Business Project and Programme Management

This report discusses key issues, scope, deliverables, scheduling issues, and risk management strategies in business project and programme management. It focuses on a case study of SB, a technology company, and provides recommendations for effective management and governance.

Business Project and Programme
Management

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Task A..............................................................................................................................................3
Identify key issues associated with strategic transformation programme....................................3
Identification and evaluation of programme scope as well as deliverables.................................5
Classification and evaluation of scheduling issues......................................................................6
Provide risk management strategies for recognition of key issues..............................................7
Ways SB can structure and organize their programme................................................................8
Determine programme control methods for management of transformation..............................9
Evaluation of different methods for selecting consultancy contract..........................................10
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................11
References......................................................................................................................................12

Introduction
For each and every firm it is crucial to carry out business project and programme
management in an effectual way as it will enable them to carry out their operations in an
impelling manner. Business projects are regarded as essential aspect that is classified by content
or purpose (Bakar, 2020). This is projected for attainment of business desired objectives as well
as their goals. Project management is liable for identification of projects as well as activities for
attainment of relevant alterations. This will enable organization to carry out their business
projects in an efficacious way. For understanding this concept in adequate way, SB is taken into
consideration which is a technology company which furnishes their services at global level.
Their head office is at Washington, USA and there is to formulate new vision who will furnish
integrated technology system for their customers. They deliver hardware components but now
they are looking forward for diversification of operations into software systems. This report
contains key issues along with scope and deliverables that are related product development. In
addition to this, it involves estimation and scheduling of issues as well as risk management
strategies. Moreover, recommendations will also be given with reference to stakeholders,
programme management and governance. Furthermore, programme control methods and aspects
related with consultancy contract will also be illustrated.
Task A
Identify key issues associated with strategic transformation programme.
Strategic transformation is defined as framework that is liable for rendering management
with immediate and sustainable results (Carroll, 2016). This assist within bringing innovation
that will aid within growth of their customers as it will lead them to bring in creative software
that will provide an ease to their probable customers. With respect to SB, the business case is
specified beneath:
Vision: SB has opted to furnish totally integrated services in terms of quality technology
systems to their clients and probable customers.
Services: SB has furnished their customers with wide range of hardware devices at
optimal cost through which they can acquire adequate number of client base.

Strategies: SB renders low cost as well as valued products to their customers across US.
For this, they have formulated development strategy which comprises of diversifying their
software and mobile system by making use of acquisition along with partnership.
Strategic transformation: This involves alterations that have been made firm for
acknowledgement of their goals and objectives. For this, they have created new vision in which
they are developing integrated projects through which SB can have diversified, amplified market
shares, and minimized cost as well as new products. It is attained by carrying out growth as well
as acquisition (Davies and Brady, 2016). This is done by acquiring WN which is a mobile phone
manufacturer and they have also partnership with DDC which is a external consultancy firm.
But while carrying out strategic transformation SB has faced different issues in context of
manufacturing location. They are provided below:
 Management issues: Manufacturing services have run over time and cost when
operations are carried out by SB. This takes place due to poor control as well as
management of all the functionalities that are carried out within the firm. Along with this,
it also involves perspectives associated with irrelevant management of change, meet
scope as well as requirements of their customers (Engelbrecht, Johnston and Hooper,
2017).
 Quality issues: SB is unable to furnish relevant quality technologies to their customers
which will create negative impact on goodwill as well as profitability of firm. In addition
to this, when manufacturing bases were outsourced then it hampered quality of their
products.
 Job loss issues: This is a critical issue as people will lose their when SB will acquire WN
in their host country. This will lead employees of WN to lose their job which will also
create an impact of brand image of SB in US.
 Clearance issues: While having acquisition of SB, there has to be a regulatory clearance
while opting for acquisition of WN and competition authorities as they might loose their
strategic industry (Görög, 2016).
Some issues have been mentioned above but it is necessary for SB to make sure that adequate
measures are being taken up by SB while rendering their services in US. In this context, some
recommendations have been specified below:

