Supporting successful transformation and change through value add assurance

With organisations being impacted by so many significant global and local challenges, such as supply chain disruption, socio-political events, skills and resourcing, AI and the continuing advancement of technologies, the need to respond to these challenges and deliver successful change is higher than ever. In response, leaders must look to identify ways to adapt, improve and transform, whether it is based on a desire to grow or a need to survive.
 

Setting up for success

The drivers behind change and the associated change objectives are, of course, specific to every organisation and establishing clarity of these objectives from the outset, lay the foundations for driving lasting change. Setting up for success is of course only the start and ensuring that business objectives remain at the heart of any transformation throughout is pivotal. To achieve this, it is important to establish the right balance of pragmatism and control which means creating a project environment which retains the agility and flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances, whilst establishing the necessary project governance and controls to build and give confidence.

From selecting and prioritising the right projects through to ensuring those projects are successfully delivered, all the different elements need to come together and be aligned to support the delivery of your overall strategic goals.
 

Project Audit versus Project Review - What’s in a name?

Over the years, it has been far too common to see programmes retrospectively audited by teams who validate that at the end of a stage or programme the key deliverables were completed and the appropriate sign offs achieved. The auditors follow the prescribed project checklist of expected process and controls, confirm that the programme went over budget, beyond its timeline and delivered a reduced scope (at least 2 of the 3 measures are usually missed) and often creates a list of lessons to be learned, which are promptly securely filed and never to be seen again.

This approach to programme assurance adds limited value to either the programme or the organisation – although such an approach does ‘tick the box’ that the programme has been audited.

Thankfully the approach is changing, driven by the need to deliver value-add reviews – which provide a level of compliance validation but are more constructive and advisory in nature.

Although it is potentially only a minor change, switching terminology from project ‘audit’ to project ‘review’ is a great point to start changing the perception of the assurance (and ‘value’) being provided. It instantly engenders a more constructive style and collaborative approach.

A name, of course, is only an entry point the proof is in being able to demonstrate value.
 

How to deliver ‘value-add’ programme assurance

We have talked about the importance of ‘value-add’ and how each review needs to provide value, but how is this achieved? In our experience, the following are key:

• Being involved early in the programme and undertaking short, focused and forward-looking reviews, aiming to answer the question, is this programme set up to succeed?
• Programmes move quickly and reviews need to flex to align to whatever the risks of the programme are, whether it’s the governance and controls across the programme or deep dives into specific areas, such as, business cases, development approaches, test strategies, go-live readiness plans or the design of the end Target Operating Model. Being agile and accommodating is key
• Working inflight and instep with the programme
• Remaining independent and objective whilst giving fast turnaround feedback; the final report can always follow but giving real-time feedback to the programme team is essential
• Getting to the root cause of challenges and talking through recommendations to ensure they are pragmatic and realistic.
   

For further information and the support our team are able to provide, please get in touch with Tim Foster, Ross LeCarpentier or Ric Pires.