The Problem
Information is the foundation upon which successful program management is built. To this end companies spend countless millions of dollars implementing a seemingly endless array of systems or application modules in support of their program management efforts. These may include resource plannning, project management, asset management, document management and maintenance support. At the time the decision was made to purchase and implement these systems they were no doubt considered to be the “silver bullet” that was finally going to address those elusive program management issues. Unfortunately, as many companies have discovered, that simply has not been the case. In fact, many companies have not even been able to bring their attempted implementations to fruition. All too often a system that was considered to be the final building block in their program management solution becomes yet another marginally performing asset that is accompanied by high maintenance and support costs.
The Symptoms
Several factors characterize the failure of conventional information systems to meet expectations. You have likely observed one or more of these in your own organization, they include:
The reasons for these underlying failures are many, but, VQS’ experience suggests that most enterprise applications simply do not possess the flexibility, administrative controls or database structure to effectively organize, collect and utilize business information in support of complex projects or programs. Most companies have the foundation business knowledge and processes in place to operate effectively. The missing elements are a rethinking of their basic philosophical and operational approach to managing business processes, and, an effective program management tool for implementing these changes.
The Solution
ProgramScope delivers the technology platform to support timely and effective collection of project status reporting at the field level. Its auditing and reporting capabilities allow program management leadership to quickly identify potential program issues as well as to identify implementation team members who may not be in compliance with performance expectations or reporting requirements. This allows management to take immediate and decisive corrective action to rectify non-compliance and to reinforce the behavior of participants who are meeting and exceeding expectations. This results in a work environment that becomes "self-healing" and allows large programs to be centrally administered by a small program management leadership team. Enforcing expected behavioral models also ensures that critical project information is both accurate and available in a timely manner. Our customers have successfully used ProgramScope in this fashion to manage major enterprise projects with small leadership teams and to simultaneously remove redundant layers of management from the process. The result is a significantly more effective management relationship between program leadership and field-based resources and that results in cost reduction and improved productivity at all levels.
