Successful Delivery Pocketbook

Leading and directing successful delivery

Contents

Introduction 4
The delivery landscape 6
Delivery framework 8
Key roles 9
The key issues 10

Delivery planning 11
Delivery planning steps 12
Information needed for delivery planning 20
Techniques to help with delivery planning 22

Implementing plans 35
Programme and project delivery 36
Decision points 38
Decisions in the wider corporate context 41
Managing change 42

Operational services 43
Managing operational services 44
Achieving outcomes/realising benefits 45
Managing service contracts 46

Corporate standards 47
What should be in place to enable you to deliver? 48
Processes and standards 49

Further information 50
 Introduction

The challenge to all public sector organisations is to find the most efficient
way to successfully deliver their services. Most organisations depend on
third parties to deliver their outcomes, often through complex networks of
delivery agents. To help their organisations to improve, senior managers
need to understand their leadership role in delivery, to strengthen the
linkage from policy through to the front line and to be more effective in
their delivery planning.
This Pocketbook explains senior managers’ roles in planning and managing
successful delivery. It also describes the steps to initiate effective
programmes and projects, together with an outline of the information
needed to support informed decision making. The Pocketbook includes
advice on achieving planned outcomes and benefits realisation after
implementing new ways of working. It uses proven best practice
techniques, taking account of lessons learned from OGC GatewayTM reviews
and other sources; it integrates with existing programme/project and risk
management guidance.

Who should read the Pocketbook?

If you are a senior manager, the Pocketbook helps you to understand the
key decisions you need to make about delivery and the governance
arrangements you should have in place
If your task is to advise or support senior managers, the Pocketbook
provides you with an outline of the activities and information that you
need to check.
 5

KEY TERMS
Policy: the translation of government’s political priorities and
principles into programmes and courses of action to deliver desired
changes [NAO definition]
Outcome: the result of implementing policy
Benefit: a measurable improvement
Project: particular way of managing activities to deliver specific
outputs over a specified period of time and within defined
resource constraints
Programme: management framework for co-ordinating related
projects to deliver outcomes and benefits
Portfolio management: selection and coordinated management of
an organisations programmes and projects
Centre of Excellence: the coordinating function in an organisation
that provides strategic oversite, scrutiny and challenge across its
portfolio of programmes and projects.
 The delivery landscape

In pursuit of providing better public services, more efficiently, the

Government is encouraging public sector organisations to consider more
collaboration in delivery. Many already have complex delivery chains - often
so complex that they should really be viewed as a ‘landscape’ rather than
an end-to-end chain. The figure opposite shows such a landscape, where
the central department (Department for Education and Skills) delivers its
services through networks of intermediaries to reach the front line. These
networks include:
other government departments and cross-cutting units
national delivery agents such as the Learning and Skills Council
local delivery, both at regional and local levels, such as Regional
Development Agencies and local employers organisations
the front line - those directly affected, such as school leavers, and those
who are stakeholders such as parents.
Central government departments may have no direct control over many of
their partners; they may decide to reduce central control to enable more
flexible responses at local levels. Effective service delivery through agents
and partners depends on clear co-ordination with simple lines of
communication and accountability.
The National Audit Office (NAO) identifies five key issues relating to delivery
of better public services:
complexity of the delivery chain - this must be managed well so that
funds reach the front line delivery agents
capacity of delivery organisations - adequate skills, equipment
and infrastructure
targeting of resources - maximising the potential to improve services
risk management - addressing the factors that could impede delivery and
providing contingency arrangements if risks materialise
monitoring and evaluating performance - monitoring progress against
targets and taking appropriate action where required.
 7

Source: NAO
 Delivery framework

The table below summarises the linkages between policy, delivery and the
front line. In practice, the linkages may be complex - especially in the
delivery chain, where multiple partners may be collaborating on cross-
cutting initiatives. Whatever the relationships between the parties, there
should be a clear linkage between the policy formulation, its intended
outcomes, delivery to the citizen and evaluation of outcomes.

Who What How

Central government Sets policy; determines
department* delivery plan within
Local authority current departmental
NHS body capability; manages and
Other public sector evaluates outcomes
organisations
Delivery chain Delivers services/
outcomes on behalf of
department; may
include department
itself, other departments,
its agencies, the
voluntary sector,
intermediaries and or
NDPBs, the wider public
sector and/or suppliers
Front line - interface Delivers services in a
to the citizen responsive, outcome
focused and
accountable way to
individuals and
communities, gathering
feedback on the
customer experience
and transmitting this to
others in the delivery
framework
Policy definition;
programme brief;
performance targets
and trajectories for
expected outcomes
Delivery programmes
and projects
Managing operational
services
Clear objectives and
defined outcomes
with appropriate key
performance
indicators,
performance
measures, baseline
measures, reporting
on progress towards
targets, acting on
front line feedback.

