February 2006

Project Manager Today

www.pmtoday.co.uk

“Business risk overrides project risk ” by Steve Clarke

Adaptive Frameworks courses emphasise the interplay of the different project dimensions - risk, time, cost, quality, scope and benefits - and the need to have a clear understanding of the business prioritisation of these..

Steve Clarke of The Projects Group drills down on one aspect of this in Wholemind. One of the maxims of this soon to be released book is "Say what it is you want" which is the aspect examined by this article. The interplay of business risks and project risks is examined closely.

Steve asserts that business risk is nearly always increased when reducing project risk. He uses the example of the merging of 3 hospitals into one mega complex which is to be supported by a state of the art IT system including communications, data management, diagnostic support systems and other technical infrastructure. The IT project decided to reduce the project risk by rolling out the different technology improvements over a 5-year timeframe .

The business drivers for merging the 3 hospitals included transforming current outmoded work practices. The project therefore encompassed a large change management component and it was important, from the business standpoint, to have new systems in place as staff were transferred to the mega complex.

The purpose of the IT project was NOT to implement new technology. Its purpose was to support the transformation in working practices. The benefits to be gained in reducing the risks in the IT project were negated by the enormous increase in business risk if transferred staff brought their way of doing things with them.

Business risks always overrule project risks. By being clear about business aspirations, the commissioners of a project signal to the project management team what the priorities must be when managing the different project dimensions.

“Obtaining top management support” by Rodney Turner
This article contains an interesting metaphor for some of the PRINCE2 roles based on Rumplestiltskin :

• It is the sponsor [Executive] who determines that gold is required, and sources the finance to enable the project to proceed.
• It is the steward [Senior Supplier] who determines that a spinning wheel is the best way of making the gold, and that straw is the best raw material, and sources both.
• The Project Manager is Rumplestiltskin, who performs the impossible, spinning straw to gold.