon as possible in order to prevent the programme from
leaving the track.
IV. Decision‐making: Dealing with problems, risks, and exceptions, taking
corrective action and increasing where required.
Validate the Adequacy of the Programme Strategy and Plans
While the implementation of the tranche, new information can develop which
needs adjustments to the programme plans. If this is the case, changes will be
made under change control in order to assure that each and every component
of the combined programme plan in order to meet the programme strategy
which is aligned. Where no changes are required, the sufficiency of the
programme plans is confirmed. This activity also includes assuring that changes
in order to programme plans which are shown in the business case.
Prepare the business for change and plan transition
While the programme manager is leading the delivery of new capabilities, the
BCM is preparing the business for change and planning transition. When the
programme leader is managing the delivery of new capabilities, the BCM is
making the business for change and planning transition.
The programme manager and BCM work together in order to ensure that this
work is organised so that preparation for change and transition is timely and
can be executed as soon as the capabilities are made. Measures of baseline
benefits are taken, and continuous benefits measurement is ready to be
executed.
Prepare for the Next Process
Like each and every project prepares for closure, it gives its outputs to the
programme. The outputs which are combined should deliver the capabilities
which are required and support effective transition so that operational
enhancements can be attained and benefits realised. Preparing for the next
process refers to makes sure that the capabilities have been delivered in an
appropriate manner. Project closure can include various reviews which are
post‐project and other assurance activities in order to evaluate the
effectiveness of the outputs and capabilities delivered.
Agree to Proceed (or Close)
Formal approval in order to move refers to the following:
The programme manager verifies that the capabilities which are required
have been delivered.
The BCM confirms that the delivered capabilities are aligned in an
appropriate manner with the target operating model and that the business
is ready to begin transition.
The transition of capabilities can start in operational areas.
The programme will close if the formal approval can't be provided.
Responsibilities
The following table shows the RACI chart for the activities in the process,
divided among the basic governance boards of MSP, individual roles and
supporting offices:
Activity
Sponsoring group
SRO
Programme manager
BCM Programme office
Deploy the required resources
A R C C
Conduct the planned activities
A R C C
Manage the tranche
A R R C
Validate the adequacy of the programme strategy and plans
A R C C
Prepare the business for change and plan transition
I A C R C
Prepare for the next process
A R R C
Agree to proceed (or close)
A R C C C
Application of the Themes in This Process
The following are the application of the themes in the deliver the capabilities
process:
Theme
Application to deliver the capabilities process
Organisation
Use structures of the organisation in order to deliver projects and other work Conduct stakeholder engagement and interactions works as described in the stakeholder engagement and communications plan, with a particular
concentration on making the business for change
Design
Measure benefits baseline as described in the benefits realisation plan Make sure that the projects deliver outputs which add to the upcoming state target operating model
Justification
Execute financial controls as described in the financial plan
Structure
Deliver projects and conduct activities as specified in the delivery plan Plan transition
Knowledge
Maintain information to facilitate it is accurate, timely, and controlled, and available for monitoring and decision‐making Make sure lessons and developments are combined into the programme, and shared broadly inside the companies.
Assurance
Conduct monitoring, control, and activities of assurance as described in the assurance plan
Decisions
Use governance structures in order to manage programme problems, risks, and decisions, and escalate as required
Embed the Outcomes Purpose The purpose of the process of embed the outcomes is to assure that the
investing organisation performs the required modifications to adopt innovative
methods of working and realise the benefits. The process consists of
management and planning of the transition from traditional to modern
methods of operating and the embedding of results. It should be accomplished
while assuring the stability of operations and performance of activities of the
business are not jeopardised.
Objectives
The followings are the Objectives of Embed the Outcomes:
Abilities are transitioned efficiently.
Stakeholders utilise innovative methods of working.
Benefits begin to be measured and realised.
Controls are established in place for continuing the benefits realisation in
Business as Usual (BAU).
Context
Embed the outcomes is directed fundamentally by the Business Continuity
Management (BCM), assisted by other particular change‐focused sources in
Business as Usual (BAU). The BCM has directed the function of preparing for
the business change and to agree on the plans of transition with the
programme manager in providing the process of capabilities. In the process of
embed the outcomes, the work is focused on implementing the plans of
transition, assisting stakeholders in the business for adopting the capabilities in
innovative working methods, measuring and realising benefits.
Activities
The following are the Activities of Embed the Outcomes:
Enact the Transition: Executing the plans of transition can be a sizeable
project in itself, on the basis of programme and the number of affected
stakeholders. Transition gives a crucial learning opportunity. The individuals
liable for handling the transition required to work jointly with the BCM to
assure that the work is efficiently performed without any damage to the
operational business
Adopt the Capabilities: The assistance is essential to this activity that
individuals are provided as they acquire innovative capabilities and embed
them into new working methods. Its success will be based on the work
performed for preparing the business to change in the former process.
Continuous attention is needed to make sure that the outcomes of benefit
start to evolve and build with the passage of time. Withdrawing access is
the part of this activity to traditional methods of making things, like legacy
systems.
Capture Learning: It is undeniable that individuals will gain new knowledge
because they start to adopt innovative capabilities. To assure the greatest
benefit from the investment, individuals must be inspired to share this
innovative knowledge and denote as learning.
Begin to Realise and Measure Benefits: Reports begin to be given to the
governance boards on the basis of the baseline of benefit measurement
and systems of measurement executed in the former process. It is the
crucial time for every programme, and the measurements should be
examined to assure that they are useful and not inspiring any perverse
behaviours beyond the business. Continuous attention is also required to
prevent any erosion of benefit over the period. The potential for innovative
knowledge to be obtained is important at this time.
Prepare for the Next Process: The next procedure is concentrated on
looking behind on development to date and looking ahead to assessing
innovative information and decide on preferences for the subsequent
tranche of work. Accordingly, to preparing for the subsequent process,
teams assure that each of the programme and associated project and
operational records is finished by supporting the review of end‐of‐tranche.
Agree to Proceed (or close): Formal approval to proceed means that the
BCM confirms that benefits realisation has started and that plans are in
place for the other benefits to be realised in full, with assigned owners
recognised. The BCM and programme manager confirm that the transition
has been made successfully. If formal approval cannot be given, the
programme will close.
Responsibilities
The following table shows a RACI Chart for the Activities in the Process, Split
between the Core MSP Governance Boards, Supporting Offices, and Individual
Roles:
Activity
Sponsoring group
SRO
Programme manager
BCM
Programme office
Enact the transition
A R
C
C
Adopt the capabilities
A
C
R
C
Capture learning
A
C
R
C
Begin to realise and measure benefit
A
C
R
C
Prepare for the next process
A
C
C
R
Agree to proceed
A R
C
C
C
Application of the Themes in this Process
The following are the application of themes in the Process of Embed the
Outcomes:
Theme
Application to embed the outcomes
Organisation
• Continue to utilise the structure of the organisation to deliver projects and programme
• Continue to conduct communication activities, and stakeholder engagement as drawn in the communications plan and stakeholder engagement, especially to assure benefits are realised
• Make sure that explicit ownership of benefits realisation
Design
• Assure the accessibility of the intermediate operating model and make any alterations that are required to target operating model
Justification
• Implement financial controls as described in the fiscal plan
Structure
• Handle the transition, conduct the activities as described in the delivery plan
• Measure the benefits realisation as described in the plan of benefits realisation
Knowledge
• Maintain the information so that it is accurate, controlled, timely and accessible for decision‐making and monitoring
• Assure the transparency of the knowledge and that changes and lessons are incorporated and shared within the programme or BAU
Assurance
• Conduct control, assurance and monitoring of the activities as described in the plan of assurance
Decisions
• Use the structure of governance to maintain programme risks, decisions and issues, and enhance as required
Evaluate New Information
Purpose
The main aim of the evaluate new information process is to ensure that the
programme boards and sponsoring groups are supported by up‐to‐date, high
quality, and decision‐ready information. Assessing the latest information
assures that every theme and principle is properly considered while making
decisions during the programme.