*Note: throughout the Pocketbook the term “department” is used to mean any public sector body
Key roles

Delivery roles might be at the management board level, taking a corporate

overview across the whole of the department or responsible for individual
programmes, projects or operational services. An individual might have
more than one role; they are not mutually exclusive. The table below
summarises the key roles; the exact titles of the roles will vary from
department to department.

Perspective Responsibility Who

Management board Setting strategic Management board
direction members; PSA targe
holders
Corporate overview Making investment Corporate investment
of current delivery decisions board members
portfolio
Managing commercial Heads of procurement
aspects or commercial
directors
Managing corporate Accounting Officer
governance Heads of Centres of
Excellence or
equivalent
coordinating groups
Individual Delivering outcomes Senior Responsible
programmes and through programmes Owner (SRO’s)
projects and projects Programme and
project board
members, Senior
Responsible Industry
Executives (SRIES)
Ongoing operational Continuing to deliver SROs
services and benefits outcomes through Their industry
realisation operational services equivalents-SRIEs
 The key issues

10

What are the things you must get right?

Experience has shown that there are common issues and areas of weakness
for every programme or project. If your organisation relies on third parties
for delivery, these are the key ‘things you must get right’:
Better informed investment decisions: a business case that helps the
organisation to determine exactly what it wants to achieve and how it
will do so, rather than just used to obtain funding; sound investment
decisions that are based on strategic fit, adequate options explored,
affordability, improving efficiency, achievability and appropriate
commercial arrangements that are value for money; informed by more
reliable estimates
More effective engagement with stakeholders: clear understanding of
their needs and the outcomes to be achieved, especially the views of
end-users; managing potential conflicts of interest; consulting and
communicating about key decisions
Better understanding of the supplier marketplace: early engagement
with the market to establish what they can and cannot do, backed up
by reliable assessments of individual suppliers; different ways of doing
business considered, including more use of smaller suppliers
Good understanding of the delivery chain: effective governance where
everyone understands their role, responsibilities and reporting lines
More effective management of risk: realistic assessments of risk and
uncertainty; appropriate balance of cost, benefit and risk; risks allocated
to those best placed to manage them and prompt action to deal with
risks if they emerge
Taking a ‘whole life’ view: understanding that delivery does not end
with implementation but continues into operational services; considering
how suppliers and performance will be managed; taking a long term
view, including likely change and how it should be managed
Active management of intended outcomes: effective monitoring of
progress and performance including the customer experience of
policy delivery taking prompt corrective action as required. Feedback
to policy-makers from the front line.
Delivery planning

11

Delivery planning steps

Information needed for delivery planning

Techniques to help with delivery planning

 Delivery planning steps

12

This section of the Pocketbook describes the steps you should take to
decide on the best way forward to achieve the outcome you want. For
convenience, the steps are described in a sequence; in practice, you will
revisit some of the steps as your available choices become clear. The steps
and their interdependencies are summarised overleaf. The Delivery Unit’s
guidance on delivery planning and trajectories provides detailed advice on
delivery planning.
Your objectives in delivery planning are to:
initiate a programme or project to achieve the outcomes you want; this
may be delivery of a policy requirement or implementation of a major
change to the business and might involve a number of organisations
collaborating to deliver the outcome
make sure that it can be delivered as part of the current and planned
commitments of all the organisations involved
find the most efficient delivery channel.
The figure below summarises what you need to consider for programme
and project initiation - what you want to achieve (model of causation), what
is likely to achieve that outcome (model of what works) and who will
deliver it on your behalf (map of delivery agents). You also need to consider
the context of your organisation’s current work and plans.
 13

1: What do you want to deliver and when?

Use the Prime minister’s Delivery Unit’s three stage model to inform your
thinking about what you want to achieve and gain a good understanding of
the status quo. Describe why the work needs to be done - for example, to
meet a policy imperative or respond to a driver for change. Describe the
required outcome in measurable, time-based terms - what you want to
change and how you will know that you have changed it. Identify high level
benefits, how they contribute to strategic objectives and how they will be
measured. Identify the causal factors - what needs to be in place for the
outcome to happen? Describe the actions/projects that need to be
undertaken; think about the interfaces with related programmes and
projects - which may or may not be under your control. Take account of
the checklist for effective policy making (see the box below).

CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE POLICY MAKING

Forward looking: outcomes clearly defined; long term view of the
likely effect and impact of the change
Outward looking: takes account of factors, nationally, in Europe and
internationally; reflects knowledge and lessons learned from the
experience of other countries
Innovative, flexible and creative: questioning traditional ways of
doing things; looks at new ways of working that other organisations
have adopted
Evidence-based: best available evidence (both reliable and
comprehensive) used; key stakeholders involved from an early stage
and throughout
Inclusive: key stakeholders involved directly; account taken of the
impact on all people affected by the change
Joined up: holistic view, looking beyond immediate boundaries to
government strategic objectives
Review: process for constant review to ensure that the change really
is dealing with issues it was designed to solve
Evaluate: process systematic evaluation of the effectiveness of the
change; success criteria defined
Learns lessons for the future.
Source: CMPS
14 Delivery planning overview
15
16

