How to deliver successful Project and Programme Management

Q: What is a typical Project or Programme, and why is Project and Programme Management important?
‍A: The beauty of Projects & Programmes is that they all present their own unique set of diverse challenges and while there is no one typical project/Programme, there are some common characteristics. Effectively they are designed to deliver a specific change and benefits to an organisation using targeted investment based on overall strategy, usually within a defined timeframe.  

Given the strategic nature of the investment, having strong Project & Programme Management is critical. It provides the discipline and control to drive delivery by deploying tailored skills, processes, and best practise. It provides leadership and guardrails to ensure successful delivery of the desired benefits of the change. This is where Lancia adds real value; by understanding the business and ways of working to ensure a right sized solution that meets the needs of the client.  

Q: What makes a successful project?
‍A: While each project is different, there are a few common points of failure. A statistic you will often hear is that it is estimated that over 70% of projects fail to meet their planned objectives, which is staggering considering the strategic and financial implications of project failure. There are, equally some common success factors for projects, here are my top three but there are many more!

• ‍A successful project is one that has clear objectives that are aligned with the overall business strategy – ensuring these objectives are woven into the fabric of the delivery mindset is critical to gaining buy-in to the purpose & ambition of the work.  
• ‍A successful project is one that has an appropriately sized structure & governance model. Providing an environment for teams to thrive, self-organise, collaborate, drive accountability, and make informed decisions is critical to successful delivery.  
• ‍A successful project is one that is disciplined – it follows a consistent delivery model, has relevant processes & skills in place for things like planning & risk management and has the ability for controlled adaptation based on new challenges and information.

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Q: What makes Lancia different in its approach to managing projects and programmes for its clients?
A: I’ve spent a long time working on transformation programmes in different organisations, delivering various forms of change at differing levels of complexity and scale. Having best practise methodologies, processes and tools is great but what sets Lancia apart is our values-based approach to delivery:

• We bring practical experience across many sectors with relevant skills to meet the needs of our clients. Our people get up to speed quickly, leverage expertise to improve project delivery and proactively identify opportunities to add value in the right places.
• We have an entrepreneurial spirit and exploring ways to optimise delivery by integrating technology, automation, and AI (Artificial Intelligence) is in our DNA. We believe people should spend their time on the things that matter, like problem solving and technology should operate as an enabler to successful delivery.  
• Our people are genuine, honest and operate with integrity. This means that when we see problems or potential improvements, we work collaboratively with our clients to understand the challenge and define the solution that is right for the project.
• We are invested with our clients, gaining a true understanding of their business, and embedding ourselves within their teams to deliver better outcomes alongside them. Our approach is focused on building long lasting, meaningful relationships so we can help our clients when they face their biggest challenges.

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Q: Why do businesses come to Lancia and how can you help them?
A: Clients come to Lancia because we spend time understanding their business and build genuine relationships with them. Our Project and Programme Management services cut across sectors and industry. We combine our expertise to offer our clients a full end to end experience including;

• Defining the change: Driving business case development, cost estimation, benefits analysis and facilitating investment approvals to get projects off the ground.
• ‍Embedding the right people: Our team of experienced project professionals operate in key roles within our client's business to bring an external perspective that enables accelerated delivery and knowledge transfer to team members.
• ‍Delivering the change: Mobilisation, facilitating planning, designing resource & governance models, implementing appropriate processes, implementing tooling, leading delivery, and driving benefits realisation.
• ‍Optimising delivery: Using our established framework to determine strengths and areas which are working well and identify high-risk areas that need focus to improve the programme & optimise delivery.

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If you would like to discuss working with us on your project or programme delivery, please get in touch and contact us today.

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