Objectives
The objectives of process of evaluate new information are to assure that new
information is:
Validated to ensure its quality/integrity
Analysed, taking the themes into account, to give insight into the current
state of the programme and predictions of what is to come in the future
Utilised to inform the programme design and the next tranche
Presented to programme boards in a suitable way
Collected effectively and at pace
Context
During programmes, decision‐makers are continually making decisions about
the strategy, design, and delivery of the programme. In a complex and
changing environment, information is emergent and imperfect. New
information needs to be assessed in a way that:
Helps to increase understanding and accelerates action‐taking
Directly supports decision‐makers in the governance structures
Is unambiguous to those working both directly and indirectly with the
programme
The following table shows Inputs, Activities, and Outputs for Evaluate New
Information:
Inputs to the process Activities Outputs from the process
Landing point achieved Benefits realised to date Issue register Risk register Decision register
Analyse tranche performance vs plans Analyse current state vs target operating model Review the programme environment Prepare for the next process Agree to proceed (or close)
End‐of‐tranche report Risk register Issue register Decision register
Activities
Analyse Tranche Performance Vs Plans
This activity is focused on understanding performance to date vs the
programme plans and programme strategy. Information on all aspects of the
strategy and plans needs to be merged into the end‐of‐tranche report,
containing:
Delivery performance
Cost performance
Status of stakeholder engagement and communications
Benefits realisation to date
Adequacy of governance and team‐working
The programme office is probable to play a lead role in this activity, supported
by formal assurance activities. As the programme progresses, it is important to
understand the present status, variances from plans, and any reasons for the
change that is possible to continue
Analyse Current State vs Target Operating Model
Another specific component of the end‐of‐tranche review and report is to
confirm the operating model in the present state, that is at the present landing
point, comparing it with the intended change for that tranche and identifying
any aspects that are not as planned. This crucial information will recognise any
aspects of the current operating model that are unstable and need attention
before the next tranche of change starts. Change activity is always more
effective when creating from a stable set of organisational routines, so any
areas of instability need to be understood at this point
Prepare for the Next Process
In the early tranches of the programme, the anticipated next step will be the
design the results process, where the information gained from the evaluation
of the new information will be taken forward to re‐plan the next tranche of the
delivery. As the programme approaches the latter tranches, the next step is
more possibly to close the program. In both cases, it is important that the end‐
of‐tranche report includes entire information of the progress to date and likely
changes to the programme environment going forward
Agree to Proceed (or close)
Formal approval to proceed means that:
The SRO and sponsoring group agree to fund the next tranche
The programme manager confirms that the end‐of‐tranche report is
complete and accurate
The BCM confirms the status of the change to date and readiness for the
next tranche
If formal approval cannot be provided, the programme will close
Responsibilities
The following table shows a RACI Chart for the activities in the process, split
between the Core MSP Governance Boards, Supporting Offices, and Individual
Roles:
Activity Sponsoring group
SRO Programme manager
BCM Programme office
Analyse tranche performance vs plans
C A C C R
Analyse current state vs target operating model
C A C R C
Review the programme environment
C A R C C
Prepare for the next process
A R C C
Agree to proceed
A R C C C
Application of the Themes in this Process
The following table shows how the themes apply to the Evaluate New
Information Process:
Theme Application to evaluate new information process
Organisation Confirm the status of governance and stakeholder engagement and communications
Design Refresh risk identification and prioritisation Evaluate progress to target operating model
Justification Review progress vs business case (costs, benefits, and risks) Verify that funding is sufficient for any subsequent tranches
Structure Evaluate completeness of tranche in terms of development of capability, transition, and benefits realisation Validate dependencies Assess performance vs resource plans and highlight any issues
Knowledge Recognise new knowledge and propose new lessons to be learned in the next tranche Validate compliance with information approach
Assurance Validate that assurance activities have added value and propose changes for next tranche
Decisions Validate that decision‐making processes, containing issue resolution and risk responses, have been effective Propose any changes for the next tranche
Close the Programme
Purpose
The main aim of closing the programme is to end the programme in a
controlled way, extracting as much value from the programme irrespective of
the reason for closing it. It includes ensuring that the investing organisation is
ready to increase the benefits to be realised from the programme work which
are finished by continuing to measure the advantages and taking steps in BAU
to minimise benefit erosion.
Objectives
The objectives of close the programme process are to ensure that:
Capabilities are fully integrated into BAU.
Resources are decommissioned (e.g. contractors, staff).
A final evaluation of the programme is conducted to capture its
attainments relative to those expected and any gaps.
Other governance structures assume responsibilities for remaining
benefits realisation, risk management, and capability development
activities.
Context
Programmes are closed when the on‐going value is no longer justified by the
sponsoring group because:
The work has been accomplished as planned.
Programme resources are considered to be better utilised elsewhere,
leading to the mandate being withdrawn earlier.
The result expectations are considered to have been adequately
achieved, leading to the mandate being fulfilled.
Other organisations are considered to be better suited to delivering the
objectives and results of the programme, leading to the mandate being
substantially changed.
The following table shows the Inputs, Activities, and Outputs for the process:
Inputs to this process Activities Outputs from this process
End‐of‐tranche report Risk register Issue register Decision register
Prepare for closure Hand over residual work Finalise programme information Disband the programme organisation and close
Confirmation or closure Updated knowledge
Activities
Prepare for Closure
To prepare for closure, the programme manager:
It confirms that the programme is about to close.
Ensure that stakeholders are notified.
Assesses programme performance to recognise lessons to be learned.
Hand Over Residual Work
The programme manager:
Evaluates delivery of the target operating model.
Hands over residual capability delivery to other programmes.
Hands over responsibility for continuing benefits realisation and related
risks and issues.
Finalise Programme Information
This activity is to ensure that the programme information is stored, up to date
or archived.
Disband the Programme Organisation and Close
Formal closure means that the SRO disbands the programme organisation and
agrees with the sponsoring group to close the programme.
Responsibilities
The following table shows a RACI Chart for the Activities in the process, split
among the Core MSP Governance Boards, Supporting Offices, and Individual
Roles:
Activity Sponsoring group
SRO Programme manager
BCM Programme office
Prepare for closure
A R C C
Hand over residual work
A R C C
Finalise programme information
A C C R
Disband the programme organisation and close
A R C C C
Application of the Themes in this Process
The following table shows how the themes apply to the Close the Programme
Process:
Theme Application to close the programme process
Organisation Disband the programme organisation
Design Confirm the status of the operating model
Justification Confirm the status of a business case
Structure Close all projects and other work that were part of the programme, and hand over residual work
Knowledge Make sure that the knowledge gained by the programme team is captured and made explicit as far as possible Recognise particular lessons for the organisation to learn Update all programme information
Assurance Give any assurance activities that are needed by the sponsoring group before final closure of the programme
Decisions Close issues and risks, and confirm the status of other decisions Hand over any residual issues or risks as applicable
Multiple Choice Questions
16. The trust theme addresses the processes for ___________ the performance
of programmes at various levels.
a. Forecasting b. Monitoring
c. Planning d. Reporting
17. Programmes are closed when the continuing value is no longer justified by
the sponsoring group because:
a. The work has been finished as planned b. Programme resources are considered to be better used
elsewhere, leading to the mandate being withdrawn earlier
c. The outcome expectations are considered to have been
adequately attained, leading to the mandate being fulfilled
d. All of the above
18. The main purpose of the process of delivering the capabilities is to
supervise programme delivery, assuring projects and other activity which
are completed in a proper manner.
Mark the Statement True/False.
a. True b. False
19. Which of the following approach describes the questions which should be addressed by the programme strategy as a minimum?
a. Risk Response Approach b. The issue resolution approach c. Decision‐making approach d. Design approach
20. Choose the correct sequence of Activities in Deliver the Capabilities.a. Deploy the Required Resources‐> Conduct the Planned Activities‐>
Manage the Tranche‐> Validate the Adequacy of the ProgrammeStrategy and Plans‐> Prepare the Business for Change and PlanTransition‐> Agree to Proceed (or Close)‐>Prepare for the NextProcess
b. Deploy the Required Resources‐> Conduct the Planned Activities‐>
Manage the Tranche‐> Validate the Adequacy of the Programme
Strategy and Plans‐> Prepare the Business for Change and Plan
Transition‐> Prepare for the Next Process‐> Agree to Proceed (or
Close)
c. Deploy the Required Resources‐> Conduct the Planned Activities‐>Manage the Tranche‐> Prepare the Business for Change and PlanTransition
d. Deploy the Required Resources‐> Conduct the Planned Activities‐>
Manage the Tranche‐> Validate the Adequacy of the Programme
Strategy and Plans‐> Prepare the Business for Change and Plan
Transition‐> Prepare for the Next Process‐> Agree to Proceed (or
Close)
21. The plan progressive delivery process's objectives are to make sure thefollowing:
a. The projects and other activity included in order to deliver theprogramme which is intended
b. The delivery' tranches and common landing points are describedc. The delivery pace is arranged with the rate of change which may
be supported by operational areasd. All of the above
22. The area of focus for the role of Senior responsible owner (SRO) is:a. Confirming the programme mandateb. Planning and monitoring all benefits realisation for the programmec. Producing the programme briefd. Planning and monitoring all costs in delivering the programme
Ensuring financial analysis is risk‐informed
23. Which of the following processes emphasis on programme delivery andembedding the results to realise benefits within a single tranche?
a. Processes 4b. Process 5c. Bothd. None of the above
24. The purpose of the justification theme is to define how programmes:a. Assure that the investment of resources and
capital is value for moneyb. Balance achievability and affordability with the desired benefits of
value to stakeholdersc. Manage finances over the lifecycle, involving cash flow and
budgeting managementd. All of the above
25. Single organisations can adjust the funding mechanisms overtime ifrequired to meet the requirements of the business.Mark the statement True/False.
a. Trueb. False
26. Which of the following response option is selected for a specific action nowin order to change the possibility or the influence of the risk?