2: Resources: What capabilities and resources will

you need?
Base your estimates on what others have done, wherever possible. Look at
the current priorities with other programmes and projects in your
organisation to arrive at the optimum allocation of resources that you are
likely to be able to obtain. Establish the skills and expertise you need
(capability to do the job) and the numbers of people who will be required
over the lifetime of the project (capacity). Estimate the whole-life cost of the
change - people and physical resources (buildings, technology etc). Consider
whether your organisation has enough experience and skills to manage new
arrangements where they involve working with others. Determine the
budget/resource limits and where the costs will fall. Make an assessment of
the capabilities and capacity that is likely to be available to you, within your
organisation’s overall commitments and capability. Confirm this assessment
with your centre of excellence or equivalent coordinating group.

3: Evidence: where is the evidence that it could work?

Look at what others are doing. Compare your programme or project with
other ways of delivering a similar outcome - public/private sector and
internationally. Take account of factors that could affect success, such as
cultural differences. Identify why others have succeeded - or failed - and the
lessons learned from their experiences. Establish how much is new or
changing in terms of people and the way they work, services and physical
resources such as buildings and IT. Make a realistic assessment of the
likelihood of success, given your organisation’s existing commitments,
priorities, capability and capacity. Consider whether critical business
processes would be affected; consider breaking the work down into smaller
packages instead of doing everything at once. Revisit the priorities; in
addition, expect the unexpected - could you cope with unforeseen change?
Contingency plans need to be outlined at this stage. Seek advice from your
centre of excellence on the realism of the proposed way forward. Discuss
potential ways forward with suppliers, where appropriate.
 17

4: Action: Decide who will deliver the outcomes?

Establish who will be responsible for each aspect of delivery; check that
they have the capability and capacity to deliver what you require. Where
third parties are suppliers, engage early with the marketplace to check that
they are likely to be interested and offer good value for money. Decide how
risks will be allocated and managed. Where relevant, look at opportunities
to exploit technology to deliver the capability you need - perhaps providing
services direct to the citizen. Establish responsibility for project/service
delivery in the initial planning stages.

5: Leadership, project structures: How will you

work together?
Establish who will be responsible for making investment decisions (for
example, the management board, partners) and who will be the senior
individual responsible for the project/programme as its owner. Check that
the right person is given the role, in terms of their authority and
responsibilities in relation to the proposed change. Define high level
governance structures and responsibilities for all parties in the delivery chain;
consider how different responsibilities fit together and how everyone
involved will understand their role and responsibility. Define high level
arrangements for reporting downwards on policy and business requirements,
reporting upwards on progress, performance and risks and taking prompt
action as required. For joint programmes and projects, identify the
additional arrangements that need to be in place. Ensure that reporting lines
will be kept as short as possible. Clarify working arrangements at both
project and service delivery level. Confirm these arrangements with your
centre of excellence.

6: Capability: Who could deliver the required

outcomes?
Look at the whole delivery chain - your organisation, business partners,
suppliers and their suppliers, your advisers and front line organisations
interfacing with the citizen. Consider innovative ways of delivery, such as
collaborating with intermediaries where there are appropriate incentives.
18

7: Risk/dependencies: What are the options?

Consider a wide range of possibilities and the trade-offs associated with
each. Consider innovative ways of delivery, such as collaborating with the
private sector where there are appropriate incentives for them to do so.
Check for opportunities to collaborate with others and for overlaps with
programmes and projects already planned or under way; look at the
interfaces with other initiatives/organisations. If it is an innovative approach,
consider how to manage the risks and how well your organisation could
cope with the scale of change proposed by more radical options. Look at
the proposed way/s forward in the context of the business, its current
portfolio and priorities; check that they fit with the organisation’s strategy.
Establish that each of the proposed options are practical, realistic and viable;
consider how well each option meets stakeholder needs. Identify the
option with the most acceptable balance of cost, benefit and risk. Confirm
the solution that offers best value for money.

8: Communications: How will you share knowledge

and information with stakeholders?
Consider who your stakeholders are and what they want - the people who
will be involved in/affected by the change and/or influence the outcome.
In particular, think about the proposed way forward from the end-user’s
perspective - take a ‘customer focused’ view. Resolve any conflicting
demands. Think about how you will achieve stakeholder buy-in and
overcome any resistance to the change. Consider the perceptions that
might have to change and how behaviours could be changed. Determine
how you will communicate with stakeholders from the outset through to
delivery of operational services.
 19

9: Timetable, monitoring, incentives: How will you

monitor performance?
Revisit the key risks to performance and delivery. Risks relating to performance
could include lack of public interest leading to poor take-up of a service; risks
relating to performance could include over-ambitious timescales, inadequate
resources and lack of essential skills. Set milestones - that is, progress
checkpoints at specified intervals - against intermediate targets towards the
required outcome. These milestones will enable you to track progress against
plans and take action on any feedback relating to progress. Determine the
trajectory for progress - whether change is likely to be slow at first and then
speed up or whether there will be an immediate impact and then more
gradual change. Identify performance measures that are SMART (specific,
measurable, achievable, realistic and time-based); determine mechanisms for
reliable and regular performance information. Think about the incentives for
staff, partners and suppliers that will encourage a successful outcome. Check
that performance information can be collected efficiently and in good time
to take remedial action if required. Confirm performance reporting
arrangements with your centre of excellence.
 Information needed for delivery planning

20

Use the outlines below as a starting point for your own delivery planning
documentation. You will need this information for programme/
project initiation.

