Program and project initiation

“If your key change initiatives are not set up for success, you are set up to fail.”

???????????????????????????????Program and project initiation is often thought of as an exercise to be “gotten over with” as quickly as possible, so that your business case is approved for funding and the “real work” can begin. However, many programs and projects fail because they are poorly initiated.

Just as some managers excel in spearheading new ventures while others are better at running day-to-day operations, the same applies to program and project managers. At Strategy2life, we are adept at dealing with ambiguity and developing strategic options. Our extensive program and project management experience gives us a good idea what’s important now, and what can wait.

You benefit from knowing that your initiatives will be set up for success, with:

  • An appropriate sponsor and governance structure
  • Support from key stakeholder groups
  • Sound planning to an appropriate degree of detail
  • A good understanding of the real risks and strategies in place to manage them
  • A solid business case with benefit realisation strategies
  • An engaged and motivated team with the right balance of internal and external resources and suppliers
  • Considerations for managing change from the get-go, not as an afterthought
  • Adherence to the relevant organisational policies, methodologies, and standards
“Stephanie created a great team environment from the start, from executive sponsors and stakeholders through to team members, to ensure that the project was well understood, supported and was going to be a success. Her focus on strategy and scope clarity ensured that the project was well defined, and along with recruiting a strong project leadership team with well-defined roles, established a strong foundation for what was to be a complex project which required skilled liaison with the many diverse stakeholders and interested parties.”  
– Ross Cooper, IT Integration Manager

Example past assignments:

  • Established a multi-million dollar, multi-disciplinary rebranding program as part of post-merger integration (read more)
  • Established workgroups to develop the strategy, model and concepts for a new collaborative medical research operating model, using lean startup/AGILE principles
  • Established a program to rectify a management process that was placed in “situation management” with intense scrutiny by the Board, senior management and regulators
  • Established the governance structure, management disciplines and processes associated with a program to reconfigure workspaces to reduce office occupancy costs and improve department co-location
  • In a large public sector organisation, overcame initial change resistance and inertia in relation to a significant cost saving strategic initiative, through a significant restructure of the program in its early stages, amounting to almost a re-initiation (read more)