PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION

Director FTSE top 50 company, 2007

The best solution is invariably the simplest

David Best brings a strategic, business-driven approach to the implementation of IM projects, bridging any potential gap between the technology and the business.

An internationally experienced consultant, with a track record of success across blue chip businesses and public sector organisations he also brings independence and integrity, and a pragmatic approach but one informed by his impressive academic record.

David’s belief is that major information management projects will only be successful if a number of elements are in place::

  Its scope must be clearly defined and focussed
  Objectives must be agreed and committed to
  It must have a clear owner
  And it must be split into stages, each with a measurable output.

These apparently obvious elements are in practice rarely put in place, and when they are they are rarely adhered to or kept up to date during the project.

While necessary to proceed from that starting point, the project's outcome can be affected by a change to any factor such as quality, time, cost or risk (the risk measured in terms of both its probability and its impact). Read more about David's approach to project risk here.

In the planning and execution of projects and especially those in the public sector, there are a number of principles that will predict the outcome:

  The project lifecycle must be completed whilst the person who originates it is still in their post
  No project stage or phase must last longer than six months and preferably three
  Each project stage must finish with an outcome which is valuable in its own right, either in proving the next step or in delviering business value.
  No project should be continued if the total costs exceed 1.25 of the original budget unless there is a thorough and binding reassessment of the purpose and value of the overall programme.
  Sponsors should be rigorous in recognising and publicising whether a project is:
       : stay in business (i.e a must do proposition)
       : an incremental improvement on an existing process or system,
       : or a radical innovation.

David brings his top-level project implementation experience to bear in delivering on time and to budget.