High level options

This establishes the scope and context of the proposed way forward; it
provides input to business case development.
Why the work needs to be done: business/policy need, required
outcomes; benefits; success criteria against targets
Scope of the programme/project: what is included/excluded; boundaries
Strategic context: contribution to strategy and fit with current priorities
Constraints such as timescales and resources
High level options appraisal and recommended option/s, balancing cost,
benefit and risk
Cost: a realistic estimate that is affordable
Required resources (capability and capacity), demonstrating that the way
forward is achievable
Sourcing: where the resources will come from (internally, partners,
suppliers etc).

Programme or project brief

This defines the programme’s/project’s objectives in outline and provides
input to detailed programme/project planning. Information for a
programme brief is shown below.
Background to the business need
Vision statement: a description of the capabilities the organisation seeks
to achieve from the programme, including performance measures,
service levels, costs; key targets
Main stakeholders, especially service users
Benefits expected and how measured
Estimate of overall effort required and who will do it
Outline of activities required
Key milestones, including critical stages
Relationship between success factors and key interfaces/dependencies
with other programmes.
 21

Stakeholder analysis and communication strategy

This manages the perceptions and expectations of all stakeholders.
Objective: what you want to achieve - describe the primary changes in
perception/behaviour required
Audiences: the stakeholders - state whether they are directly or indirectly
affected by the change and whether they are key players. Identify which
ones to inform, influence or control
Messages: what you need/want to tell them - set out key messages that
need to be covered, which will support the intended outcomes
Tactics: how you will reach the various stakeholders - list the means of
reaching the key groups, showing priorities, dates/milestones and who
will be responsible for each action (by organisation and role if not by
name). Categorise the activities as: consult; keep informed; make aware.

High level risk management approach

This identifies the major risks and who will manage them.
Principal risks and barriers, with evaluation of the nature and extent of
risks; how linked to other risks
How each risk will be managed - minimised, transferred etc
Who will be responsible for what (and why) across the whole delivery chain
How to deal with things going wrong: contingency plan.

High level performance management approach

This identifies responsibilities for assessing and taking action on benefits
realisation and performance, what to do and when.
Critical measures/indicators of success and benchmarks to measure against
How performance is to be reported and monitored to ensure appropriate
accountability across the delivery chain
Governance framework - responsibilities and reporting arrangements for
progress, performance, risk and issues that need to be resolved upwards;
reporting arrangements for requirements downwards
Arrangements for ensuring that the programme remains appropriate and
relevant and continues to deliver the intended outcomes cost-effectively
What to put in place to drive out further efficiency improvement.
 Techniques to help with delivery planning

22

The techniques on the following pages help you to identify the really
important issues and questions that you should ask before committing to
a definite way forward.

Business analysis
Business analysis helps you to gain a full understanding of the current and
future business of your organisation, the way in which its business has been
- and could be - conducted and of the imperatives and constraints acting
upon it for delivery planning. These are the key questions to ask.
What are the biggest constraints and how could they be removed?
How could technology be used to change the way we do things?
What tasks could we get our customers to do?
What tasks could we get our partners and suppliers to do?
What alternatives are there to the current delivery channel?

Benefits cascade
A benefits cascade shows the links between your highest level vision and
objectives down to proposed options for delivery. If links cannot be made,
reconsider what you are planning to do and why.
Vision
Aims (linked to strategic objectives such as PSA targets)
Business objectives
Strategic themes
Strategic benefits (‘shopping list’ of things to achieve)
Key programmes and projects
Project objectives
Options
Optimum mix of benefits, cost and risk.
Outcome relationship mapping (opposite) shows the dependencies
between intended outcomes - for example, more effective learning by
pupils cannot occur without improved teaching.
A high level benefits management strategy (page 24) helps you to think
through the practical steps to realise planned benefits.
 23

Outcome relationship mapping

24

Benefits management strategy

 25

High level business case

To determine the optimum balance of cost, benefit and risk for proposed
options, carry out a high level appraisal of the business case using the tables
below. Consider trade-offs between strategic fit/achievability etc on the
basis of your current priorities - e.g. speedy outcome may be more
important than cost. As more detailed information becomes available, you
should be especially rigorous in checking assumptions such as resource
estimates and stakeholder commitment.

