Case Studies

A government agency responsible for the registration of births, marriages, civil partnerships, deaths, divorces and adoptions, as well as being the main source of family history records had an in-house project management handbook for many years. But audit reports continued to observe that project delivery was still inconsistent. The client asked AFA to conduct a capability maturity audit. Alan Ferguson takes up the story.

The Agency had expected the recommendations to centre on updating the handbook and making it more rigorous and explicit. While they had concerns at the overhead that would be associated with this approach they were prepared to go down that route.

The AFA audit used the newly developed Cabinet Office capability maturity models to assess the client's culture. Careful on-site analysis revealed that most project practitioners made very limited use of the handbook. They would often simply copy a template or sample document without understanding the project management environment they were trying to implement.

Furthermore the handbook suggested that some internal agencies were policing projects and providing administrative services. These agencies had neither the capability nor the capacity to provide these services.

While projects were important to the agency, the agencies operational responsibilities were more important than its project portfolio. The agency did not have resources available to put in place an effective; centrally defined project management method, with sufficient flexibility to suit the range of projects undertaken.

Application of a capability maturity model by AFA allowed the agency to adopt a more flexible and appropriate model. They simplified their handbook and clarified the responsibilities for providing resources on a project by project basis. They also strengthened the briefings and mentoring available to project management teams at project start. In order to maintain an appropriate level of oversight, they introduced a form of gateway review that would bring to light problems within projects at an earlier point in the lifecycle.

By utilising AFA's in depth knowledge of both embedding PRINCE2 in a range of cultures and our understanding of capability maturity models, the agency achieved the apparently irreconcilable goals of reducing project overheads while strengthening project governance. For more information on AFA's Project Management courses, please contact us.