a. Transfer the riskb. Reduce a threat enhance an opportunityc. Accept the riskd. None of the above
27. An approach to delivering a programme that focuses on providing valuablebenefits to stakeholders throughout the programme life cycle, adapting asneeded to align with the latest information is ______.
a. Trancheb. Incremental progression
c. Landing pointd. Multimodal delivery
28. Which approach outlines the questions that the strategy of the programmemust address as a minimal?
a. Information approachb. Knowledge and learning approachc. Assurance approachd. Risk‐based approach
29. Which of the following statement DOES NOT belong to the First Line ofDefence?
a. Monitors the progress and process of projects and other work inthe programme
b. Reports finding (via the operation senior manager) to theprogramme board
c. Reports findings (via the programme board) to the sponsoring
group
d. Integrate assurance from operational functions, relevant projects,and service areas
30. For the assurance activity of Gate reviews, Drivers for assurance is:a. Progress monitoringb. Key decisionsc. Continuous monitoringd. Real‐time advice
Sample Foundation Exam 1. Which is an area of focus for the programme manager?
a. Agreeing the programme’s appetite for risk b. Chairing the programme board to drive delivery of outcomes c. Providing ongoing effective day‐to‐day leadership to the programme d. Engaging with strategic stakeholders throughout the programme
2. Which is the BEST mode of delivery to use when it is important to define the scope and quality of a project, and vary time and cost as necessary?
a. Linear project lifecycle b. Hybrid project lifecycle c. Iterative project lifecycle d. Continual improvement
3. Which role does assurance provide transparency and confidence to? a. Change recipients b. Sponsoring group c. Business change manager d. Community of practice
4. How does the application of the ‘lead with purpose’ principle achieve value?
a. By facilitating effective cross‐organizational governance b. By enabling the programme to adapt to new information c. By designing and delivering coherent organizational capabilities d. By envisioning and communicating the desired outcomes
5. Which statement about programme plans is CORRECT? a. A plan is needed to implement each approach, regardless of the
approach agreed b. A plan may not be required, if the approach within the programme
strategy is sufficient c. A plan focuses on why governance is needed, instead of on who will
deliver the outcomes d. A plan focuses on what governance is required, instead of who will
provide governance
6. Which document shows the relationship between the capabilities and how they enable the organisational objectives to be achieved?
a. Benefits profile b. Target operating model c. Business case d. Benefits map
7. Which document schedules the constituent projects and other work of the programme to show their relative timescales, resources and dependencies?
a. Delivery plan b. Financial plan c. Benefits realisation plan d. Assurance plan
8. What is the purpose of the stakeholder engagement approach?
a. To detail how the programme will be structured to deliver the capabilities and outcomes
b. To detail two‐way communication activities with stakeholders, and methods for encouraging feedback
c. To describe the governance structure including limits of authority for the governance boards
d. To describe the context and the controls required to build commitment from stakeholders
9. Which describes a COMMON challenge encountered by organizations that MSP is designed to address?
a. Poor line management of the investing organization’s operational staff
b. Unrealistic stakeholder expectations about the organization’s capacity and ability to change
c. Complex dependencies between the activities to be completed within a single project
d. Ambiguity about whether the organisation’s change investments are aligned to its strategic goals
10. Which process ensures as much value is extracted from the programme as possible?
a. Embed the outcomes b. Close the programme c. Deliver the capabilities d. Evaluate new information
11. Which is a focus of the ‘embed the outcomes’ process?
a. To ensure that the projects in the programme are managed appropriately
b. To identify when the mandate has been fulfilled c. To understand how the outcomes of benefit will be achieved through
delivery of the projects d. To enact the transition
12. What is financial contingency intended to deal with?
a. Issues b. Changes c. Risks d. Costs
13. Which action contributes MOST to achieving the ‘bring pace and value’
principle? a. Ensuring that the level of estimate uncertainty is documented in the
business case b. Ensuring that stakeholders understand how benefits are going to be
measured c. Enabling the achievement of desired future outcomes alongside
existing activities d. Offering opportunities for people in different organizational units to
interact
14. Identify the missing word in the following sentence. A [?] is defined as the work required to deliver a step‐change in capability and benefits realisation.
a. Programme b. Tranche c. Lifecycle d. Project
15. Which process allows the organisation to understand the threats to the
programme before detailed structuring of the programme is undertaken? a. Identify the programme b. Design the outcomes c. Evaluate new information d. Plan progressive delivery
16. Which process ensures that operational stability in the business is not jeopardised as the programme delivers change?
a. Design the outcomes b. Identify the programme c. Evaluate new information d. Embed the outcomes
17. Which TWO are objectives of the ‘plan progressive delivery’ process?
1. To ensure that the tranches of delivery and intermediate landing points are defined. 2. To ensure that project outputs are aligned with capabilities in the target operating model. 3. To ensure that the approaches to managing different aspects of the programme, defined in the programme strategy, are implemented. 4. To ensure that the approach to acquiring and managing the resources needed to deliver the programme is defined. a. 1 and 2 b. 2 and 3 c. 3 and 4 d. 1 and 4
18. Identify the missing word in the following sentence.
Enterprise [?] is a condition of an organization that is able to be flexible and responsive to drivers in its environment.
a. Agility b. Value c. Strategy d. Governance
19. Which action contributes MOST to achieving the ‘deploy diverse skills’
principle? a. Gathering and presenting decision‐ready information, and
communicating the reasons behind the decisions b. Establishing governance that empowers decision‐making as close to
the day‐to‐day work as possible c. Adapting roles and responsibilities over time to provide oversight and
alignment with business operations d. Allocating the right assurance resources to provide independence
and specialist knowledge, at the right cost
20. What should be considered when reviewing the ongoing viability of the business case?
a. Whether the programme outcomes remain affordable b. Whether the programme is aligned to project objectives c. Whether the programme board makes timely decisions d. Whether the approach to capturing risks is appropriately
documented
21. Which is a regular event that looks at how work processes can be improved?
a. Decision point b. Retrospective c. Audit d. Risk assessment
22. Which risk response would involve having a smaller initial committed cost
rather than investing in more proactive approaches? a. Transfer b. Prepare contingent plans c. Exploit d. Avoid
23. Which part of the programme brief is refined and expanded on in the
‘design the outcomes’ process? a. The implementation of the governance themes b. The transition plans c. The drivers and key objectives d. The initial vision statement
24. What is a programme?
a. A temporary structure designed to lead a single project to achieve a corporate target
b. A permanent structure designed to lead business as usual to achieve beneficial value
c. A permanent structure designed to lead multiple projects to achieve corporate targets
d. A temporary structure designed to lead multiple projects to achieve outcomes of benefit
25. Which statement BEST describes the ‘Act’ phase of the Plan‐Do‐Check‐Act cycle?
a. It is when validated actions are applied in practice b. It involves validating the results from the previous phase c. It is where specific steps are performed, such as identifying and
prioritising issues d. It involves understanding the programme’s the risk tolerances and
how this will be applied
26. Which is part of the context of the ‘close the programme’ process? a. Other organisations are deemed to be better suited to delivering the
objectives of the programme b. Transition plans are being implemented c. Stakeholders are supported in adopting the new ways of working d. The governance themes are implemented as defined in the
programme strategy
27. What is the purpose of the ‘decisions’ theme? a. To describe how decisions will be made about changes to the
programme b. To describe the programme office’s role in checking the information
provided to decision‐makers c. To describe how the programme will ensure the use of new expertise
gained to inform decisions d. To describe how confidential information, used by the decision‐
makers, will be stored
28. Which TWO are objectives of the ‘design the outcomes’ process?
1. To ensure that the risks have been captured in a risk register and analysed. 2. To ensure that the approach to defining the target operating model has been documented. 3. To ensure that the outline vision and high‐level benefits are understood. 4. To ensure that the approach to acquiring and managing the resources is defined.
a. 1 and 2 b. 2 and 3 c. 3 and 4 d. 1 and 4
29. Identify the missing word in the following sentence.
Programme risk appetite is defined as the amount of risk the investing organisation is willing to accept in pursuing the [?] of the programme.
a. objectives b. outcomes c. benefits d. capabilities
30. Which is a purpose of the assurance plan?
a. To record decisions made by each governance board to provide an audit trail
b. To provide confidence to the sponsoring group that the programme is on track
c. To analyse the justification of the programme in line with corporate strategy
d. To detail how costs and benefits are budgeted, monitored and measured
31. Which TWO are objectives of the ‘close the programme’ process? 1. To ensure that evidence that supports future assurance activities is retained. 2. To ensure that managers of projects and other work are delivering capabilities through completion of projects and other work. 3. To ensure that the gap between the current state and the target operating model is understood and clearly documented. 4. To ensure that other governance structures assume accountabilities for residual benefits realisation.