Strategic fit Good fit Adequate fit Poor fit

How well does the
option support the
business strategy
and current
priorities? If it is a
poor fit, can we
change the scope?
Should we do it
at all?
Options Wide range Medium range Narrow range
Have we explored a
wide range? Have
we considered
innovative
approaches and/or
collaboration with
others? If not,
why not? Achievable
26

Achievability Easy Achievable Difficult

Can we achieve this
with our current
capability and
capacity? If not,
how can we acquire
the capability we
need and /or
change the scope?
Value for money Good Adequate Poor
Can we get value
for money from our
proposed sources
(e.g. partners,
suppliers)? If not,
can we make our
proposed option
attractive to a wider
market?
Affordability Very affordable Affordable Not affordable
Can we obtain the
budget required to
do this? if not, can
we reduce the
scope or deliver it
over a longer period
of time? can we
seek funding from
other sources?
 27

Business case challenge

In the figure below, use the achievability/worth-doing matrix to determine
whether you can achieve what you want to do for your programme/project
and whether it is worth doing. If it is difficult to achieve, consider how
difficulties could be overcome - more time, more resources etc. If it is not
worthwhile, consider whether changing the scope would make a significant
difference. Revisit the box in the wider context of current priorities using
evidence - based measures wherever possible to inform decisions.
Use these questions to determine how worthwhile the programme/project
is likely to be and how easy or difficult to achieve.

Is it worth doing?
What contribution to strategic objectives?
What benefits?
What added value?

Is it achievable?
What level of stakeholder buy-in?
How well are success factors understood?
What dependencies?
What level of risk?
How accurate and complete is the scope?
How adequate are resources and processes to deliver it?
28

High level risk management approach

You have to make choices about the risks you are willing to take to achieve
the required outcome. A high level risk management approach helps you to
think through the practical steps that need to be in place to manage risks
across the whole supply chain.
 29

Modular and incremental delivery

These approaches help you to reduce risk by breaking delivery down into
manageable components or ‘tranches’.
Pilots or prototypes, to test on a small scale whether the proposed option
would work in practice - but large enough to mimic the real thing
Modules - a distinct part of the programme/project that delivers some
benefit even if the other parts of the programme/project are not
complete (e.g. providing one component of the planned service and
adding others later)
Increments - delivery in phases rather than a ‘big bang’, allowing
evolutionary development and/or implementation of the overall change
(e.g. fully operational to one region rather than nationwide).

High level cost management approach

A high level cost management approach helps you to identify when and
where costs will fall and how costs could be displaced - savings or benefits
achieved in one area could add to costs elsewhere in the organisation or
delivery chain. This is especially significant where the organisation has to
maintain parallel channels for service delivery.
30
 31

Performance technique: Goal Question Metric (GQM)

This technique helps you to measure performance by:
defining goals associated with the programme, especially the critical
milestones towards the intended outcome
asking questions about progress towards those goals
defining the key metrics (that is, performance measures of how much
and when) to provide quantitative answers, to check actual progress
against assumptions.

(Source: Basili and Rombach)

Stakeholder segmentation
Stakeholders are the groups or individuals who are directly involved in the
programme/project and/or affected by the proposed change. Grouping
stakeholders into segments helps the programme to develop effective
strategies for dealing with the inevitable diversity of interests and influence.
Segmentation also helps to ensure the channels for communication reflect
the needs of the stakeholder groups and can be targeted appropriately.
32

Stakeholder map
A stakeholder map lists each of the stakeholder segments against their
particular interest area in the programme and can be used as input to the
planning and implementation of the necessary communications process for
a programme.

Stakeholder Key Impact Impact on Public Competitive

segments linkage on staff customers safety position
to
strategic
direction
Segment A

Segment B

Segment C

Segment D

Segment E

Segment F

Segment G
 33

Commercial aspects
Your objective is to make effective use of third parties, including suppliers.
Look at the main components of the delivery chain and check that your
organisation has adequate commercial knowledge to obtain good value for
money over the whole life of the investment. Use this checklist to help.

Requirements:
Clear and unambiguous; likely to be understood by the market?
Supported by stakeholders, including end-users?
Realistic?

Sourcing:
Opportunities to collaborate with others explored?
Opportunities to achieve economies of scale considered (e.g. using
government catalogues?)
Within the market’s capability to deliver?

Procurement route where applicable:

Complies with EU procurement rules?
Appropriate procedure e.g. Restricted, Negotiated?
Encourages integrated customer and supply chains as a delivery team?

Enabling effective supplier involvement:

Publishing requirements early to encourage good response?
Packaged appropriately to obtain the best responses from industry?

Supplier responses:
Capability and capacity of likely suppliers established?
Good understanding of their perspective e.g. business model and risks?
Good understanding of expected relationship and likelihood of success?
34

Contractual arrangement:
If one supplier, how will they manage their supply chain? If multiple
suppliers, how will you manage the supply chain?
If part of the requirement is uncertain, is there scope for ‘partitioning’
that part of the contract?

