pmo and assurance: skills funding agency

Welcome

PMO & Assurance

Wednesday 5 March 2014

Presented by: Gary Perkins & Caitlin Davidson

Introduction &Agenda

01

Caitlin Davidson: PMO PSO Manager

Gary Perkins: PMO Assurance Manager

Introduction

● Background

● PMO Function

● Assurance Approach

● Challenges (Existing and New)

● Discussion and Questions

Agenda

Background

02

● Established in 2009 following the demise of the Learning & Skills Council, and prior to that theFurther Education Funding Council;

● Partner organisation of the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS);

● Agency role is to fund and promote adult further education (FE) and skills training in England,

including Traineeships and Apprenticeships, in a way that supports economic growth.

Skills Funding Agency

Skills Funding Agency

● Deliver £4.1 billion of skills training through contracts with over 1,000 colleges, private training organisations and employers;

● Within the Skills Funding Agency, there are two customer-facing services:

National Apprenticeship Service, and;

National Careers Service;

● Host the Information Authority.

● Responsible for delivery of IT Programmes and Projects within the Skills Funding Agency;

● Annual delivery value circa £60M;

● Typically around 6 Programmes and 30 Projects at any point in time;

● Internal team circa 90;

● Main development supplier Capgemini.

Programme Delivery

● Increasingly delivering sector-wide public-facing systems

Programme Delivery

● PMO Team comprises 8 in the Central PMOfunction which delivers:

Portfolio Management

Programme & Project Management QMS

Guidance & Training

Assurance

Central Support Functions

● Typically 15 Project Support Officers whoare embedded within Programmes & Projects;

● This is NOT a corporate function within the Agency.

Programme Management Office

PMO Function

03

● Portfolio Management;

● Developing and Maintaining our Quality Management System;

● Training & Support;

● Assurance;

● Central Support Function;

● Programme and Project Support.

PMO Functions

● Manages portfolio of Programmes and Projects;

● Manages ICT Moratorium Process;

● Ensures the strategic alignment of Projects;

● Supports business case development;

● Services Corporate Governance Boards.

Portfolio Management

● Based on MSP and PRINCE2;

● Guidance, templates and checklists;

● Reviewed on an annual cycle;

● Amended to reflect ‘learning from experience’;

● Branded as the ‘Programme Delivery Governance Framework’;

● Available from the Programme Delivery PMO Knowledge Store Teamsite.

Quality Management System

Quality Management System

Templates

Guidance

Best Practice

Delivery Models

Delivery Models

Checklists

● Drop-in sessions and mentoring;

● Briefings and Masterclasses;

● Information Notes and Newsletters;

● Available to Programme and Project Managers;

● Available to SROs and Project Executives.

Training & Support

Assurance● Focus on Governance and Controls;

● Varied range of approaches;

● Internal team of 3 supplemented by additionalresource as required;

● Internal Assurance for Director of Programme Delivery;

● Increasingly External Assurance for SROs;

● Assurance Function subject to bi-annual Internal Audit,reviewing standards and application.

● Consolidating Programme and Project information;

● Supporting Corporate Governance Boards;

● Supporting the financial investment process;

● Managing and supporting the new Programme & Project Management Tool.

Central Support Functions

● Project Support Officers (PSOs);

● Centrally managed service;

● Flexible supply chain;

● Standard approach;

● Supporting the Assurance function.

Programme and Project Support

Assurance Approach

04

Internal Assurance● For Director of Programme Delivery;

● Focus on assuring that standards defined in theProgramme Delivery PMO QMS are applied;

● Greater reliance on process driven assurance:Gated Reviews

Monthly Operational Reviews

Checklists.

● Healthchecks and Post-Project Reviews;

● Supported by embedded PSOs.

External Assurance

● Increasingly working more closely with SROs;

● Raising the Profile of the SRO Role;

● SRO Support Initiative. This includes:Initial BriefingsTraining (APM PPM Sponsorship)Established NetworkSRO Guidance & Support TeamsiteRegular Newsletter; ‘SRO Brief’.

● Offering Independent Assurance directly to SROs;

● Formal Executive Sponsorship.

.

Role of the SRO and

Governance

is Currently a Hot Topic

SRO Guidance & Support

External Assurance

● Starting to utilise the MPA Integrated Assurance and Approvals (IAA) approach;

● Developing IAA Strategies & Plans for all majorProgramme Delivery Programmes;

● Developing Assurance Statements for minorProgramme Delivery Programmes.

.

External Assurance

● Fully engage with MPA OGC Gateway Review process via BIS Departmental Assurance

Co-ordinator;

● RPAs completed and returned for EVERY Programme and Project within the Programme Delivery Portfolio;

● 45 OGC Gateway Reviews conducted in last 5 years;

● Approach now welcomed and trusted by (most) SROs.

.

External Assurance

● Independent Programme and Project Healthchecksconducted by:

PMO Assurance Team

Broader Programme Delivery Team

Independent Contractors

Atkins – PMO Supply Partner;

● Governance Board Reviews and Assessments;

● Process Spot-checks (internal and external).

.

Challenges

05

As Johnny Nash observed…….

There are More Questions than Answers

Existing Challenges●● Not a Corporate PMO;

● Lack of separation between Guidance & Supportand Assurance roles;

● Lack of clarity around escalation of issues;

● Conflict of interest when working with SROs;

● Credibility and independence.

It can sometimes feel like this………

…….though we have made progress.

●● Reducing headcount from 1,357 to 925;

● Significant changes to organisation structure;

● Loss of many experienced staff;

● Uncertainty about the new role, scale andlocation of the PMO moving forward.

New Challenges

Organisational Restructure

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New Challenges

Changing Supplier Model● Currently one tier 1 supplier (Capgemini);

● Currently re-letting this contract for October 2014;

● In line with Government policy, multiple contracts will be let to SMEs;

● Moving towards cloud based hosting;

● Significant implications for PMO functions.

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New Challenges

Changing Development Approaches

● Currently largely Waterfall;

● Move towards Agile in line with Government Digital Strategy;

● Currently developing skills within Programme Delivery and the Agency;

● What is the impact on the PMO and Assurance?

Discussion & Questions

06

● Benefits of a PMO in supporting organisational change?

● Impact of multi-supplier model on a PMO?

● What does Agile mean to a PMO?