a. 1 and 2 b. 2 and 3 c. 3 and 4 d. 1 and 4
32. How does the ‘organisation’ theme apply the ‘deploy diverse skills’
principle? a. By overseeing the development of the required organizational
capabilities and resource capacity b. By adapting structures and responsibilities to provide governance
aligned with business operations c. By providing ways for stakeholders, and for people in different
organisational units, to interact d. By establishing governance that empowers decision‐making as close
to the day‐to‐day work as possible
33. Which statement about a programme is CORRECT? a. Programmes remove the need to coordinate and lead interrelated
projects b. Programmes remain aligned with the original societal expectations
driving the programme c. Programmes incrementally realize outcomes of benefit through fixed
timeboxes d. Programmes deliver outcomes of benefit using project outputs and
capabilities
34. Which action contributes MOST to achieving the ‘align with priorities’ principle?
a. Reviewing new information and assessing whether the content of tranches should be changed
b. Establishing governance to empower those doing the work to make the decisions
c. Keeping decision‐making focused on the realization of programme outcomes of benefit
d. Developing a single view of assurance for the programme across participating organisations
35. Which role is the programme office accountable to? a. Business change manager b. Programme board c. Programme manager d. Senior responsible owner
36. Which theme describes how management of the programme information is
essential when supporting a programme? a. Assurance b. Decisions c. Organisation d. Knowledge
37. How does data‐gathering support good decision‐making?
a. By partially reporting real progress b. By optimistically assessing the risks c. By reporting as little data as possible d. By providing realistic reporting of progress
38. Which TWO are objectives of the ‘embed the outcomes’ process?
1. To ensure that project outputs are aligned with capabilities in the target operating model. 2. To ensure that stakeholders adopt new ways of working. 3. To ensure that capabilities are transitioned effectively. 4. To ensure that corrective action is taken where necessary.
a. 1 and 2 b. 2 and 3 c. 3 and 4 d. 1 and 4
39. Which type of management would be used to ensure that people are
working from the latest version of a document? a. Knowledge management b. Benefits management c. Information management d. Risk management
40. Which theme ensures understanding of the future state being delivered?
a. Design b. Organisation c. Justification d. Structure
41. Which is a purpose of the programme strategy?
a. To identify the culture changes that the programme seeks to deliver b. To describe the activities required to deliver the programme over
time c. To summarise the control environment required to govern the
programme d. To describe when the programme will deliver the outcomes of
benefit
42. What is a purpose of the issue register? a. To record problems and the possible impact on objectives b. To provide an audit trail of choices made by the sponsoring group c. To describe the likelihood of a threat occurring d. To define how change requests will be captured
43. Which is a purpose of the ‘evaluate new information’ process?
a. To ensure that corrective action is taken to keep the programme on track as defined in the target operating model
b. To ensure that the investing organization(s) makes the required changes to adopt new ways of working
c. To ensure that the programme board is supported by high quality facts
d. To ensure that projects and other work are structured into tranches
44. Which process quickly establishes if the programme is likely to offer a worthwhile investment?
a. Design the outcomes b. Plan progressive delivery c. Identify the programme d. Embed the outcomes
45. Which question about information is answered by the information
approach to support the ‘knowledge’ theme? a. What are the criteria for escalation? b. What is the appetite for risk? c. How are change requests logged? d. Who will have access?
46. Which action contributes MOST to achieving the ‘realize measurable
benefits’ principle? a. Reflecting uncertainty of estimates and specific risks in the business
case b. Ensuring that stakeholders are active in discussions about the
required outcomes c. Encouraging the learning of lessons and a culture of continual
improvement d. Maintaining a compelling vision and design of the target operating
model
47. Which describes the programme environment? a. It provides a detailed description of the organisation’s future state
after programme closure b. It defines control points representing a step‐change in capability, at
which a programme can be closed c. It includes factors that influence the programme from within the
investing organisation d. It controls major dependencies between two of the projects within
the programme
48. Which is a type of risk that should be managed at the programme level? a. A threat that work within current business operations could be
delayed b. A threat to a project that could directly impact an outcome of benefit c. A threat that a project could be delayed, but still deliver to agreed
timescales d. A threat that could result in a small overspend on an individual
project
49. Which principle, when applied by the ‘assurance’ theme, designs the three lines of defence to support decision‐making?
a. Lead with purpose b. Collaborate across boundaries c. Deploy diverse skills d. Bring pace and value
50. Which process structures the projects and other work into tranches?
a. Identify the programme b. Design the outcomes c. Plan progressive delivery d. Deliver the capabilities
51. Which is the definition of a decision point?
a. An occurrence that triggers the need for programme governance b. An activity that is required to achieve an aspect of the programme c. A discipline that provides transparency and confidence d. An output of the combined impact of risk on the programme
objectives
52. Which action contributes MOST to achieving the ‘collaborate across boundaries’ principle?
a. Reporting both historic programme performance and emerging trends
b. Focusing assurance on risks affecting outcomes of benefit over time c. Maintaining mechanisms for organizational units and stakeholders to
interact d. Making knowledge as clear and accessible to stakeholders as possible
53. How does the ‘justification’ theme apply the ‘lead with purpose’ principle? a. By proving and communicating financial viability through the
business case b. By recording the level of uncertainty of estimates and risks in the
business case c. By implementing governance related to the approval of financial
investments d. By updating the business case with revised phasing of costs and
benefits
54. Which principle, when applied by the ‘structure’ theme, ensures clarity about how resources will be sourced?
a. Bring pace and value b. Realise measurable benefits c. Collaborate across boundaries d. Align with priorities
55. During which process would a project report a deviation from project
tolerance? a. Evaluate new information b. Identify the programme c. Design the outcomes d. Deliver the capabilities
56. Which activity should be part of a programme’s first line of defence?
a. Integrating assurance from programmes and corporate functions b. Integrating assurance from projects and operational areas c. Providing assurance focus on the business case of the programme d. Monitoring the effectiveness of programme‐level processes
57. What should the SRO do when justifying the investment in the programme?
a. Set realistic expectations with stakeholders for the estimated return on investment
b. Estimate the maximum amount of benefits so that the calculated return on investment is positive
c. Exclude financial contingency so that investment in the programme is seen to be worthwhile
d. Downplay the risks so that the stakeholders are confident that the investment is worthwhile
58. Identify the missing word in the following sentence. The vision is defined as the [?] future state of the investing organisation(s) after the programme is completed. a. final b. detailed c. visible d. desired
59. Which action contributes MOST to achieving the ‘deal with ambiguity’
principle? a. Defining the risk appetite and facilitating evidence‐based decision‐
making b. Ensuring two‐way stakeholder communication about the
programme’s benefits c. Maintaining clarity about the number, types and sources of resources
needed d. Designing the three lines of defence to support leadership decision‐
making 60. Which document, once confirmed, leads to the budget for the ‘identify the
programme’ process being confirmed? a. Programme brief b. Programme mandate c. Programme strategy: resourcing approach d. Business case
Sample Practitioner Exam
The Official MSP Accreditor Sample Examination Papers
Scenario Booklet
Examination Duration: 2 hours and 30 minutes
Instructions
1. Read the ‘Programme Scenario’ carefully. You will need this information to
answer the questions in the Question Booklet.
2. For some questions you will also need the ‘Additional Information’.
3. The ‘Programme Scenario’ and ‘Additional Information’ are not based on
actual organisations. Any similarities to known organisations are coincidental.
Programme Scenario – The Merger Programme
PCSafe is a large online retailer of PCs. PCSafe has recently purchased
TechStore, which is a giant in the digital storage market that provides
hardware for data centres and cloud solutions. The newly merged company
will be called PCTech. During a press release, PCTech stated that they expect to
see benefits as a result of the following capabilities:
• The ability to compete with other suppliers in both markets by combining
their strengths and leveraging their customer base.
• The ability to leverage their complementary portfolios and cross‐sell their
products to existing customers.
• The ability to leverage existing sales teams, increasing sales but reducing
costs, while allowing them to capitalise on PCSafe’s strengths with small and
medium‐sized customers as well as on TechStore’s strengths with larger
corporate clients.
• The ability to leverage existing research and development capability,
enabling greater innovation at reduced costs.
The extract from the benefits map below illustrates the high‐level view of
the benefits, as identified in the ‘design the outcomes’ process.
This benefits map is intended to be correct, but is not complete, as it is only
an extract.
Extract from the benefits map for the Merger Programme
An initial list of projects and other work has been identified as follows:
Tranche 1 Alignment of Terms & Conditions Project • Align the terms and conditions of the staff and directors of the organisations. • Transfer staff from TechStore across with protected rights for a specified period in some regions, others will move to new terms immediately. Divisional Restructure Project • Design new corporate board and governance structures. • Provide a recommendation on the selection of roles and responsibilities for each director and their divisions. Draft corporate announcement ready for publication. • Rationalise staff to reduce overall headcount.
Tranche 2 Process Alignment Project • Agree processes to cater to both marketplaces and types of customer.
o PCSafe has traditionally been a low margin organisation with high volumes; TechStore has been low volume with high margins.
• Update internal IT network and systems to accommodate new processes. Culture Alignment Project • Create a culture which will enable PCTech to thrive.
o The demands of the different marketplaces have meant that the organisations have different cultures. If the merged company is to be successful, it will need to capitalise on the strengths of both organisations.