OGC’s Decision Map

The Decision Map helps senior managers and their advisers with the
strategic planning needed before projects begin and to determine an
appropriate procurement approach:
if there is confidence about the long-term goal, stability of the
organisation and business objectives, and the outcome responsibility
can be passed to a contractor, then there is scope for contracting for
an outcome, using a partnering approach where appropriate
where there is stability of requirement, but a relatively simple set of
objectives and processes, then contracting for outputs is the most
likely path
where there is low stability, frequent change, and new approaches are
developing rapidly, contracting for inputs is the better option.
The Decision Map can be found in OCG’s Successful Delivery Toolkit and
is supported by practical advice on contract clauses and schedules.

The IT Supplier Code of Best Practice

The aim of the Code is to facilitate a more mature acquisition and delivery
environment that provides:
for the customer - greater certainty of successful delivery and better
value from IT- enabled programmes
for the supplier - more successful and sustainable business for a fair rate
of return.
The Code describes the standards of best practice that all IT suppliers
working in the public sector should strive to achieve; its general principles
have wider applicability. It sets out the principles of best practice in a series
of ten commitments. These focus on the role of the supplier but recognise
that the Code will operate most effectively where its values are
complemented by the customer’s approach.
Implementing plans

35

Programme and project delivery

Decision points

Decisions in the wider corporate context

Managing change
 Programme and project delivery

36

Who is responsible?
Senior managers who are appointed to specific roles related to
programme/project delivery - responsible for providing appropriate
direction and timely management action, relevant to your role, focused on
achieving successful delivery and achievement of outcomes.
The figure below shows how the key programme roles are organised:
Sponsoring Group: responsible for making the investment decision. For
cross-cutting initiatives, it is important to clarify who holds the budget,
who pays for what and when
SRO: personally responsible for the success of a programme. If it is a
cross-cutting initiative, there should be a single SRO with overall
responsibility for a successful outcome, supported by representatives
from each of the collaborating organisations. Where private sector
partners/suppliers are involved, there should be a senior manager with an
equivalent role - the Senior Responsible Industry Executive (SRIE)
programme board members - responsible for decision-making support
to the SRO - as the programme board’s executive
a stakeholder group representing their interests
business change manager(s): responsible for transition and embedding of
change (programmes only). For cross-cutting initiatives, there should be
one for each organisation involved.
 37

The figure below shows how the key project roles are organised:
SRO: personally responsible for the success of a project
where private sector partners/suppliers are involved, there should be
an SRIE
project board members - responsible for decision-making support to
the SRO as the project board’s executive
a stakeholder group representing the interests of end-users and
other stakeholders
a project assurance team to check that the required quality is
being achieved
delivery chain(s): external to the project organisation. Where multiple
agencies are involved, clear reporting lines must be defined for each.

There may also be a requirement for:

professional advisers to the SRO, with specialist expertise
a project director (or equivalent title) representing the interests of the
business on behalf of the SRO and providing the day-to-day interface to
the project manager (essential for most construction projects).
 Decision points

38

Decisions about individual programmes and projects

The figure opposite summarises the wider context of programme and
project delivery. It shows how the policy cycle is supported by OGC’s
GatewayTM Review process, which provides independent reviews at key
decision points in the delivery of programmes and projects to check that
they are ready to continue to the next stage.
Note that GatewayTM reviews are not intended to challenge or confirm
whether this is the right project (doing the right thing) - this is a decision
that can only be made by the business. They are intended to check that the
project is likely to succeed (doing things right) in terms of management of
risk, achievability against planned milestones and so on.

GatewayTM Review 0 is a repeatable review for programmes only. It helps

you to make a strategic assessment of the programme:
confirming or revisiting the need for the programme
checking that it is likely to achieve its intended outcomes.

GatewayTM Review 1 investigates the business justification for the project.

It helps you to check that:
appropriate options have been identified and appraised
affordability, achievability and value for money are established.

GatewayTM Review 2 examines the procurement strategy (or equivalent

sourcing strategy with existing delivery agents, where appropriate). It helps
you to check that:
an appropriate procurement strategy has been developed
requirements have been specified in a way that will encourage a good
response from the market.
Policy, programmes and projects 39
40

GatewayTM Review 3 confirms the investment decision. It helps you to

check that:
the recommended contract decision is likely to deliver what is required
on time, within budget and achieve value for money
there are sound plans for implementation, risk and change.

GatewayTM Review 4 investigates readiness for service. It helps you to

check that:
plans for managing implementation and operation are realistic
the plans are shared and understood by the entire delivery chain.

CHECKLIST: READINESS FOR A NEW SERVICE

Successful implementation requires that:
the organisation is ready
staff are ready
the public are ready
providers are ready
contract management is in place
service management is in place
benefits management is in place
performance measurement is in place
changes ahead have been thought about.

