A Leading UK Multi-Utility

Introduction

Barnsnape Consulting have worked with this client over the three year journey to define and launch this business transformation programme enabled by SAP. The scope of the programme includes:

Front office processes and call handling.
Billing and back office data processing.
Delivery of management information.

Barnsnape were involved with this programme from the start; working with the Directors to crystallise the vision and to understand what the business would look like in five years time after the programme was completed and fully embedded. To define this transformation Barnsnape undertook a number of roles, these have included:

Working with the executive management team to establish the business strategy as a whole and hence the scope of the programme within that strategy.

Working with the IT leadership team to establish the optimum IS strategy to deliver the business strategy. This analysis concluded that the strategic platform going forward would be SAP.

Undertaking several roles within the feasibility study for the programme, where scope, cost, timeline, benefits and risks were evaluated. This resulted in a complete and robust definition of the programme being established and bought into by the business as a whole.

Took one of the leading roles in the Business Design, where the scope of the programme was established down to about the third level or process definition such that the business could assess the process trade-offs without becoming tied down in the detail of the process and organisational design.

Leading the work to understand the integration of SAP into the UK specific industry data flow infrastructure. Bringing together deep subject matter knowledge of the UK industry, with SAP specialists and broader programme management to establish these UK specific elements of the programme.

Analysis of the risks and contingencies for the delivery of the programme, enabling ongoing management of contingencies based upon a meaningful set of quantified risks.

Building the business case for delivery of the programme. Based upon the earlier stages of work to prepare a compelling executive level sanction paper enabling sanction for the entire programme.

Following approval of the programme, Barnsnape supported the procurement process by analysing the risks and differences between competing tender responses received. Ultimately, this analysis generated one of the key criteria for the eventual selection of the Systems Integrator.

Following the completion of the procurement, the eventual delivery model comprised of our client, who have subcontracted to them: their own internal IS capability, the winning Systems Integrator consortium (both on shore and offshore), the package vendor i.e. SAP and Barnsnape Consulting providing Client Side Advice. The overall programme is sized between £150 million and £200 million over about a three year delivery window.

Key roles

Once the programme had been initiated, Barnsnape Consulting created and ran the governance and programme control across the whole of the programme. As a consequence Barnsnape took a leading role in the Executive stakeholder management throughout the delivery, which was of paramount importance at the end of the Design Phase in achieving final signoff for the programme in advance of it entering the Build Phase. Specifically the Barnsnape roles included:

Head of Control
Head of Governance
Independent risk assessment and contingency management
Planning
Business design
Management of external assurance and audit.

By undertaking these roles, Barnsnape delivered expert client side advice to the client in facing off to the appointed Systems Integrator. In this model the client can focus on its own core business knowledge of understanding what it actually wants; The Barnsnape role is to work with the client and make it deliverable; and the System Integrator can focus on actually delivering to the requirement.

The governance model has two tiers, reflecting the two tier European and UK board structure of the client. The governance comprises of an executive group taking an overview of the programme control board which is accountable for day to day delivery. Below these sit other change groups for business and IS plus the weekly management cycle of meetings that are responsible for day to day delivery of the programme. Barnsnape are responsible for driving that governance structure.

Control is exercised through robust Terms of Reference for each governance body, and a tightly controlled delivery plan. Weekly progress is measured by a selection of metrics including earned value, milestone planning, effort expended and financial metrics.

The major business and technical risk to the programme arise when the product requires modification. In particular this is in the area of UK industry data flow. Other major risk areas include the implementation of prepayment and the implementation of customer relationship management. Control of change and the minimisation of risk were part of the Barnsnape responsibility.

Outcome and Benefits

Barnsnape established the ‘what and why’ for the programme and then went on to ensure that it was delivered. The three critical success factors were:

Stakeholders – establishing a critical mass of the top 50-100 top client staff bought into the programme was crucial.
Scope and benefits – establishing a scope justified by quantified investment appraisal which yielded a robust definition of the programme boundary.
Systems Integrator – selecting a partner who had sufficient scale and rigor of methodology to undertake the project defined.

We deployed that right industry expertise and the experienced delivery consultants to ensure that this major programme was delivered for our client within the originally agreed programme parameters.