Sales Channel and Processes Project • Develop new channels that will enable PCTech to leverage its market share with small to medium‐sized customers as well as capitalise on the market opportunities available from the larger corporate clients. • Develop new processes to sell PCSafe products to former TechStore clients and vice‐versa. • Update the existing customer relationship management software.
Tranche 3 Estates/Buildings Rationalisation Project
• Document the requirements for the estates/buildings. • Rationalise estates/buildings in line with reduced headcount.
Other work (ongoing throughout the programme)
Research and Development Work • Identify ways to continue to do research in both marketplaces and leverage existing knowledge across marketplaces. HR Work • Move all staff to newly agreed terms and conditions. • Reduce staff numbers through voluntary and compulsory redundancy as well as early retirement packages. • Recruit appropriately skilled and experienced individuals to occupy newly created roles.
Additional Information
The CEO of PCTech was the former CEO of PCSafe and is now the CEO of the
newly merged organization. They are keen to see the full benefits of the
Merger Programme delivered.
It is not certain what the future holds for the former CEO of TechStore because
it is unclear whether they will accept a role on the PCTech Corporate Board or
whether they will decide to pursue opportunities elsewhere.
The Chief Finance Officer (CFO) is the former CFO of TechStore and has been
appointed as CFO to PCTech. They are a determined individual who strongly
supports the merger and can see how the new organization will benefit from
reduced costs and increased sales. They are heavily involved in developing the
new PCTech strategy.
The Chief Operating Officer (COO) is responsible for the manufacture of
products, product sales and customer service. They have been newly recruited
because neither of the former COOs decided to remain with PCTech. They
were recruited because of their experience in selling to small‐ and medium‐
sized companies, as well as large corporate clients, and will be heavily involved
in determining the direction for PCTech. Their knowledge of the IT sector is
limited.
The Chief Research Officer (CRO) is responsible for research and development
into new products. They have several teams of engineers and other technicians
who carry out the research and innovation. They are keen to ensure that the
research and development function helps to drive the direction of PCTech.
The Human Resources (HR) Director is responsible for ensuring the terms and
conditions and working conditions are appropriate and in line with market
expectations, so that high‐quality staff can be recruited and retained. They are
a key decision‐maker in the new PCTech board of directors.
The Chief Technology Officer (CTO) is responsible for all internal IT matters
including security, networks and applications, and needs to ensure that the
internal IT strategy continues to support the new PCTech business priorities.
The Finance Manager has a team of accountants and analysts working for
them. This team assists in preparing both project and programme business
cases, and the Finance Manager is personally responsible for assuring the
quality of the business cases and ensuring alignment to corporate strategy.
The Sales Manager has been with PCSafe for many years and knows the
processes within the online PC market. They have a team of sales associates
who answer online sales queries from customers and they know how the sales
team operates.
The Production Manager is responsible for ensuring that the manufactured
products meet the required standards. In a previous role with another
employer, they were responsible for overseeing the construction of a new
manufacturing plant and the design of new processes to meet the future
demands of the company.
The Customer Servicing Manager (Commercial) is responsible for answering
queries from large corporate customers and ensuring that their orders are
fulfilled promptly. They need to ensure that the changes delivered will enable
the continued sales of hardware to the large corporate customers.
The Research Manager is responsible for all research in the retail PC market.
Office‐U‐Like are a specialist external company providing expert architectural
and estates services. Office design services have been outsourced to them.
The IT Manager is responsible for the internal IT network and has extensive
experience in creating and delivering a complex series of interrelated IT
projects where significant interdependencies needed to be managed.
The Portfolio Office team develops and maintains the standards and templates
for all projects and programmes to use across PCTech. It includes project and
programme support staff.
Customer First develops and maintains the customer relationship
management software that will need to be updated as part of the Sales
Channel and Process Project.
Instructions
1. You should attempt all 70 questions. Each question is worth one mark.
2. There is only one correct answer per question.
3. You need to answer 42 questions correctly to pass the exam.
4. Mark your answers on the answer sheet provided. Use a pencil (NOT pen).
5. You have 2 hours and 30 minutes to complete this exam.
6. This is an ‘open book’ exam. You can use the Managing Successful
Programmes 5th Edition guidance.
7. No other material is allowed.
8. Read the ‘Programme Scenario’ in the Scenario Booklet.
9. You will also need the ‘Additional Information’ in the Scenario Booklet to
answer some questions.
10. Each question is separate. Do not use information from one question to
answer another question.
PRINCIPLES
1. The programme manager has organized an event to celebrate the success
of Tranche 2. During the event, the SRO is scheduled to present an update
to strategic stakeholders on progress towards achieving increased sales of
existing products and the forecast for Tranche 3. Unfortunately, the SRO
decides not to attend, so the programme manager cancels the event.
Does this demonstrate an appropriate application of the 'lead with purpose'
principle, and why?
a. Yes, because the absence of the SRO means that the event will have
little value
b. Yes, because the programme manager should be empowered to make
decisions about the event
c. No, because the event should be used as an opportunity to reinforce the desired outcomes
d. No, because the event should be used to provide a clear view of the risks perceived
2. The directors from PCSafe created the first draft of the funding approach.
The draft funding approach was then sent to the directors of TechStore to
amend into draft 2. This process was repeated 3 more times until the
PCSafe directors agreed the final version was ready for approval.
How well does this apply the ‘collaborate across boundaries’ principle, and
why?
a. It applies it well, because the directors from both organizations actively
shared information to clarify each other’s views with each new draft
b. It applies it well, because the directors from both organizations
represent multiple disciplines necessary to contribute to significant
programme work
c. It applies it poorly, because the directors did not work effectively together across the organisations to develop the required programme
governance
d. It applies it poorly, because the issuing of multiple drafts showed their
concern over dealing with high levels of uncertainty in this programme
3. A new board of directors has been appointed for PCTech. The directors held a series of question and answer sessions at offices across both
organisations. The directors answered employees' questions about the
future as thoroughly as permitted by the relevant legislation. Where they
were unable to answer questions immediately, they promised to publish a
timetable for communicating further information.
Which principle is being applied, and why?
a. Collaborate across boundaries, because the board of directors had worked together to agree the new governance structure
b. Collaborate across boundaries, because the sessions encouraged the staff to learn about the future, instilling a culture of continual
improvement
c. Deal with ambiguity, because further communications with stakeholders
were scheduled in the stakeholder engagement and communications
plan
d. Deal with ambiguity, because the sessions provided an opportunity for
the directors to share as much information as was possible with
stakeholders
4. The suppliers of PCTech’s customer relationship management software will
soon be removing support for the version used by PCTech. The corporate
board has decided that replacement of the system is now the highest
priority. The sponsoring group has therefore requested the programme
manager to re‐schedule the Sales Channel and Processes Project to run in
parallel with the Divisional Restructure Project. This will therefore affect the
delivery of benefits.
Is the rescheduling of the programme an appropriate application of the ‘align
with priorities’ principle, and why?
a. Yes, because the 'align with priorities' principle may require the
structure of tranches to be changed
b. Yes, because the 'align with priorities' principle may require the business
case to be reviewed
c. No, because the 'align with priorities' principle should be implemented
by the sponsoring group
d. No, because the 'align with priorities' principle should be implemented
at the end of each tranche
5. The programme manager has asked the Research Manager to present to
the programme board. The presentation will identify what skills will be
required to operate the new joint Research and Development function,
once the new ways of working have been established.
Is this an appropriate application of the ‘deploy diverse skills’ principle, and
why?
a. Yes, because the programme board should be clear on the skills needed
to operate business as usual
b. Yes, because the programme board should be clear on the costs of
deploying specialist skills
c. No, because operational skills should be included under 'organization' in the target operating model
d. No, because staffing the joint Research and Development function is an
operational responsibility
6. There has been an unexpected drop in commercial property prices during
Tranche 2. If this trend continues, the total cost savings expected from
rationalizing the estates and buildings may not be realized. Programme
assurance has suggested that commercial property prices in the area should
be monitored to get early warning of any changes. The programme
manager has asked the Finance Department to establish a process to do
this.
Which principle is being applied MOST by implementing this monitoring
process, and why?
a. Lead with purpose, because appropriate assurance needs to be in place to support decision‐making across the three lines of defence
b. Lead with purpose, because assurance should verify that the tranches have been planned to deliver the right benefits at the right time
c. Realise measurable benefits, because focusing assurance activities on
risks to benefits increases the likelihood of the benefits being realised
d. Realise measurable benefits, because assurance should verify that both
identified benefits and dis‐benefits are being managed
7. There were similarities in some cultural aspects between PCSafe and
TechStore prior to the merger. The programme manager is worried that the
Culture Alignment Project has implemented some of these similar cultural
aspects, without considering their suitability for the new, merged,
organization. The programme manager has therefore asked the SRO to
discuss PCTech's desired future culture with the Culture Alignment Project
team and how this should lead to increased sales.
