Presentation by beebejan valiyakath

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Mantra for Process Excellence Beebejan VALIYAKATH MANAGER- SEPG IBM

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Start It Right - A Focused Approach on Project Launch

Theme

Mantra for Process Excellence

Keywords

Actuate, Delivery Excellence, Project Manager

Abstract

This is the success story of ACTUATE- the Project Launch initiative started in IBM India Global

Business Services delivery center in 2010 and now being institutionalized across other Delivery

Centers world wide.

Actuate started with the concept that “A good start is half the job done”. Through this program,

the Project mangers starting new projects can leverage on a facilitated process to assure

themselves that the project has been started right. Actuate ensures that there is a good

understanding of the project goals/ objectives and contractual commitments. It also focuses on

early risk identification, stakeholder identification and governance setup, establishing the Project

Management System including process, methods and tools and team orientation. The result is

an effective and well-coordinated project startup. Project Managers are able to devote time in

understanding the client and the project commitments, without losing sight of startup activities.

Actuate is done in a 45 days time frame so that start up activities are completed before the

project manager gets busy with delivery activities. The activities within this phase are aligned to

10 key focus areas and status of these keys is tracked on a regular basis with all key

stakeholders. IBM India has been able to execute this program on an average of approximately

200 projects every year. Some of the quantitative benefits observed due to this program are in

terms of reduction in surprises to management to almost zero, improved risk assessment rating,

and faster completion of start up phase.

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Table of Contents

1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 4

2 Trigger to this change ................................................................................................................. 4

3 Actuate Program.......................................................................................................................... 4

3.1 Project Scope ....................................................................................................................... 6

3.2 PM Match .............................................................................................................................. 7

3.3 Risk Assessment .................................................................................................................. 7

3.4 Unit of Management ............................................................................................................. 7

3.5 Governance .......................................................................................................................... 7

3.6 Process ................................................................................................................................. 8

3.7 Tools ..................................................................................................................................... 8

3.8 Measurements & Metrics ...................................................................................................... 9

3.9 Integrated Review Calendar ................................................................................................. 9

3.10 Project Team Orientation ...................................................................................................... 9

4 Critical Success Factors and Key Performance Indicators .................................................. 10

5 Benefits achieved ...................................................................................................................... 10

6 Lessons Learnt and Corrective Actions ................................................................................. 12

7 Way Forward .............................................................................................................................. 13

8 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 13

9 References ................................................................................................................................. 14

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1 Introduction

This paper provides an overview of Actuate process, its implementation in IBM and the results

achieved due to its deployment.

2 Trigger to this change

Delivery Excellence Team conducts root cause analysis every year to analyze the reasons for project

delivery issues and plan for corrective and preventive actions. The RCA conducted in the beginning

of 2010 revealed that around 30% of the issues identified in troubled projects are due to project start

up challenges. Factors leading to this are-

1. Project managers (PMs) do not get a complete understanding of the contractual

requirements; hence they go with certain assumptions which may turn into risks later

2. Due to lack of support, Project manager ends up doing all start up activities and miss out on

key start up activities like strong risk planning and assessment

3. PMs assign lower priority to project management set up and process set up due to delivery

and start up pressure. This leads to delay in process set up and eventually result in quality

issues during the project delivery time frame

These root causes triggered the need to strengthen the project start phase. Actuate program was

initiated in late 2010 with the objective of providing stronger support to PMs in performing project start

/ launch activities.

3 Actuate Program A good project startup ensures every nuance of the commitment to client is well understood and

prepared for. This is one of the key mottos of Actuate. Actuate is the term used by Global Business

Services, Global Delivery India centre for Project Launch program.