GatewayTM Review 5 is repeated over the life of the investment in delivery

to evaluate the ongoing benefits achieved. It helps you to check that:
the expected benefits are being delivered and opportunities to achieve
more benefits are being taken up
the relationship with suppliers and the potential to improve are being
actively managed.

Essential reading/reference
GatewayTM checklist for managers
Decisions in the wider corporate context

41

New programmes will be delivered in a complex multi project environment

where there will be inevitable conflicts and interactions - such as conflicting
priorities for scarce resources and interdependencies between projects.
There must be continuous alignment of progress (projects and
programmes) with the business direction.
The key question is: Can everything be done? Your departmental centre of
excellence or equivalent coordinating function will be responsible for
advising senior management on the portfolio, its progress against plans and
any problems with conflicting priorities.
You may have to make hard choices about programmes, projects and
resources in the light of changing strategic direction and changing priorities:
programmes and projects - continue, complete, defer, stop/scrap
resources - deploy or redeploy; acquire; develop.
At each decision point you should revisit programmes and projects in the
context of the portfolio - for example: Has the strategy changed? Are
priorities different? Are resources no longer available? What should be done
if a project is out of control? What would be the impact of redeploying
resources to support failing projects?
Your management board will need to track the portfolio and progress
against key outcomes, taking prompt corrective action when required. Your
centre of excellence should provide you with the information you need; you
will want to check monthly on the mission critical projects. You will also
want to be kept informed about the organisation’s total exposure to risk.
 Managing change

42

There are five main phases in a change initiative.

Identifying the change is about determining whether it is a forced change or
something that the organisation wants to do, then identifying the main
considerations. These include thinking about why the change is needed,
what stakeholders want, the scale of the change and the main issues that
could affect success.
Initiating the change is about agreeing the need for change and setting up
the arrangements for delivering the change.
Planning the change involves translating high level requirements into
detailed action plans. It starts by exploring the options for achieving the
change, then prioritising the projects to deliver the change and detailed
programme planning.
Implementing the change is carried out in two steps:
developing new ways of working
managing the transition to those new ways of working.
Deploying and reviewing the change is about making sure that change
‘sticks’ with the new operational arrangements, measuring success and
looking to the future, because change always leads to further change.
The cultural aspects are the most important aspect of a change initiative
and can make the difference between success and failure. In an IT-enabled
change such as implementing customer relationship management systems,
only 20% of the project effort relates to the technology. 80% of the effort
is concerned with preparing people for new ways of working - staff,
stakeholders and end-users. Good communications are vital to the success
of every change initiative.
Operational services

43

Managing operational services

Achieving outcomes/realising benefits

Managing service contracts

 Managing operational services

44

Key questions after transition to new ways of working

After a transition stage in which your organisation implements new ways of
working (such as developing new services to the citizen or improving
current processes) you will need to ensure that operational services are
running smoothly and improving over time. The workbook for OGC’s
GatewayTM Review 5: Benefits Evaluation covers the detailed questions that
should be asked over the life of the services. The main questions are
summarised below.
Was the business case justification for the project at OGC GatewayTM
Review 3 realistic and are the expected benefits actually being delivered?
Have we done a post-implementation review or equivalent review of
business benefits?
Have we got enough resources to manage the service/contract
successfully and with continuity of key personnel?
If we have made agreed changes, can we be sure that they do not
compromise the original procurement?
Is there still a business need for this service/contract? If circumstances
have changed, are the service delivery and contract adapting to the
new situation?
Are we actively seeking to improve efficiency, value for money and
performance?
Are we ready for the future, with plans for future service provision?
Have we plans to continue to measure the efficiency of service provision
and is there a suitable benchmark to test against?
Are the exit strategy and arrangements for recompetition still
appropriate?
Are we actively learning from experience and setting maturity targets?
Achieving outcomes/realising benefits

45

As part of your delivery planning you will have determined the critical
measures and indicators of success. You should also have arrangements for
ensuring that the programme remains appropriate and relevant and
continues to deliver the intended outcomes cost-effectively. There should
be progress checkpoints at specified intervals against intermediate targets
towards the required outcome. For example, in Year 1 you expect 10% of
citizens to use an e-enabled service; by Year 2 there should be 25% of
citizens using the service and so on.
At pre-defined decision points throughout the life of the operational service
(such as before a scheduled GatewayTM Review 0) you should be checking that:
the planned outcomes remain achievable and not changed in scope,
relationship or value
the principal stakeholders remain committed and confident that
outcomes will be achieved when expected
the plan for achieving outcomes is being actively managed, monitoring
delivery against agreed performance measures/key performance
indicators and any problems resolved promptly.
Where key benefits have been identified, such as more effective service
delivery, increased efficiency or cost savings, these should be actively
managed in the same way. You must be able to define exactly what a
benefit will deliver in a way that can be measured, within realistic
timescales, costs and risks. Each benefit must be linked to planned
outcomes and each benefit must be assigned to an owner who is
accountable for its realisation. For major programmes, there will be a
business change manager coordinating benefits realisation on behalf of the
business areas owning the benefits.
 Managing service contracts

46

Managing service contracts

If you are the owner of an operational service, you will want to ensure that
the right processes are in place over the life of your contracts. Experience
has shown that the main causes of failure are a contract that has not been
thought through, weak management of the contract after award and failure
to cope with change. The checklist below should help you to check that
operational services will run smoothly.

