Results revealed as EDS and Cranfield School of Management launch International Centre for Programme Management
UK, London – New research launched today by EDS and Cranfield School of Management has highlighted the need for programme managers to look beyond the processes that they use to achieve 'world class' performance. The research was conducted by a new pioneering International Centre for Programme Management (ICPM), a full-time research facility, based at Cranfield, aimed at developing expertise in programme and project management – essential components in the delivery of large-scale IT transformation, and IT and business process outsourcing.
The increasing complexity of large-scale change programmes in the public and private sectors means that the challenges being faced in practice are developing fast. New tools, techniques and approaches are needed to reduce the risk associated with these programmes. This centre of excellence will provide industry with the practical results of research, training and insights, to foster successful programme management, which lowers costs, paves the way for increased innovation and increases productivity.
EDS and Cranfield will form a joint governance board providing guidance and direction for research and initiatives. Although EDS and Cranfield are the founders of the Centre, future contributions will be invited from a group of core partners who are known to be programme management leaders in their respective fields. Their participation will be as both a beneficiary of insight developed by the Centre and as a contributor to that insight. As the Centre develops, additional (non-core) partners will also be attracted. This will be a larger population of organisations who will join the Centre for access to the leading thinking and training.
Cranfield School of Management and EDS have jointly undertaken research over the past year to develop a baseline for programme management performance. Through this research, released today, EDS and Cranfield have identified a set of 78 indicators to benchmark performance against 'world class' programme management. This initial benchmarking study forms the first part of a programme of research into what capabilities are required to achieve 'world class' programme management performance. The next stage is the deployment of existing world class practices, the development of new practices, and the testing of current and innovated practices using an evidence-based approach.
Co-author of the research report and Director of the ICPM Dr Harvey Maylor from Cranfield School of Management said: “Programmes differ from projects in many dimensions, including scope, complexity and duration of impact on stakeholders. The approaches derived from project management are therefore no longer appropriate, and the performance measures that organizations use must be consistent with the very different environment in which programmes operate. The focus needs to be on determining whether a programme delivers value to customers and supports business strategy.”
“The outsourcing industry in which EDS operates is unique in that the client is an integral part of the supply chain, creating complexities not encountered in other fields,” said Bill Thomas, Executive Vice President and General Manager, EDS EMEA. “EDS has over 45 years practical experience in programme and project management working with clients including DWP, Rolls-Royce and Transport for London. To date however, limited academic research has been published in this field. We view establishing this Centre with Cranfield School of Management as critical in developing and sharing insight, and progressing our industry to the next level.”
Director of Cranfield School of Management, Professor Michael Osbaldeston said: “There is a major opportunity through this new centre to bring together practical expertise from across the globe to enable organisations to deliver ‘world class’ programme management. There’s a lot of new knowledge being created out there and very few people have the theory and the framework basis to be able to pull that together and build on it. We want to be in the forefront of that knowledge creation process. Our vision is that through rigorous research and practical application, we will be influencing the future direction of the programme management discipline.”
Programme management is the principal means by which organisations deliver corporate strategy. It is a relatively recent discipline which is rapidly evolving as organisations seek to configure their resources to gain the maximum benefit from this approach. Accompanying such a change is the need to develop the knowledge base on which organisations and practitioners can draw to gain such benefit.
Notes to Editors
A copy of the ICPM research briefing is available on request. To arrange an interview with Tom Kilkenny (EMEA Service Delivery, EDS) or Dr Harvey Maylor (Co-author of the research report and Director of the ICPM) please contact Emily Orton, Cranfield School of Management on +44 (0)1234 754348 or e-mail: emily.orton@cranfield.ac.uk or Sarah Roderick, EDS on +44 (0)207 569 5134 or e-mail: sarah.roderick@eds.com
EDS has 45 years experience in successful programme and project management globally. The National Audit Office “Delivering successful IT-enabled business change” report identifies common threads in UK and global IT-enabled programmes and projects, with a view to identify the key factors which have contributed to success, in order share and replicate this industry best-practice. Two dozen case studies of successful IT-enabled business change are highlighted within this report. The National Audit Office “Delivering successful IT-enabled business change” report, press notice and case studies can be found here
About Cranfield School of Management
Cranfield School of Management is a world-class university management school, renowned for its strong links with industry and business. It is committed to providing practical management solutions through a range of activities, including: postgraduate degree programmes, management development, research and consultancy. The International Centre for Programme Management is a partnership between Cranfield School of Management and EDS. It aims to develop the theory and practice of Programme and Project Management. If you have any specific questions or comments on this paper, or would like more information, please contact the International Centre for Programme Management on 44 0 1234 751122 or visit our Web site.
About EDS
EDS is a leading global technology services company delivering business solutions to its clients. EDS founded the information technology outsourcing industry 45 years ago. Today, EDS delivers a broad portfolio of information technology and business process outsourcing services to clients in the manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, communications, energy, transportation, and consumer and retail industries and to governments around the world. Learn more at eds.com.
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