Is this an appropriate application of the ‘bring pace and value’ principle, and
why?
a. Yes, because understanding the vision and the outcomes of benefits will
help to focus on delivery of the required capabilities
b. Yes, because the programme manager should plan the projects at the
best pace to achieve the outcomes of benefit
c. No, because the project team should be working within clear delegated
limits of authority and only escalating where necessary
d. No, because the team should be empowered to make decisions to
enable them to deliver what is required in a timely manner
8. The following statement needs to be recorded:
"Minutes from governance board meetings will be issued to all other
governance boards within two days."
In which section of the programme strategy should this statement be
recorded?
a. Stakeholder engagement approach
b. Delivery approach c. Governance approach d. Decision‐making approach
9. The following statement needs to be recorded:
"The use of contingency capital requires approval from the venture capitalist
company, InvestCo."
In which plan should it be recorded?
a. Assurance plan b. Delivery plan c. Benefits realisation plan d. Financial plan
THEMES
Here are three actions related to the 'organisation' theme for the Merger
Programme.
Which role (A‐E) is MOST focused on each action?
Choose only ONE role for each action. Each role can be used once, more than
once, or not at all.
10. Meeting with the Tranche 1 project managers at the start to discuss and agree a common tone and branding on all communications 11. Agreeing that PCTech will not accept risks that could result in a significant loss of its revenue base 12. Having a meeting with the heads of the two R&D groups to consider the strategic implications involved in streamlining the research work
A. Sponsoring group members B. Senior responsible owner C. Programme manager D. Business change manager E. Programme office lead
13. Which individual should be appointed as the programme manager?
a. Research Manager
b. Production Manager
c. Member of the Portfolio Office
d. Employee of Customer First
14. The Sales Manager has been appointed as the SRO.
Is this an appropriate application of the 'organisation' theme, and why?
a. Yes, because ideally the SRO should have experience in the market and
organisation
b. Yes, because the Sales Manager is in a position to monitor the
programme performance
c. No, because the SRO needs to be in position to solicit feedback from all
stakeholders
d. No, because the Sales Manager is better suited to the role of BCM
15. The COO has been appointed as SRO. The COO has requested that the CFO
also becomes a member of the programme board.
Is this request an appropriate application of the 'organisation' theme, and
why?
a. Yes, because representatives from corporate functions may also become
members of the programme board
b. Yes, because the lead SRO has authority to appoint another SRO, if considered necessary
c. No, because the programme board should only consist of the SRO,
programme manager and BCM
d. No, because additional programme board members should provide
external support to the programme
As part of the 'design the outcomes' process, a design workshop was held and
the following points were agreed.
In which key document (A‐F) should they be recorded?
Choose only ONE document for each item of information. Each document can
be used once, more than once, or not at all.
16. The increase in registered patents will be measured by recording how many have been submitted on a quarterly and annual basis compared to pre‐merger statistics. This will begin once the two R&D teams have been fully integrated. 17. The vision statement will be approved by the sponsoring group once the BCM has reviewed the final draft. 18. The existing rivalry between the TechStore and PCSafe staff is highly likely to make combining the sales teams more difficult.
A. Benefits map B. Benefits profile C. Design approach D. Risk register E. Target operating model F. Vision statement
19. The Divisional Restructure Project has begun. Many long serving members
of both PCSafe and TechStore staff will be made redundant. Many of these
staff have employment contracts that give them enhanced redundancy
compensation packages. This means that 23% more of the experienced staff
than expected will leave the company. The SRO has asked the programme
manager to add this as an item to the benefits map.
In which part of the benefits map should this information be recorded?
a. Outputs of projects and other work b. Capabilities c. Outcomes
d. Measurable benefits/dis‐benefits
20. The SRO asked the programme manager to create a draft vision statement
for the programme. It was short, compelling and clearly described the benefits
of merging PCSafe and TechStore. The SRO was so pleased with the draft vision
statement that they approved it immediately.
Was this an appropriate application of the 'design' theme, and why?
a. Yes, because the SRO is responsible for approving the vision statement as
part of the 'design' theme's documents
b. Yes, because the programme manager can begin work on the target
operating model once the vision statement has been approved
c. No, because the vision statement should not be approved until after the
target operating model and benefits map are approved
d. No, because the BCM was not given an opportunity to review the vision
statement before it was approved
21. The programme manager is working closely with the Production Manager,
the Research Manager and the Customer Servicing Manager to create
benefits profiles. They have decided to record each benefit, how it will be
measured, what KPIs in the business operations will be affected and on
which specific dates those KPIs will be measured.
Is this an appropriate application of the 'design' theme, and why?
a. Yes, because the BCM is responsible for providing the content for the
benefits profiles
b. Yes, because the benefits have to be fully understood before they can be arranged into a benefits map
c. No, because there is too much ambiguity at the start of the programme
for any suggested dates to be accurate
d. No, because dates for recording baseline performance levels will be
recorded in the benefits realisation plan
Here are three actions related to the ‘justification’ theme for the Merger
Programme.
Which role (A‐E) is MOST focused on each action?
Choose only ONE role for each action. Each role can be used once, more than
once, or not at all.
22. Monitoring the effects of the low staff morale resulting from the staff rationalisation (part of the Divisional Restructure Project) 23. Monitoring monthly outgoings to the employment law firm required for the Divisional Restructure Project 24. Preparing a statistical analysis of redundancies made so far against recuperated losses from the Divisional Restructure Project
A. Sponsoring group members B. Senior responsible owner C. Programme manager D. Business change manager E. Programme office lead
25. What information should the programme manager include in the financial
plan?
a. The amount of seed funding from the corporate board and timing
estimate for becoming self‐funded
b. The necessary arrangements for reviewing and reporting supplier
payments, sales and the cost‐savings
c. The fact that financial contingency of 40% is based on the tech industry's historical merger benchmark
d. The estimated date when PCTech will recover the investment in time
and resources spent on the merger
26. Due to the extremely high failure rates of mergers and acquisitions, PCTech
has decided to invest in a resource planning office. This office will assist with
the efficient scheduling of facilities, equipment and people across the
programme.
How well does this action apply the ‘justification’ theme, and why?
a. It applies it well, because the added value from optimising the use of
resources should outweigh the additional cost
b. It applies it well, because the office should assist in understanding the value of assets, such as surplus buildings and equipment
c. It applies it poorly, because a business process design office should be appointed to support mergers and acquisitions
d. It applies it poorly, because this office will create extra reporting lines, making this high‐risk programme even less efficient
27. A risk assessment identified that the costs associated with terminating
employment in different regions around the world were unpredictable.
These cost variations could have a major impact on the profitability of the
merger. As a result, the PCTech directors decided to continue with the
merger but agreed that contingency should be set up based on industry
benchmark data.
Is this an appropriate application of the ‘justification’ theme, and why?
a. Yes, because financial contingency should be included in the budget based on the risks associated with estimates
b. Yes, because the funding approach should identify how financial contingency will be allocated for the programme
c. No, because the sponsoring group members should approve the
financial contingency for the programme
d. No, because decisions made by governing bodies should be recorded in
the decisions register to provide an audit trail
PCSafe and TechStore have their own procedures relating to project delivery.
The programme manager has produced the ‘delivery approach’ to document a
unified approach to programme delivery. Here are items of information to be
recorded in the ‘delivery approach’.
Under which heading (A‐E) should they be recorded?
Choose only ONE heading for each item of information. Each heading can be
used once, more than once or not at all.
28. The Process Alignment Project will deliver one customer‐centric process first, in a fixed timebox, so that feedback can be collected in order to improve future process development 29. The project manager for the Process Alignment Project will be advised about the future state processes that the project needs to deliver 30. TechStore’s existing agile development method will be used for agile style projects, including the Process Alignment Project
A. Structure B. Delivery modes C. Controlling projects and other work D. Delivery standards E. Dependencies
31. When producing the delivery plan, the programme manager is unable to
schedule delivery of all the outputs within the assigned budget due to a
lack of skilled IT developers to work on the projects.
Which action should the programme manager take?
a. Ask the SRO to request an increase in funding to recruit skilled developers, if justified by the benefits
b. Produce a delivery plan for the first tranche, with later tranches being planned at the end of Tranche 1
c. Note the problem on the risk register, monitor the situation and
continue with Tranche 1 as planned
d. Plan for the existing skilled developers to work overtime for the first two
tranches to enable delivery to be on‐time
32. TechStore's corporate procurement department has developed a new
process for buying equipment over £500. At the same time, the Merger
Programme was developing a resourcing approach covering the
acquisition of internal and external staff, but not for buying equipment
as this was already included in the corporate standard.
Is this an appropriate application of the ‘structure’ theme, and why?
a. Yes, because the programme should develop its resourcing approach to
identify how to meet its staffing needs
b. Yes, because there will be separate processes for the programme team
to follow for acquiring staff and equipment
c. No, because the programme should develop a separate approach to
buying equipment to meet the programme's needs
d. No, because the resourcing approach should document the procurement
procedures required by the programme
33. Customer First is delivering the customer relationship management
(CRM) software as part of the Sales Channel and Process Project. The
project manager has been asked to use a mix of Customer First
resources and some of TechStore's IT staff within the project. In
addition, the project should include the training of TechStore’s staff so
that the CRM software can be maintained by internal staff after the
project has closed.
