Life on the inside

Project goes behind the scenes of Manchester City Council's project office to find out how it works, who benefits and, more importantly, where the real value comes from.

The strategist

Kevin Fletcher is strategic planner for Manchester City Council and runs a small group called the Capital Programme Group (CPG). The decision was taken at an early stage not to call it a project/ programme/portfolio management office to avoid confusion and to ensure that the name of the group was not perceived as a programme and project delivery resource.

Instead, the CPG has one very broad objective: to bring more surety to the councils capital portfolio which currently runs at 300m + per annum.

Says Kevin: We had a very clear vision at the start. This was based on a four-phase strategy to provide a structured approach to project and programme delivery.

The first was to create a standard generic approach for project delivery across the authority using a basic methodology based on PRINCE2 tailored to a public sector environment.

The second part was the scrutiny of projects and programmes coming into the portfolio. Using a process called Gateway (not to be confused with the OGC Gateway), a level of scrutiny was introduced that was both structured and able to adopt other generic elements. Many other local authorities have since adopted this or a very similar approach.

The next element was automation. Once the methodology was in place, there was a real need to compare and contrast data. Kevin explains: We needed to give the people delivering projects a reporting tool that was both useful and able to operate at all levels, from project to programme through to super portfolio, giving an overarching strategic view of several portfolios within the authority.

Working with software partner Atkins, MCC developed a tool called Project Management System (PMS). PMS, based largely on Microsoft products, has been running for three years and is about to be superseded by another programme called PrISM or Project Information System Manchester.

The PrISM upgrade will be accessible to everybody within the authority and to key stakeholders, allowing project teams to correlate and collaborate on huge amounts of information. PrISM supports flexible and agile working.

The final part was to create project management as a recognised career path and demonstrate that somebody at the lowest level could progress through a career path potentially to become a programme director.

The results are starting to bear fruit. A large proportion of MCC projects are now delivered in-house by project professionals who have come up through the ranks. This required a major mindset change but, after four to five years of effort, the authority is starting to produce a consistently high level of competence and experience in projects designed to deliver better services and capital assets for Manchester.

Kevin adds: The career path introduced by the CPG has proved very attractive to aspiring project managers from other authorities who have applied for roles purely because they can see a clear development path.

Kevin, with the full support of director John Lorrimer, created the CPG eight years ago. The team consists of a strategic planner, two capital programme managers and two business support managers.

The team contains qualified and experienced project managers, MoR Practitioners, GIS (mapping) support, and MS Sharepoint trained members. Kevin says it is vital that the skills and experience of the team remain current to maintain credibility and ongoing support. If a project team says we have got to do a particular project, they will help set up the system and map the project onto GIS so they can get special views, including information about other projects in the area. In addition the team will provide risk analysis training and workshops if the project manager is new, he adds.

But does a loss of ownership cause resentment? Far from it, says Kevin. In fact, the opposite is true. One of the things the authority has improved on is delegation. Previously some saw project management as an addition to the day job, which proved to be a major issue when delivering large or complex projects.

We have casual project managers, who may have one project to do but then go back to their usual role. So we have to cater for the professional who does it for a living as well as the part-time project manager who completes a small or routine project as a one off then returns to their normal role.

While the CPG needs to adapt to changing needs, it also needs to be proactive to go out and help people. Says Kevin. A massive decision when creating any type of project office is whether it should become a policeman or a friend. His own view is that you cannot be both. We decided to go down the friend route and offer constructive support rather than reprimand people if things go wrong.

The support.

Victoria Woods is one of the business support managers who work on Manchester City Councils Capital Programme Group. Her primary responsibility is to support the capital programme and project managers to ensure surety in delivery and maximise the business opportunities around the Project Management System.

"Although based in Capital, we work closely with projects across MCC to show them how to gain the most from the system. For some, it is a new way of working and its often a case of walking them through the process and showing them how to use the system functionality to their greatest advantage.

"There is huge variety in the role and we have to be adaptable in order to assist with any situation that comes along. This includes GIS (Geographic Information System) mapping to give a graphical view of the projects across the city, developing appropriate business processes around the system and advice on information management.

"The one constant in all this is promoting best practice, whether in the MCC Gateway process or the Manchester Method. Scrutiny is applied to projects via the MCC Gateway process and continuous review from audit, leaving the team to focus on offering support and advice on best practice. The system however, is integral to the MCC Gateway process, as capital projects are required to use the system to secure funding. There is some technical knowledge involved, especially around innovation in collaborative ways of working, but my role is essentially to help facilitate the integrated business process around the system and MCC Gateway process, supported by the Manchester Method and associated templates.

"As a Management of Risk Practitioner I am also able to assist with advice on our corporate risk approach and with workshop facilitation, and to apply my knowledge in risk management to further develop the system."

The benefactor

Kevin Jones manages the project management resource within MCC. He is responsible for a team of 24 programme and project managers, ranging from programme manager through to an entry-level project support officer.

"There are clear lines of responsibility between the PMO and the individual project managers but they are also very complementary. The PMO is integral to the wider organisation, not a stand-alone function, and operationally it is very much embedded within the Capital Programme division.

"Day-to-day PMO personnel manage work around the Gateway process to organise meetings, make sure everybody is made aware and ensure that the right decisions are made in a timely fashion. But they also fulfil another function - with a number of qualified risk management practitioners able to offer expertise when it is needed.

"This is where the real value comes from. I can train people to level 3 risk management status but that would be a waste of time and resources. Project managers need to have a good understanding of risk management but where there is a complex or high-risk project that would benefit from specialist resources, I think it is the right solution to have that resource in a group of people who can offer it across a range of projects. One of the problems with project management in general is that talented project managers tend to lock expertise within individual projects. The key thing about the PMO is that it spreads this expertise across all projects. So from a knowledge management perspective it offers real value.

"Ultimately its about efficient use of resources. Its not uncommon for a project manager to work on more than one project so the PMO function is more about high-value input than everyday administrative support."

Future skills

Within its portfolio MCC is responsible for a range of programmes and projects including delivery of the billion Building Schools for Future programme (BSF).

The Building Schools for the Future programme will see every state secondary school in England - around 3,500 in total - rebuilt or remodelled over
the lifetime of the programme.

Launched by the then Department for Education & Skills in February 2004, BSF aims to transform education for some 3.3 million students aged 11-19.