 To deal with the quality issues, employees of firm must be furnished with adequate
training from experts so that they can deliver their services in an enhanced manner.
Along with this, they can hire experienced workforce so that they can cope up with
changing needs of the market (Greenwood, 2016).
 For dealing with clearance issues it is necessary that SB follow up necessary regulatory
concerns and also ensure that all the formalities related with acquisition and delivering
their services in US have been accomplished, this will lead them to minimize any kind of
hindrance within their functions.
 Employees of WN must be informed with prior information related with acquisition that
is being carried out by SB. This will furnish them (employees) with relevant options like
hiring them in other branches of location or they can search for new options.
Identification and evaluation of programme scope as well as deliverables
Deliverable refers to tangible or intangible services or goods which are being produced as
an outcome of project which are intended to be furnished to their customers. With respect to the
case study of SB, they are looking forward building up an organization which will deliver quality
technology system was integrated to accomplish requirements of their potential customers (Lock
and Wagner, 2016). The firm has shifted their manufacturing unit to US from Far East that has
been proved for being successful by rendering their customers with high quality products. The
primary deliverable for firm is to develop proficiency within software development generally
within mobile technologies. It has been evaluated that current product development of firm has
provided their customers with services related with software and hardware. This comprises of
portfolio for projects which have been still not delivered to their probable customers.
The other major deliverable for SB firm was launch of their Tablet Computers that are
being delivered along with partnership with DDC (this is a external consultancy firm). But it has
been evaluated that project was not successful as the entire process associated with development
was not managed adequately. For dealing with operations conducted by SB, they have
introduced different methods to enhance quality of their project. Agile method is one of those
that are being implemented for improvisation performance of products furnished by them. But
this did not go well and firm was not able to attain adequate results (Louth and Spragg, 2019).
The product development project is not effectual enough to furnish adequate profits to SB but
firm also experienced various challenges while doing this. Furthermore, they wanted to extend as

well as amplify their competence within software development along with attaining strong
competitive positioning within the marketplace. For this, they took a crucial step that is
acquisition of WN that is a large firm that is liable for manufacturing of mobile phones. This
assisted firm to enhance their capabilities in terms of competence in product development and
software skills (Lytvynchenko, 2016).
In addition to this, for being successful firm have moved their manufacturing facilities
but it also lead them to face various challenges like their ability to handle projects, strategic
objectives and many other aspects were there that have to be answered. Some of the projects
carried out by them were successful but there were some which did not provided them with
adequate success. Firm also faced issues related with management of developing software within
their product development projects. The company was not able to manage their tablet computers
as there was restricted user interface which made it difficult for their customers to use software
furnished by them. Along with this, manufacturing facility project was not controlled in an
adequate way both in context of requirements and scope (Martinsuo and Hoverfält, 2018). Thus,
it was important that aspects learnt from this lesson must be executed within the projects while
carrying out projects in future.
Classification and evaluation of scheduling issues
When different projects are conducted by organization to enhance overall performance of
operations conducted by business then they might experience various challenges such as
inadequate management, poor quality of offerings, etc. For dealing with such kind of issues
within 2 years, SB can make use of distinct approached, they are specified beneath:
Agile Method or Scrum Method: It can be used by organization to amplify performance
of their system development project. But by making its use SB cannot attain required outcomes
and this lead them to failed operations. Basically, agile framework is light in nature which
implies that it is best for management and controlling of repetitive tasks or projects. This requires
that team must work in collaboration so that overall functions which have been conducted can be
ensured (Maylor, Blackmon and Huemann, 2016). This method requires appropriate involvement
as well as commitment from entire team to ensure success of the project.
Portfolio, programme and project management (P3M3) Model: It is responsible for
outlining essential details through which organization can carry out their operations. This assist