Is this an appropriate application of the ‘structure’ theme, and why?
a. Yes, because this action supports the application of the ‘deploy diverse skills’ principle
b. Yes, because this action supports the application of the ‘collaborate across boundaries’ principle
c. No, because the programme should focus on delivering the original
target operating model
d. No, because personal development for IT staff is not a defined benefit of
this programme
During the programme it is going to be important that all affected members of
staff share their own specific knowledge of current customer processes, but
they are also encouraged to share ideas about possible future ways of working.
Here are three activities which will help staff members to do this.
Which role (A‐F) is MOST LIKELY to be have a focus on each activity?
Choose only ONE role for each activity. Each role can be used once, more than
once, or not at all.
34. Define what information will be needed about how existing sales processes operate, and ensure that everyone involved in the programme knows where to find it 35. Set up a shared area where members of staff can look for information on processes in other areas of the business, and let people know how to access it
A. Sponsoring group members B. Senior responsible owner C. Programme manager D. Business change manager E. Programme office lead F. Project manager for Process Alignment Project
36. Arrange meetings between sales team members from both companies, and the Process Alignment Project team to identify the best way to cater for all customer needs
37. The sales personnel from both PCSafe and TechStore have a lot of very
important knowledge about the two different markets. This has been gathered
over time but has never been formally documented. For the Merger
Programme to be successful, it is vital that this knowledge is shared, so that
the new PCTech organization is better at competing with its competitors.
Which is MOST LIKELY to encourage knowledge sharing?
a. Document current processes in a common format to determine where
there are any points of similarity
b. Hold informal meetings to share stories about what worked well and
what worked did not in the past
c. Instruct the Sales Channel and Processes project manager to hold
regular progress meetings with sales staff
d. Set up a repository on a shared system where sales personnel can log
lessons learned from previous experience
38. Concerns have been raised about the handling of sensitive information
relating to existing customers, such as bank details and payment history. The
project manager of the Sales Channel and Process Project has requested access
to representative customer information in order to test the new functionality
currently being developed. The programme office changed any information
that could identify specific customers to something fictitious. The altered data
has then been made available for testing.
Is this an appropriate application of the 'knowledge' theme for this
programme, and why?
a. Yes, because if information is not available when needed, programme
team members may make decisions without relevant knowledge
b. Yes, because one of the key features of information security is that only
those who need to know have access to confidential information
c. No, because information management includes making sure that the
right people have access to information in order to safeguard privacy
d. No, because providing everyone in the programme with access to
information they need means that everyone is able to do their work
39. The programme manager has suggested a series of interactive role‐play
exercises, so that the sales staff from both companies can explore how the
new sales and administrative processes will work in practice. These
exercises will be held at the beginning of Tranche 2 so that the results can
be used by the project delivery teams. It is hoped that this will also help the
sales staff to understand how their customers will experience any process
changes that will affect them.
Is this an appropriate application of the ‘knowledge’ theme, and why?
a. Yes, because it is good practice to hold meetings to foster collaboration
and to review how delivery of work can be improved
b. Yes, because some forms of games can help to get team members to
share knowledge and to think creatively about improvement
c. No, because there should be culture within the organisation where sharing knowledge and lessons is the accepted way to work
d. No, because the experience of people within an organisation is often unwritten, unspoken and sometimes not consciously acknowledged
40. It is PCSafe policy to hire external consultants to carry out audits at key decision points in a programme. The results of these reviews need to be
sent to the corporate board.
In which part of the assurance approach should this information be
recorded?
a. Corporate governance requirements
b. Delegated authorities c. Working with partners outside the programme
d. Second line of defence
41. The Divisional Restructure Project is allowed to finish no more than one
month late. If the project is forecast to finish more than one month late
then the project manager must escalate this to the programme manager
immediately.
Which level of assurance does this procedure demonstrate?
a. First line of defence b. Second line of defence c. Third line of defence d. Continuous monitoring
42. Each project has to complete a lengthy weekly health‐check that they
report to the programme board. The project manager for the Process
Alignment Project has escalated a forecasted breach of time tolerance. The
work needed to gather information for the report is slowing down the
delivery of the new processes. If this continues, the project will not finish
on time. The programme manager has escalated this issue to the SRO to
discuss with the sponsoring group.
Is this an appropriate application of the 'assurance' theme, and why?
a. Yes, because the sponsoring group should be consulted regularly on issues experienced at the project level
b. Yes, because the current assurance approach does not demonstrate the
‘proportionality’ success factor
c. No, because it is the project manager who should take corrective action
to resolve project‐level issues
d. No, because the project teams should work longer hours to give the
auditors the information they need
43. Benefits reviews will be carried out at the end of each tranche and at the request of the sponsoring group. The programme manager is writing the
assurance strategy. Benefits reviews are included as part of the third line of
defence.
Is this an appropriate application of the 'assurance' theme, and why?
a. Yes, because benefits reviews will help the sponsoring group defend the business case
b. Yes, because it is important to understand if any barriers to benefits
realization exist
c. No, because the benefits reviewers will report their findings to the sponsoring group
d. No, because the BCM will write this in the benefits realization plan
Here are three actions related to the 'decisions' theme for Tranche 3 of the
Merger Programme. There is an issue regarding how staff will be
accommodated in the offices which may reduce the forecast programme
benefits below the agreed threshold.
Which role (A‐E) is MOST focused on each action?
Choose only ONE role for each action. Each role can be used once, more than
once, or not at all.
44. Producing the options available regarding the density of office staff as there is a lot of disagreement on staff working arrangements and how the office space will be structured to accommodate them 45. Collating the alternative design plans from Office‐U‐like, options on staff working terms and conditions from the Human Resources Director, and IT options available from the CTO for presentation to the programme board 46. Holding a workshop with key staff to gain honest and constructive feedback on the different office and working arrangements for inclusion
A. Sponsoring group members B. Senior responsible owner C. Programme manager D. Business change manager E. Programme office lead
in the presentation to the programme board
47. There is a risk that the commercial property prices may drop in the future
for some locations. As a result, it has been decided that the requirements for
the estates/buildings in Tranche 3 will be addressed in a different order.
Which type of risk response does this decision apply?
a. Avoid a threat b. Reduce a threat c. Transfer a threat d. Prepare contingent plans
48. The programme is currently in Tranche 2. The COO has been appointed as
the SRO and the IT Manager is the programme manager. Due to the SRO’s lack
of IT knowledge, the programme manager has found that it is easier to omit
reporting about the IT issues as it often worried the SRO, who then created
friction with the Process Alignment Project team.
Is this an appropriate application of the 'decisions' theme, and why?
a. Yes, because the programme manager has appropriate skills to ensure
that the issues are managed
b. Yes, because reporting should focus on the areas where decisions from
the SRO are needed
c. No, because the programme office should record and report on the
issues in the issue register
d. No, because the SRO is accountable for ensuring that a culture of reporting truthfully is established
49. The Culture Alignment Project has submitted an approach based on rolling
workshops that is forecast to exceed the project timescale tolerance. This has
been escalated to the programme manager for approval, with the options of:
1. Retain the existing company cultures.
2. Close all company operations for a week to carry out intensive company
alignment work.
3. Implement the rolling workshop plan over a longer period than originally
specified.
Is this an appropriate application of the 'decisions' theme, and why?
a. Yes, because decisions should always consider the ‘do nothing’ option
b. Yes, because decisions should consider the complete range of possible
actions
c. No, because implausible options should not be included in the choices
presented
d. No, because the preferred option should be presented without a range
of options
PROCESSES
50. The 'identify the programme' process is in progress. Some risks have been
identified. One risk is that there may be disruption to sales while the new
systems and processes are being embedded.
Which role is MOST LIKELY to help the programme manager understand this
risk?
a. Sponsoring group
b. Senior responsible owner
c. Business change manager
d. Programme office lead
51. The 'identify the programme' process has started. The Production Manager
has been asked to share experiences from her previous job with the rest of
the programme board.
Which theme is being applied?
a. Justification b. Structure c. Knowledge d. Decisions
52. The 'identify the programme' process is in progress. The programme
manager is gathering information about the existing processes, staffing and
technology being used in PCSafe and TechStore.
Is this an appropriate application of the 'identify the programme' process, and
why?
a. Yes, because the target operating model should be fully developed as
early as possible
b. Yes, because the current capability needs to be understood when assessing programme viability
c. No, because the target operating model is approved in the 'design the
outcomes' process
d. No, because this level of detail is not appropriate in the 'identify the programme' process
53. The programme is in the 'design the outcomes' process. PCTech’s vision for
the Merger Programme is one of a cohesive, one‐team culture. A creative
use of buildings and space is known to promote equality among staff. As a
result, the BCM has specified that PCTech will have an open office
environment, high‐tech conference rooms and spaces to encourage
employee collaboration.