Project Actuate is a process

that establishes necessary support, relationships, agreements, and procedures to

successfully manage the execution of the contract

that provides an understanding of the project’s goals/objectives, the risks, and any delivery

constraints learned during the sales cycle

that identifies the Project Management Work Products required to start a new project

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that includes activities to create a collection of plans, procedures and records that direct all

project team activities and provide the current state and history of the project

Objectives of Actuate are:

a. Prevent troubled projects

Understand the current root causes for troubled projects in solution delivery

Apply lessons learned from other projects through the quick start agenda, based on the

specific needs of the project

b. Implement an appropriate Project Management System

Project Managers may not have enough time at project start-up to establish a strong Project

Management System

Project Managers may not have the experience, knowledge, or skills to set-up a full set of

management systems and best practices

Actuate Manager supports Project manger in establishing Project management system

c. Comply with IBM processes

The Project Manager may not know where to find the current processes either because the

processes have undergone revisions or because the PM is new to the role/ organization

Actuate Manager takes support from Project Quality Analyst (PQA) and technical SMEs in

setting up project defined process

d. Complete the handover from Solution Design to Solution Delivery

Confirm that the solution and project value proposition have been communicated to the

delivery team

Confirm that the solution has been properly estimated and staffed

Close the Loop from pre-sales

Quality/ Delivery excellence team supports Actuate phase by assigning an Actuate Manager to each

new project. The Actuate Manager facilitates various activities involved in this phase and supports the

PM in completing project management and process set up on time. Actuate manager is disengaged

from the project as soon as this phase is formally closed.

The various activities involved in Actuate phase are grouped under 10 focus areas. Figure1 gives the

names of these focus areas and objectives addressed by them.

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Figure 1: Actuate Focus Areas & Objectives

3.1 Project Scope This focus area ensures that all key stakeholders of the project have clearly understood the scope of

the project. A walk through of the contract documents is done by the members who were involved in

the solution and proposal phases of sales cycle. This helps the PM and other participants clarify

points like-

In scope and out of scope elements

Roles and responsibilities

Client expectations (implicit and explicit)

Infrastructure and staffing requirements

Dependencies and Assumptions

Risks identified during sales cycle

Service Level Agreements and Penalty

Compliance and regulatory requirements

PM is able to verify if there are any gaps between the contract and current situation, and if yes, it

gives him an opportunity to raise a change request to close these gaps.

Project Scope

PM Match

Risk Assessment

Governance

Process

Tools

Measurements & Metrics

Integrated Review Calendar

Project Team Orientation

Bring clarity to the PM on value proposition for the customer & contractual commitment

Ensure right Project Manager for the project

Identify and communicate on risks and issues for the project during start-up

Plan governance for the project with the stake holders from Customer, Geography and GDC at right level

Define right process/methods for the project

Plan the tools (Technical and Process) for the project

Define measures and metrics for the project

Publish Review Calendar for the project

Ensuring the project team inducted into the project

Focus Areas What do we do as part of this focus item

Unit of Management Plan the right number of sub projects

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3.2 PM Match The objective of this focus area is to ensure that the project gets the right PM. IBM, being a leader in

project management practices, has a very robust mechanism to rate the project management

maturity of each PM. When a new project is initiated, the project complexity is defined based on its

business value contribution, size, potential risks and other governing factors. The senior managers

are responsible to ensure that the right PM is assigned to each project. Actuate manager verifies the

project complexity and PM maturity and reports if the PM match is correct. If there is any gap in PM

assignment, the program manager is responsible to draw an action plan to cover the risks associated

with this gap.

3.3 Risk Assessment This focus area ensures the following

a. a detailed risk assessment is conducted and all risks are shared with the stakeholders

b. risk management planning is completed

c. escalation mechanism is finalized

d. required tool support is sought and implemented for risk tracking

Project scope discussions, initial risk reports from sales cycle and project governance meetings serve

as the sources for gathering risks. Presence of independent risk manager during project scope

discussion is mandated to aid risk assessment activity.

3.4 Unit of Management A Unit of Management (UOM) is an optimal collection of work components that can be independently

tracked, managed and delivered as a unit. Project PQA facilitates the UOM discussion with Project

manager and finalize the number of UOMs required under the project. This brings clarity in project

governance, metrics submission, audit scheduling, project tracking etc. Actuate manager verifies if

this activity is performed and UOMs are defined for the project.

3.5 Governance Following activities are ensured as part of this focus area-

a. Identify the stakeholders from delivery organization and customer organization

b. Understand the stakeholders expectations from the project

c. Agree on the various meetings required, their objective, agenda and frequency

d. Define Project Tracking and Status Reporting mechanism

e. Define and document the governance model which is concurred by delivery and customer

organization representatives

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Figure 2 provides the sample governance model which is referred by PMs. The finalized

governance structure and governance plan is documented in the Communication plan.

