Helping you to optimise

The Challenge

To compete, this service organization had decided to implement a new ERP system.

The customer had to deal with various challenges:

• Migrate a very complex legacy environment to the new ERP
• Its People: split the organization into smaller organizations
• Implement the new ERP over the new organizations in time and within budget

The customer had no experience with the implementation of such major programs and projects.
By implementing a new ERP system to integrate planning, accounting, inventory and production in a central system, the customer wants to better control costs, improve productivity and drive business processes.

Besides the use of the ERP software, it primarily means also a new way of working together for thousands of employees and a chance to realize a better service for their customers.

Our solution

More and more changes are addressed through projects. Yet we do not always feel that we achieve what we have in mind. A project may have a positive contribution, but in connection with other projects counter-productive.

For management, it is necessary to control the consistency between the projects. We therefore make use of program management.

An important difference between program and project management is the focus on the realization of the objectives. Within Program Management, specific processes and principles are defined to reach this goal.

Trilations delivered Program Management related to HR projects.

The benefits

In summary, Program Management is particularly suitable for implementing change in complex situations with a large impact on the existing organization.

In this case, Trilations used a pragmatic approach to managing programs, helping organizations to realize business strategies and business objectives.

In summary, Program Management is particularly suitable for implementing change in complex situations with a large impact on the existing organization.

In this case, Trilations used a pragmatic approach to managing programs, helping organizations to realize business strategies and business objectives:

• Gain insight into the Program Management lifecycle
• Create awareness about the different factors leading to a successful programme

Learn to apply important techniques (e.g. planning)

The Challenge

The energy market was deregulated, which created internal competition for electricity and gas.
Because of the deregulation, new organizations and processes needed to be implemented.
For a grid operator, a very complex and cross-entities program was started which impacted the whole Belgian utilities market.

Our solution

Within this complex program structure, we supported the program manager and were responsible for the Project Management Office duties at program level, including:

• Supporting the project managers of the individual projects regarding the project methodology. The project management methodology used was Prince2 based.
• Following up the program: organizing and chairing status meetings
• Escalating issues to the program manager or, in case the program manager was absent, to the involved hierarchy
• Managing the budgets at program level
• Checking and consolidating the individual project budgets
• Managing the high-level planning of the program
• Checking and consolidating the individual project plannings
• Managing the resources at program level
• Transition and change: organizing and coordinating at program level the transition
• Managing the program risks, issues and scope changes.
• Communicating towards the different project managers and the program manager
• Supporting the communication towards the steering committee and external parties
• Reporting towards the program manager, the steering committee and the portfolio management departments of the different entities involved
• Aligning the different entities

The benefits

The Project Management Office (PMO) in a business or professional enterprise is the department or group that defines and maintains the standards of process, generally related to project management, within the organization.  The PMO strives to standardize and introduce economies of repetition in the execution of projects.  The PMO is the source of documentation, guidance and metrics on the practice of project management and execution.

The PMO coordinates the technical and business facets of project management providing the most effective management and support, which are critical to the organisation being able to deliver the required business strategy and targets.

The PMO delivered following benefits for the customer:

• Standardisation of methodologies used
• Standardisation of project governance and processes
• Improved risk analysis across the programme
• Consistent tool usage
• Improved and consistent reporting
• Improved management and control of the resources
• Improved communication and collaboration not just internally within the project and programme but externally with the stake holders and the rest of the business and suppliers

The above benefits lead to projects and programmes being delivered in a more controlled, efficient and focused way, which ultimately culminates in them being delivered on time and to budget.