Developing the contract or contracts

Clear ownership of requirements and outcomes from the service
Senior management and other key stakeholders fully committed
Thorough attention to risk management by all involved in delivery
Shared understanding across the delivery chain of how the service will
be provided
Appropriate baseline measures for performance, efficiency, quality
and budgets.

Managing the contract

Adequate skills and resources provided by all parties to the contract -
throughout the life of the contract
Continual checking and revisiting of key assumptions
Context, complexities and interdependencies of contract well
understood by everyone involved
Excellent governance arrangements and relationship management.

Looking to the future

Formal change management procedures that everyone follows
Appropriate incentives for continuous improvement
Continue assessment of the efficiency of the service provision
Changes ahead considered and planned for, linked to ongoing
business strategy
Future supplier arrangements considered, such as exit strategy
and recompetition.
Corporate standards

47

What should be in place to enable you to deliver?

Processes and standards

 What should be in place to enable
you to deliver?
48

You must have:

a business strategy that has a clear direction set out, which is owned by
all key stakeholders and informs all investment in business change; it
should be underpinned by a corporate procurement strategy that sets
the context for commercial arrangements with suppliers
senior management commitment to delivery plans
governance arrangements that clearly establish reporting lines, roles and
responsibilities for delivery within the department and with others in the
delivery chain (e.g. partners and suppliers)
a consistent set of processes for managing delivery (see below)
processes in place for learning from experience and improving the
department’s ability to deliver.

Who is responsible for organisational standards?

Depending on your organisation’s internal structure, responsibility for
delivery will be taken by the Accounting Officer; Head of Centre of
Excellence or equivalent; risk implementation manager or equivalent senior
roles. They are responsible for putting a governance framework for delivery
in place (so that there can be appropriate delegation to the front line
delivery agents and clear reporting lines); ensuring that there are the people,
processes, funding and organisational structures required for successful
delivery and a commitment to continuous improvement.
They should make everyone who needs to know aware of the
consequences if good practice is not in place:
programmes and projects will not meet business need in terms of doing
the right thing
the department will be vulnerable to changing business priorities
it may not be able to deliver because of inadequate capability/capacity
risks will not be managed
there will be inconsistent approaches to delivery, so the department will
be unable to learn from experience.
Processes and standards

49

You need to have effective processes and standards for:

strategy formulation and management: a clear statement of strategic
direction to which every programme and project contributes plus
feedback to policy makers
business case development: structured thinking and decision-making to
justify investment against strategic fit, achievability, affordability, a wide
range of options and commercial aspects
requirements development: a thorough investigation of the business
need, including the needs of key stakeholders and end-users, translated
into a specification that can be met by suppliers
programme management: managing stakeholder needs and the delivery
of a co-ordinate set of projects, which ensures that the right governance
arrangements are in place and critical relationships between projects are
managed
project management: providing a framework for decision making and
reporting on project progress to ensure that the project meets the
specification, is on time and within budget
procurement: enables acquisition within EU procurement rules
contract and supplier management: provides the foundation for
operational service delivery and relationships with suppliers
risk management: enables all the major risks to be identified and
managed
benefits management: provides a framework for realising the benefits on
which the investment was justified plus feedback
performance management: sets targets for performance and continuous
improvement.

IT service provision
OGC’s IT Infrastructure Library® (ITIL®) is an important standard for IT
service provision, which gives the customers of IT services confidence that
their service providers comply with internationally adopted best practice.
 Further information

50

The principles outlined in this Pocketbook are explained in more detail in

OGC’s Successful Delivery Toolkit (available on the OGC website at
www.ogc.gov.uk/sdtoolkit).
For more information about how OGC is working with the public sector to
help improve efficiency, gain better value for money from commercial
activities and deliver improved success from their programs and projects,
visit the website at www.ogc.gov.uk
The central organisations involved in developing the Pocketbook include:
the National School of Government (formerly Centre for Management
and Policy Studies - CMPS) www.nationalschool.gov.uk
HM Treasury: www.hm-treasury.gov.uk
National Audit Office: www.nao.gov.uk
e-Government Unit: www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/e-government
Office of Government Commerce: www.ogc.gov.uk
Office of Public Services Reform: www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/opsr
The Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit: www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/pmdu
In addition, a number of departments and other public sector organisations
have contributed their ideas and good practice. Their contribution is
acknowledged with thanks.
Office of Government Commerce
Rosebery Court
St Andrews Business Park
Norwich NR7 0HS
OGC Service Desk: 0845 000 4999
Email: ServiceDesk@ogc.gsi.gov.uk
 CP0043/01/06

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