firm within identification of their present performance and formulate plans with respect to that as
well as future requirements. It will furnish SB with practical aspects associated with the project.
Furthermore, it will enable firm to identify ways by which project can be carried out effectively.
The advantage which can be obtained by firm through its utilization is that firm can have real
time comparison with their competitors on the basis of performance (Nicholas and Steyn, 2017).
P3M3 will lead SB to have adequate results along with this maturity levels of
management can also be identified in context of structure and activities that are carried out by
SB. Agile model is being utilized for attaining progressive report that is being furnished to their
customers within relevant time duration. This will lead organization to enhance overall quality
along with performance by furnishing customers with services as per their requirements.
Provide risk management strategies for recognition of key issues
Risk management is referred to process of classification, assessment and prioritization of
risks as it will enable them (firms) within formulation of strategies in effectual way. By
considering issues along with risks at beginning of project or when it’s in initial stage then
management can find out probable solutions to deal with them (O'brien, 2019). In context of SB,
some issues have been faced by them that create a pessimistic impact on their operations and to
deal with theses acquisition has been carried out by them. It will assist them within enhancement
of business quality through rendering technology products to their potential customers. This will
furnish them with adequate range of issues some of these have been illustrated beneath:
 Inadequate technology: The major concern is to acknowledge enhanced technological
aspects while developing software and in case if they are not relevant then firm will not
be able to sustain within any market. In addition to this, it will aid them within furnishing
higher quality offerings to probable customers.
 Unemployment because of acquisition: This is major problem for people who are
working in WN as by acquisition, many employees will lose their jobs.
 New products development: With respect to this issue, firm is going through time as well
as cost related concerns. As, they are not able to complete their projects on stipulated
time frame which leads to increased cost (Rosati and Conti, 2016). This also hampers
quality of services delivered by organization.
 Manufacturing issues: This is key aspects which are encountered by SB when they are
conducting their operations and functions. But due to improper management employees

are not able to render their services as per desired standards. This also leads to
mismanagement of resources.
 Working style: This leads to creation of direct influence on business operations as well as
functions conducted by SB. Traditional methods are being utilized by them while doing
this and this is not adequate for them (Smith and Dodds, 2017).
These are major concerns which are faced by SB when they are conducting their
operations within US after acquisition of WN. In addition to this, it is mandatory for firm to do
analysis through development of strategies related with risk management. With respect to this,
mitigation processes have been specified below:
 Identification of risk: This is crucial for SB to identify possible events that may have
some risks related with them. This might be in the terms of vulnerabilities which are
present in software that have been developed and can impact business.
 Carry out risk assessment: In this context, organization need to determine quantitative
risks which are related with events or projects which are being conducted by SB by
taking into consideration potential impact they will have along with occurrence.
 Prioritize: In this stage, SB has to prioritize the risks they have identified on the basis of
which will create maximum negative impact on operations furnished by them.
Accordingly, firm must formulate strategies by which they can be eradicated and then
look forward for next risk in the list (Bakar, 2020).
 Track risk: Within this phase, SB has to follow and track each and every risk as this will
enable them to identify the one which entity that is creating strong negative impact on
functionalities carried out by organization.
 Execute and monitor progress: This implies last phase in which SB will implement
strategies as per risk handling process which has been developed by them for attainment
of peculiar vision, goals and objectives within specified time duration.
Ways SB can structure and organize their programme
Organizational structure of organization aids management within identification of best
possible ways by which they can render their operations in an appropriate manner. This will
make sure that business functionalities are conducted in structured as well as efficaciously
(Carroll, 2016). With respect to SB, there exist wide range of functional areas along with

departments which work in collaboration with each other for attainment of their objectives as
well as goals in an effectual way. There are many concerns which are being faced by firm at
present scenario, they includes poor management, declined quality of products, poor
management and various others. In order to handle them in an affirmative way, wide range of
strategies that can be utilized by firm like rendering adequate training to their employees,
motivating them regularly will lead to build in confidence among them and feedbacks can be
taken from employees as it might lead them to bring in innovative services (Davies and Brady,
2016). The firm has opted for shifting their manufacturing processes from Far East to US along
with this SB has also done partnership with European organization. This implies that they need
to abide to rules, regulations and policies formulated by different countries.
In addition to this, the continuous assessment of marketplace must be carried out in an
affirmative manner so that if there is any risk then it can be determined before hand as well as
adequate steps can be taken up for resolving them. In addition to this, firm has wide range of
stakeholders such as customers, suppliers, government, employees and various others. Thus it is
essential for SB to take into account their view point so that relevant services can be furnished as
per their requirements. This will aid firm to attain their objectives, goals as well as have
competitive edge over their competitors within the market (Engelbrecht, Johnston and Hooper,
2017).
Determine programme control methods for management of transformation
Programme control is defined as process to identify approaches as well as procedures that
are used by firm to control and manage business activities for attainment of stipulated goals. It is
necessary for management of SB to determine probable kind of methods that are related with
programme control as this will furnish adequate support to organization within transformation
processes related with business. In this context, some methods that can be used by SB are
mentioned beneath:
 Cybernetic control: It is common control technique that is being used by organisation for
identification of outcomes that can be attained by programme. This can be used for
attainment of input and having adequate output (Görög, 2016). This will enable SB to
achieve adequate benefits through usage of this model. Along with there are certain
restriction associated with this that is focus is laid on attainment of result rather than