Is this an appropriate application of ‘develop the target operating model’
activity, and why?
a. Yes, because internal and external building specialists need to collaborate to define the future state infrastructure
b. Yes, because a more detailed picture of the future state of the culture,
technology and infrastructure is needed
c. No, because it should be clear why PCSafe and TechStore need to change for PCTech to thrive in the future
d. No, because the link between the new buildings and PCTech's strategic objectives should be shown on the benefits map
54. The results of the Culture Alignment Project will not be known until the end
of Tranche 2. This information is needed to define the cultural aspects of
the target operating model.
Which action should the programme manager take during the 'design the
outcomes' process to apply the 'design' theme?
a. Decide to delay defining the cultural aspects of the target operating model until the end of Tranche 2, when more will be known
b. Rely on the techniques and methods used during past mergers to
combine their cultures in the target operating model
c. Hold a workshop to understand how the cultural aspects should support other aspects of the target operating model
d. Request corporate culture specialists to complete the cultural aspects of
the target operating model using their specialist knowledge
55. The SRO has appointed an external expert to act as the programme’s
Cultural Advisor. This additional role will provide guidance and advice on
combining company cultures throughout the programme.
Is this an appropriate action for SRO in the ‘design the outcomes’ process, and
why?
a. Yes, because highly skilled specialists are needed to address the gap in corporate cultures throughout the merger
b. Yes, because the SRO is accountable for the successful delivery of the new company culture throughout the programme
c. No, because additional roles should be appointed to meet short‐term
needs rather than for the programme duration
d. No, because it is the programme manager who is responsible for
appointing people to meet special skill requirements
56. The Merger Programme is nearing the start of Tranche 1. In order to
validate the figures used to predict sales to larger companies, external
marketing consultants will be needed.
Which role is responsible for acquiring these experts?
a. Sponsoring group b. Senior responsible owner c. Programme manager
d. Business change manager
57. During the ‘plan progressive delivery’ process, it was decided that the new skills required for the ongoing IT support after the programme need to be
specified.
Which theme is being applied?
a. Organisation b. Design c. Decisions d. Knowledge
58. The programme is in the ‘plan progressive delivery’ process. The
programme team has been unable to produce detailed estimates for the
increased sales of existing and new products. This has led to delays. As a
result, the business case was presented to the sponsoring group with
assumptions about these sales figures. The sponsoring group has
authorized the start of Tranche 1, based on this business case, and has
asked for a forecast of the expected sales to be provided at the end of
Tranche 1.
Is this an appropriate application of the ‘plan progressive delivery’ process, and
why?
a. Yes, because the sponsoring group has accepted the benefits estimates,
timings, and risks
b. Yes, because the business case had already been approved in the ‘design the outcomes’ processes
c. No, because a complete understanding of the benefits is needed before
the first tranche starts
d. No, because the SRO should authorize the first tranche based on the business case
59. The Sales Channel and Processes Project is due to deliver the new sales processes within the next week. The programme manager and the BCM
have been reviewing the new and revised sales processes with the Sales
Manager to make sure that they meet the specified needs of the business
before they are implemented.
In which activity of the 'deliver the capabilities' process should this review be
carried out?
a. Manage the tranche
b. Validate the adequacy of programme plans
c. Prepare the business for change and plan transition d. Prepare for the next process
60. The programme is in the 'deliver the capabilities' process in Tranche 2. The
Culture Alignment Project is critical to the success of the programme.
Because of this, the programme manager has arranged for a series of
formal reviews by external culture change experts. Drafts of the proposed
culture change action plans and culture surveys will be reviewed at key
points during development, as well as before transition starts.
Which theme is being applied to the 'deliver the capabilities' process?
a. Assurance b. Design c. Justification d. Knowledge
61. Towards the end of Tranche 2, as part of the ‘deliver the capabilities’ process, the programme manager has arranged for a review of the new
functionality delivered by the Sales Channel and Processes Project. The
main purpose of the review is to assess how well the newly delivered sales
processes have met the needs of the business operation.
Which theme is being applied, and why?
a. Design, because this theme includes ensuring projects deliver outputs
which contribute to the future state target operating model
b. Design, because this theme includes analysing the gap between the
current and desired future states to define the target operating model
c. Structure, because this theme includes delivering projects and other
activities as outlined in the delivery plan to deliver benefits
d. Structure, because this theme includes establishing the appropriate pace
of delivery so that the organisation can cope with the rate of change
62. At the end of Tranche 3, the BCM and change team are ready to support
the remaining staff with their office moves into their changed offices.
Which action should the BCM take during the ‘enact the transition’ activity?
a. Resolve an unexpected increase in the number of staff deciding to work
from home
b. Collect feedback during transition to develop a new fast‐track office move procedure
c. Provide HR team members with an opportunity to get involved and
improve skills
d. Track the cost of disruption by the office moves against the savings
being made
63. As part of the delivery plan to transition Tranche 2, a team of super users
has been established to work with the BCM. They will help staff to
transition on to the new IT system.
How should the 'knowledge' theme be applied to the ‘embed the outcomes’
process?
a. The super users should keep daily journals tracking their personal journeys of managing the transition
b. The super users should develop a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for new recruits to PCTech
c. The BCM should instruct the super users when to conduct training,
create user guides, and run user workshops
d. The BCM should hold regular town hall meetings to allow users to ask
questions and learn the answers
64. The BCM held a workshop to identify lessons from the transition following
the divisional restructure in Tranche 1. These lessons have been captured in
the form of case studies in a lessons database. Staff doing the HR Work to
reduce staff numbers can now easily access, and apply, this knowledge.
Is this action appropriate for the 'embed the outcomes' process, and why?
a. Yes, because the BCM should ensure that business as usual is
maintained when staff numbers are reduced significantly
b. Yes, because experiences from Tranche 1 transition should be captured
and shared with those doing similar HR work
c. No, because communications with the HR staff should be planned for in
the stakeholder engagement and communications plan
d. No, because assurance activities should report on the culture and organisational learning reviews conducted by the BCM
65. At the end of Tranche 1, the PCTech CEO informed the programme
manager that two rival companies were considering a similar merger. If this
happens, it may negatively impact the benefits resulting from the Merger
Programme.
In which activity of the ‘evaluate new information’ process would this be
identified?
a. Analyse current state vs. target operating model
b. Review programme environment
c. Prepare for the next process d. Agree to proceed or close
66. At the end of Tranche 1, it was decided that the possibility of the staff rejecting the new terms and conditions was now greatly decreased.
Which theme is being applied to the ‘evaluate new information’ process?
a. Design b. Justification c. Knowledge d. Assurance
67. The programme is in the 'evaluate new information' process at the end of
Tranche 1. The Sales Manager reported that sales team originating from
PCSafe still did not understand the vision of the programme. The team were
also not committed to delivering the increased sales of new and existing
products. The programme manager included this information in the end‐of‐
tranche report.
Is this an appropriate application of the 'organization' theme to the ‘evaluate
new information’ process, and why?
a. Yes, because the sales team's failure to understand the vision and
benefits is likely to result from poor stakeholder engagement
b. Yes, because the sales team's failure to understand the vision is likely to
result from poor programme governance
c. No, because by applying the 'knowledge' theme, new lessons are
identified to be learned in the next tranche
d. No, because by applying the 'knowledge' theme, this information should
be shared in compliance with the information approach
68. The programme is now in the ‘close the programme’ process. There are
some activities that need to be completed before the programme can be
formally closed.
Which activity is the responsibility of the programme manager?
a. Ensure that all building layouts from the Estates/Buildings
Rationalisation Project are up‐to‐date and filed in the correct place
b. Confirm that the office layouts from the Estates/Buildings
Rationalization Project are implemented and meet business
requirements
c. Handover the risk that Office‐U‐Like might go into liquidation before the
end of the warranty period to the COO
d. Return all staff members who have been seconded into the programme
team back to their normal business operations duties
69. The Culture Alignment Project took longer than expected, meaning the
Sales Channel and Processes Project was also affected. This delayed the end
of the tranche. Therefore, the Estates/Buildings Rationalization Project
started late, which delayed the end of Tranche 3. The programme is now in
the ‘close the programme’ process, and the programme team is reviewing
the overall performance of the programme. The programme office is
updating the programme documentation to reflect the final position.
Which theme is MOST relevant to this activity?
a. Assurance b. Decisions c. Design d. Justification
70. During the ‘close the programme’ process, the programme office lead
discovers that the programme files do not contain the latest version of the
building layouts from the Estates/Buildings Rationalisation Project, even
though the work has been completed. These have been requested from the
project delivery team but have not yet been delivered. Instead of keeping
people waiting, the SRO has decided to disband the team and recommend
that the sponsoring group formally close the programme.
Is this an appropriate action for the SRO to take, and why?
a. Yes, because any remaining capability development activities can be
handed over to the business operation
b. Yes, because the rationalisation of the buildings is complete and can be
handed over to business operation
c. No, because the programme needs to be closed in a controlled manner,
to ensure a smooth handover
d. No, because complete and accurate information should be delivered
before closing the final tranche