Figure 2: Sample Governance Model

3.6 Process Project management plans and project defined process are established as part of this focus area.

Project manager takes the support from technical leads and subject matter experts in fulfilling this.

Key activities performed are -

Perform a deep dive to understand the project requirements and customer specific process

and tools

Tailor organizational standard delivery process to come up with project specific process

Define work flow and work break down structure

Identify work products to be produced for the project

Prepare and publish project plans

3.7 Tools This focus area ensures the following activities are performed. This focus area goes hand in hand

with Process area. Many decisions taken during process tailoring

Identify the tools used in the customer environment

Identify if any tools have been mentioned as part of Contract

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Perform DAR on tools selection based on a. customer requirements and constraints b.

Project lifecycle and phases

Define Process Tools and Technical Tools for the project

Map the tools with the process, workflow and measurements

Plan for the deployment of the tools for the project team

3.8 Measurements & Metrics Objective of this focus area is to ensure that the project has a well defined measurement system. To

achieve this, Project manager verifies the contract to understand the factors influencing Client

business benefits. This helps him to define quality control activities, quality assurance checkpoints

and project metrics. Where required, PM takes support from Metrics SME of Delivery Excellence

team in finalizing metrics and implementing the measurement system. Metrics SME reviews the

project type and suggests mandatory organization metrics and other optional metrics required for the

project, the process and templates to be used to measure, track and report metrics. Actuate

manager facilitates these discussions with Metrics SME.

3.9 Integrated Review Calendar Project Quality Analyst (PQA) verifies the project type, size and project milestones to decide the

reviews that are required. She takes inputs from Risk management team, and Product SME and

develops the Integrated Review Calendar (IRC) for the project. IRC typically includes Project health

review, Process compliance review and Product / SME reviews. Large or long duration projects are

also subjected to Internal Quality Audits that are done at organizational level. PQA shares IRC to

Delivery team and plans the reviews as part of the project schedule.

3.10 Project Team Orientation Project manager prepares Project Induction Material and schedules and induction session with the

team. Induction material includes following topics

Customer Overview

Project Objective

Project Scope

Project structure, Roles and Responsibilities

Schedule and Milestones

Process to be followed

Tools used

Measures & Metrics, Goals for the team

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4 Critical Success Factors and Key Performance Indicators

There are many factors that led to the success of Actuate program. Most predominant factors are-

Senior management support for deployment

Introduction of a focused team to support Actuate

Constant monitoring of Actuate performance

Process and tool support for easier deployment of this initiative

Actuate performance is monitored using following measures

Time taken to initiate Actuate w.r.t to project start or project registration date

Actuate age (Time taken to complete all Actuate activities)

Time taken to complete process set up

Targets are defined at project level and organization level.

5 Benefits achieved Following benefits were realized by all stakeholders.

As seen by Delivery team:

Reduction in surprises in delivery phase as a result of improved risk identification during

Actuate phase

Actuate seen as a catalyst for better Client – IBM integration by all stakeholders

Effectiveness of solution handover from Solution Manager to PM improved many folds

Better understanding of the contractual commitments of IBM with Customer at the beginning

of the project

Responsibilities of IBM entities and customer to meet the contractual commitments discussed

and agreed at the project start up phase itself

Lesser gaps in PM assignment

As seen by Delivery Excellence team:

Faster completion of Project Start up activities which includes process set up and

establishing project management plans

Risk assessment during Actuate helps DE team to raise early warning triggers to senior

management based on health concerns and project risks

Actuate was projected as one of the major improvement initiatives in 2013 CMMI appraisal

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How it tallies quantitatively:

Some of the quantitative benefits in 2013 are:-

100% Coverage of Managed services projects - Actuate Completed for 328 projects in 2013

Average age improved from 64 Days in Q1 to 48 Days by end of 2013

% Projects with Actuate Completion within 45 days improved from 29% in Q1 to 65% by end

of 2013

% Projects with Actuate completion within 60 days improved from 65% in Q1 to 79% by end

of 2013

No. of risks that were missed in initial risk assessment and later identified / raised as issues is

reduced close to zero (very negligible)

Figure 3 provides the Actuate trend in 2013. There is a steady reduction in Actuate duration observed

in 2013.