procedure used while doing so. This leads to creation of negative impact on overall
operations that are carried out within while doing so.
 Go/ No-go control: This involves testing of products which are being produced to make
sure that all the requirements are incorporated within them to accomplish needs of
probable clients. This model will enable SB to test their system as well as software
according to which they can develop decisions. The vantage rendered by this is that it
will allow firm to test their system and if any errors are found then they can be handled at
initial stages only (Greenwood, 2016). But the major restriction is that this model takes
lots of time so it will be difficult for firm to accomplish project within stipulated time
frame.
By conducting analysis by taking into consideration both these models, it has been evaluated
that cybernetic will be appropriate for firm as this will lead them to have precise results. In
addition to this, they will be able to furnish high quality services to their customers.
Evaluation of different methods for selecting consultancy contract
For making decisions related with business operations and functions of organization for
conducting their activities in smooth manner, it is necessary that SB identify relevant methods
related with specified practices (Lock and Wagner, 2016). Management is liable for taking up
decisions in this context by making sure that which method will lead them to have competitive
positioning within the market. Few methods in this context are mentioned beneath:
Procuring: There exist distinct methods which can be utilised by organisation for
development of centre of excellence. With reference to this, SB can opt for following methods:
 Traditional method: In this context, consultant will develop various aspects associated
with management of activities within development of their services in new location. In
this case, contractor is liable for marinating overall activities of SB.
 Management contracting: In this case, consultant is responsible for carrying out their
business operations and contractor will be accountable for management of business
operations (Louth and Spragg, 2019). To do this, SB will hire specialized contractor to
make sure that all the activities are conducted in a precise way.

Selection of suppliers: Firm can choose their selector through the usage of two different
operations as this will enable them to have adequate raw material through which they can ensure
that they attain their goals and objectives on time. In context of this, organisation can either
directly select or might furnish prospect to vendors by which they can choose suppliers
according to their needs (Lytvynchenko, 2016). Both of these will lead SB to have advantage as
in direct method cost within this process is low but the major drawback is that time required for
doing so is more. In later method, prospect for vendors is provided but this is expensive.
Contracting the consultancy: To do so SB can make use of either direct contract with
consultancy or can also engage third party in the entire process. If direct meeting is opted then
firm can save adequate amount as well as requirements can be acknowledged among them but
this will be time consuming. In other case, when third party is engaged SB have to pay extra
charges but they will search for the best option as per needs of the organisation (Martinsuo and
Hoverfält, 2018). This will lead them to have relevant results within stipulated time duration.
Conclusion
From above, it can be concluded that, firms while rendering their operations within
competitive market may face various issues but it is essential that relevant strategies are being
devised by which those can be handled. Project management implies technique that aids
organization for ensuring that all business operations are conducted efficiently without any issue.
This will assist firm within acquisition of their objectives and goals as per desired standards.
Various practices can be integrated by them to attain this by formulation of precise vision that
can be measured. Along with this, deliverables must also be analyzed as well as assessed
appropriately by which effectual plans and strategies can be established. With respect to this all
the activities must be scheduled by taking into consideration plan formulated. All this have to be
monitored continuously to identify overall impact that will be created. Management of firm must
conduct risk analysis for ensuring that project is conducted effectively.

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