Performance Improvement

For some, IT project partners, vendors and suppliers can be a source of pain. Some IT Project Managers may even be on the brink, considering a partnership termination. But, as some will attest, termination is time-consuming, costly and bitter; where…

It’s hard not to be susceptible to good marketing, but when it comes to bringing in someone who claims to be an ‘expert’, they need to be serious about their claims. Why? Because by representing themselves as an expert who…

To get your project back on track, clear communication with your vendor is critical. Following the key steps below will help to ensure that both sides are clear about your expectations, that the system will be fit for purpose once…

If you’re looking into re-aligning your IT project, you may find it hard to figure out where to begin. To help, we’ve charted 6 steps below, which if you follow in the right manner will help you to get your…

Understanding how your IT project got off track will help you to realign your project and relationship; helping to deliver more value. The chances are, both you and your vendor contributed to the issues, but don’t take it to heart…

Selecting and managing suitable suppliers often requires a much greater emphasis on communicating your business outcomes to them, along with much more subtlety and finesse in managing the emotional stakes, than many realise. The importance of strong supplier relationships from…

Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) is an incredibly useful step in the procurement process, especially when one of the more restrictive procedures is to be selected. However, essential though it may be, PME has until now been largely ignored. New EU…

With so many pieces in play on the metaphorical chessboard of complex service-provider relationships, to ensure success in achieving your business outcomes it is important to know how each will move. Who are the advocates, the obstructers and the fence-sitters?…

Supplier relationships can be complicated, they can be messy and they can at times be self- destructive. Poor planning, insufficient research, ambiguous contracts and conflicting agendas – all can contribute. These errors or omissions don’t even need to be substantial…

Effective knowledge management is one of the most important tools at your company’s disposal, but learning to collect, analyse and disseminate knowledge effectively requires more than just good data management technology. Despite the fact that most organisations understand the value…

In today’s cost-conscious world, everyone says they are looking out for ways to save time, money and resources. However, the reality is still that far too few connect the dots to make the true savings that are possible, to cut…

Why is it that no matter how clearly, simply or concisely you communicate your expectations, there will be times when what you get back bears no resemblance to what you were asking for? Is it your communication style, a training…

How many times have you been involved in what was billed as a crucial project, only to see it fall at the first hurdle? For many businesses in the private and public sector, juggling numerous projects at any given time…

We all feel a little out of our depth at times. Even the most experienced individuals occasionally find themselves out of their comfort zones. After all, no one person can know everything, which is why it is so important to…

When complex strategic relationships between public bodies and private sector vendor organisations start to veer off track it can often seem too daunting a task to refocus vendor performance on the original business outcomes expected and agreed. With productivity levels…

As most PFI contracts span a period of 20 to 30 years, they tend to have built-in provisions for periodic price realignment, based on market rates for similar services. Although the responsibility for managing this process rests with the contractor,…

Our focus is on operational PFI Contracts: How to get the most from partner changes. With most PFI contracts having an average lifespan of 20 to 30 years, it is inevitable that some of the parties will change during that…

If you are to believe the statistics published on problematic big IT projects – whether a commercial sector Enterprise Software implementation (ERP), a Local Authority Client Relationship System (CRM) or an NHS Trust dealing with a problematic Electronic Patient Records…

As I recently read through yet another Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report uncovering yet more failures of Government procurement and project failures, I found myself wondering whether the squandering of the public purse is ever going to be addressed with…

So, here we are again. The rumpus of big public sector outsourcing (although not necessarily just in the public sector) has hit the headlines with both Christopher Hyman (CEO, Serco Group) and Richard Morris (CEO, G4S) both falling on their…

In recent years the massive tectonic plates of change have shifted significantly from a status-quo where organisations have been comfortable with long-term, hands-off arrangements with outsourced service provision across a variety of disciplines to one where every aspect of the…

Most organisations, whether in the public or private sector, are under extreme pressure to cut service costs – and quickly. But they also remain under pressure to keep service levels as high as they possibly can. And minimise complaints from…

Outsourcing, managed and commissioned services are prone to relationship problems, with around half failing due to partners not performing to client expectation. You will be well aware that a lack of performance kills trust, but may be less aware of…

In 2007, Somerset County Council struck a deal to outsource various services to a joint venture company. That company — Southwest One (SW1) — was intended to serve as a trailblazer that demonstrated how public and private organisations could work…

With the best of intentions, strategic partnerships and major projects can still falter. Such failings are typically down to a lack of quantifiable goals or a failing in the translation of business outcomes to contract terms (which are typically easily…

It’s a common situation. An organisation is very disappointed with what they perceive to be a failing provider relationship, unsatisfactory service delivery from a strategic provider, and they want out of the contract. They appreciate that exiting a service provider,…

I am always on the lookout for mentions of service commissioning in the media, and at the end of last month I sat down to watch a Dispatches special, Getting Rich on the NHS. The programme highlighted Virgin’s involvement in public…

Although Councils are tasked with slashing budgets whilst maintaining (or even increasing) the quality of public services, the endorsement of local authority strategic commissioning as a potential solution is seen by many councillors as dangerous ground upon which to tread.…

Imagine that there is a small-scale model of a planned development on display at your local council. Although it gives a good representation of what the finished building will look like, most of the detail is lost in the scale.…

The news last Thursday that Northgate Managed Services has put itself up for sale comes as little surprise to those of us with extensive experience in the managed services sector. The company has been struggling to provide any significant return for its…

The back office ICT system was bought a few years ago. It was hailed as a fantastic piece of procurement by the team that was chosen to select a vendor and a package, the benefits that your company were to realise…

A new court ruling will make them think again… DE BEERS v ATOS ORIGIN [2010] Have you ever had this happen to you? A vendor commences a major project – perhaps for a large software initiative, service commissioning or outsourcing. Part…

One of my roles is as Deputy Chairman of SOCITM Insight, the local authority IT management think tank. SOCITM has just published its annual Better Connected survey. In it, SOCITM complain Councils still don’t embrace the digital route when it comes to…

We have been involved in several BSF projects over recent times. Unfortunately, most of them from the point of helping to recover these projects, rather than being involved during the procurement cycle to help avoid problems in the first place. Whilst the…

A report has been published by the Institute of Government stating that Government ICT is an “outdated model”. The problem with comments like this, is that the Government has a view that the majority of Private Sector ICT projects (in…

SOCTIM Conference – Promoting Innovation, Ingenuity and Value in Local Government IT Competition for this year’s awards was strong, with entries unerringly in line with technology’s leading edge. But it is not only that which made these awards so unique. It…