Figure 3: Actuate/ Launch agility in 2013

Figure 4 gives a yearly trend of Actuate coverage and completion rate. It can be seen that the

coverage has increased steadily in last 3 years. The duration taken for completing Actuate activities

(also called Actuate age) have reduced every year, which assures that efficiency of Actuate program

has also improved year on year.

Launch Agility

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20

40

60

Jan-13

Feb-13

Mar-13

Apr-13

May-13

Jun-13Jul-1

3

Aug-13

Sep-13

Oct-13

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Actuate IN Actuate OUT

Active Projects Average Age

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Yearly Actuate Trend

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

2011 2012 2013

Actuate age Project count

Figure 4: Actuate Age and Coverage Trend

6 Lessons Learnt and Corrective Actions

Like any other initiatives, Actuate program also faces many challenges during implementation.

Actuate team performs detailed analysis every year to list out the lessons learnt and challenges faced

in each of the focus areas. A detailed action plan is drawn out to address them and this is presented

to senior management to obtain their support for further improvement.

Figure 5 provides the lessons learnt and actions performed to address them.

No. Challenges faced/ Lessons learnt Corrective / Mitigation actions

1 Obtaining input documents is vital.

Delay in getting contract and other

solution documents delays Actuate

initiation

Senior management used all available forums to

emphasize the importance and benefits of Actuate

to PM community and Solutioning team

2 Non- availability of key stakeholders

(external to project) who are

responsible for providing a contract/

solution walk through delays scope

discussion, which is significant

milestone during Actuate

PMs and DE team are advised to use the support

and influence of Account management and Senior

management team to reach out to these key

stakeholders. Alternatively, Account team who are

involved in Sales / Solution cycle are also

approached to provide solution/ contract walk

through to project team

3 Actuate is not always a silver bullet.

Small and short projects find detailed

Actuate phase as an overhead due to

partial allocation of PM and delivery

Process simplification initiative was launched by

DE team so that small and short projects spend

less effort in process set up and process execution.

This initiative takes care of simplification of Actuate

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pressure phase also.

4 Project manager do not complete the

plans on time, delaying overall Actuate

completion. Reasons for this delay are

delivery pressure, lack of

process/template awareness,

documentation seen as overhead etc.

Three pronged approach was taken for this-

1. Constant follow up by DE team and timely

escalation to Sr. Management

2. Support to PM by providing project plan

samples for various project types

3. Simplification of project plan templates to

reduce documentation effort

Figure 5: Actuate Lessons Learnt

7 Way Forward Success of Actuate in IBM India is already recognized by senior management and CMMI appraisers.

This has encouraged other Delivery Centers to adopt Actuate to improve launch effectiveness. IBM

Philippines Delivery Center has deployed Actuate since 2013 and found it to be very effective. Other

delivery centers of IBM Global Business Services (GBS) are evaluating the feasibility of Actuate

implementation in their projects and planning to pilot it in their centers from mid 2014 onwards.

Actuate process is currently being improvised to include the dynamics of other delivery centers and

support institutionalization across all delivery centers.

Another improvement that is planned in the coming days is the expansion of Actuate scope to cover

projects that are categorized as Staff Augmentation where the Delivery Centre directly does not own

the deliverables. Actuate is tailored to suit the needs of these projects and is being piloted since

January, 2014. The pilot feed back that were received so far have been positive.

8 Conclusion Actuate is a structured project launch program that ensures a good start to the project by guiding the

Project Manager in setting up the Project Management System to deliver contractual deliverables. PM

is supported in conducting a detailed risk assessment during Actuate phase and raise early warning

triggers if there is support needed from senior management. This helps reduce surprises in projects

during execution phase. Actuate program is planned and tracked using 10 focus areas. Actuate

performance is measured quantitatively and analyzed on a periodic basis to support continuous

improvement.

Actuate program is recognized as one of the key process improvements by senior management,

CMMI appraisers and other IBM delivery centers.

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9 References

1. Actuate Procedure (IBM India internally published)

2. Actuate performance data published in IBM India DE wiki