As a senior executive, partner, or board member you will find yourself rather sooner or later in one of the following situations:
> You have taken the role of executive sponsor, project sponsor, or steering committee member of a large, multi-year, strategic project a project that is already running for a while, and you want to have an unbiased view on where you are standing with that project?
> Your project team, project manager, and your stakeholders all have a different opinion on the status and chances of success of your project.
> You think one of your key projects is in trouble?
> Or you know that one of your key projects is in trouble?
Then an Independent Project Review is what you are looking for!
An Independent Project Review is all about the probability of project success. It will give you a good understanding of the status of your project and how it is on track to deliver against your definition of project success on three levels:
1) Project delivery success: will the process of delivering the project be successful? Essentially this addresses the classic triangle "scope, time, budget".
2) Product or service success: this is about when the product or service to be delivered is deemed successful (e.g. system is used by all users in scope, uptime is 99.99%, customer satisfaction has increased by 25%, operational costs have decreased by 15%, etc.).
3) Business success: this is about how the product or service to be delivered brings value to the overall organization, and how it contributes financially and/or strategically to the business.
An IPR can take place at any time during the project, although it has limited value at the start of a project. In this case you would be better served by a Project Success Definition Workshop and/or a Project Complexity Reduction Workshop.
Client Outcome
I have done many of these Independent Project Reviews as part of my client engagements as well as with startups I have invested in.
Clients have seen the following results:
> An unbiased evaluation of the project and its chances of success, free from internal influences and biases that affect team members and stakeholders.
> An unbiased view on the performance of vendors and system integrators.
> Enhanced project and executive sponsor credibility, as the review demonstrated a commitment to transparency and accountability.
> Improved communication, understanding, and trust among stakeholders by providing an external perspective on the project’s status and potential issues.
> Identification of risks, issues, and assumptions that were not visible to the project team, allowing for proactive mitigation.
> Validation and tuning of the project success criteria, scope, and complexity so that it is well-defined and aligned with the stakeholders' requirements and expectations.
> Expert insights and recommendations based on industry best practices.
Typical Clients
People that buy an Independent Project Review are:> C-level executives, partners at a professional service firm, and board members in the role of steering committee member.
> Board members in a supervisory role on large and complex projects.
Typical Projects
Projects that will benefit the most from an Independent Project Review are large and complex technology projects in the Implementation or Execution phase.Examples of typical large and complex technology projects are:
> ERP, i.e. introduction or upgrade of SAP/Oracle/etc
> HC, i.e. introduction of Workday/SAP HCM
> CRM, i.e. introduction of Salesforce/MS Dynamics
> Modern Workplace, i.e. introduction of M365/G Suite
> Replacement of core banking / core insurance system
> Custom software development, i.e. a new product or service
The investment volumes of such projects are typically 5 mUSD or more.
Scope
The Independent Project Review is based on my Project Review Model ™ and will cover the twelve areas of a project pictured below.
Input & Activities
The Independent Project Review consists of several surveys, workshops, interviews, and documentation reviews.
> Project Complexity Assessment (30 min online): the project sponsor, all Steering Committee Members, the Project Manager, and Key Team Members have to fill in my online Project Complexity Assessment.
> Project Success Definition Review Workshop (3 hours): the project sponsor, all Steering Committee Members, and the Project Manager will need to participate.
> Project Complexity Review Workshop (3 hours): the project manager, the project sponsor, and the key team members need to participate.
> Stakeholder & Impact Mapping Workshop (3 hours): the project manager, the project sponsor, and key team members need to participate.
> Delphi Planning Workshop (3 hours): the project manager and key team members need to participate.
> Risk Assessment Workshop (3 hours): the project manager and key team members need to participate.
> Individual Interviews: project sponsor (2 hours), all Steering Committee Members (1 hour each, max 8 interviews), project manager (3 hours), key team members (1 hour each, max 5 interviews) and key stakeholders (1 hour each, max 5 interviews)
> Documentation Review: Review of available project documentation, StC meeting minutes, etc.
Depending on the availability of your team all these activities can take place within a three week period.
Participation
| Sponsor | StC Member | Project Manager | Key Team Member | Key Stakeholder | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project Complexity Assessment | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Interviews | 4 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 2 |
| Project Success Definition Workshop | 3 | 3 | 3 | - | - |
| Project Complexity Reduction Workshop | 3 | - | 3 | 3 | - |
| Stakeholder & Impact Mapping Workshop | - | - | 3 | 3 | - |
| Delphi Planning Workshop | - | - | 3 | 3 | - |
| Risk Assessment Workshop | - | - | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Outcome Presentation | 4 | 4 | 4 | - | - |
| Total | 10.5 | 6.5 | 20.5 | 13.5 | 1.5 |
Duration
From commencement to completion, expect this to span 3-4 weeks, depending on the availability of your team and stakeholders.
Scheduling
An Independent Project Review can usually be initiated within 2-4 weeks, depending on the time of year.
Pricing
CHF 27.500,- plus travel costs and expenses.
Payment terms: half upfront, half on delivery of final report and presentation.
Delivery
A mix of online and in house. I have experience delivering this review and my workshops completely online. But in my humble opinion the workshops are always better done in house if possible.
Within Switzerland I charge a fixed price of CHF 500,- for travel costs and expenses per day, for all other countries I charge at cost for business class travel and accommodation.
Why Work With Me
Why would you as a C-level executive, partner of a professional service firm, or board member work with me?
> I have been a C-level executive myself at one of the Big 4 with responsibility for an annual budget of 30 mUSD and 80 FTE. Currently I am a non-executive board member at three companies. So I understand your role and responsibilities from experience.
> I have more than 20 years of experience in the financial and professional service industry.
> I have worked with your peers at companies like PwC, KPMG, Zurich Insurance, Bank Julius Bär, Helsana, Swiss Life, and Swisscard.
> I have been project sponsor, project manager, or steering committee member on dozens of large and complex technology transformation programs with budget responsibility up to 20 mUSD and more than 100 people working on a single project.
> I have delivered more than 250 mUSD in business value in these roles.
> I am an active angel investor investing in technology companies and have done multiple technology trainings for Business Angels Switzerland and professional investment firms to help investors make better decisions when it comes to technology startups.
> I have significant international experience. Born in the Netherlands, I have lived in Germany, the USA, and Switzerland. I have done projects in more than 15 different countries, and traveled to 30 more.
The Next Step
Thank you for considering booking me for an Independent Business Case Review. You can take the next step by contacting me per email or telephone.
I will get back to you right away to schedule a 30 minute free discovery call.
Best regards,
Henrico Dolfing
Advisor | Interim Manager | Board Member
Email: henrico.dolfing@roughtrailventures.com
Mobile: +41 79 3264763