Improving project management practice through the development of a business case: A local administration case study

Improving Project Management Practice Through the Development of a Business Case: A Local Administration Case Study Fernando Martins (&) , Pedro Ribeiro, and Francisco Duarte Information Systems Department, ALGORITMI Research Centre, School of Engineering, University of Minho, Guimarães, Portugal [email protected], {pmgar,francisco.duarte}@dsi.uminho.pt Abstract. The identification and implementation of the best practices of project management are preponderant and decisive factors for the success of the companies, regardless of their area of intervention. This highlight arose from the need for companies to respond quickly, efficiently and in an integrated manner to the challenges that an ever-changing environment offers. In a public transportation company, the challenges should focus on project management improvement initiatives, considering their organizational context and the low level of organizational maturity existing in project management. The purpose of the research was to develop a solution of a Business Case template that was intended to be integrated into the life cycle of project management of the company under study, transversal to all the areas of knowledge described by PMBoK, having several inputs provided by PRINCE2 and BABOK. The purpose of the research work was to develop a solution to justify initiatives that lead to projects and ensure a correct management throughout the life cycle of each project. Keywords: Business case Project management practice Project management improving initiatives Integrated project management processes 1 Introduction Project Management (PM) has had a great recognition in industries and organizations to achieve a higher success rate. The projects of Information Technologies (IT) and Information Systems (IS) have emerged with high frequency, because of the technological evolution that offers new opportunities and challenges to the cities. These has led cities to integrate the most modern technology in order to sustain its development, whether economic or political [1]. This situation makes it necessary to implement good practices of PM in order to increase the success rate of these same projects, which is around 29% [2]. However, the simple implementation of any PM approach is not a solution, it has already been recognized that PM varies from one context to the other, and several limitations are also identified in the recommended approaches [3]. ©Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018 Á. Rocha et al. (Eds.): WorldCIST'18 2018, AISC 745, pp. 433–448, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77703-0_43 One of the important steps in PM is its start-up, which is being ignored most of the time, so presenting a solid Business Case (BC) increases the probability of obtaining the leadership engagement and the resources needed to start and implement successful projects [4]. 2 Case Study All companies have different scopes. Some exist in business contexts related to industry or commerce activities, others are public entities and there is still room for those that do not have any profit objective. Despite this distinction in their scope they all have internal structures, which represent their mission, vision and strategy that serve as a foundation for all the objectives of these same companies. Transportes Urbanos de Braga (TUB) is a company located in Braga, Portugal, that operates in the urban passenger transport sector, being certified by the Portuguese standard that regulates Research, Development and Innovation, NP4457:2007 [5]. This company is heir to a long tradition, but its ambition leads them to make future every present day through its dynamic image and continuity, looking for Integrated Urban Mobility that encompasses pedestrian paths, cycle paths and integration between the various modes of transport. 2.1 Strategy for Projects As a benchmark company with a high impact on society, it is worth mentioning that TUB has been heavily involved in the search for more economical solutions over the last few years and that they guarantee significant reductions in their negative impact on the environment. TUB have sought to position Braga as a city capable of responding to the latest challenges in terms of transport and mobility, so they see innovation, research and development as critical factors for their activity because of their certification. 2.2 TUB Projects The fuel for all the TUB projects is its mission to offer mobility and comfort solutions in the region, satisfying and surprising the expectations of the involved partners [6], which justifies its constant search to create new means and mechanisms to serve its customers, recognizing the importance and value of information and making it available to anyone. 2.3 Motivation One of the great difficulties identified is precisely the absence of standard documents and processes. By default, the project owner to justify a project does not use a document that identifies the necessary requirements for the board of directors support their decision-making process. 434 F. Martins et al. As such, and using the current process, there is the mistake of spending more time on project justification than what would be ideal. The process that represents the beginning of the life cycle of a project can be described as follows, and is represented in the Fig. 1the “as is”as present (left) and the “to be”as the desired process (right). When identifying a need or opportunity it is necessary to create or identify a solution and then select the one that best suits this issue. If the solution demonstrates that it can solve the identified situation, the owner must fill an internal document explaining the need. Fig. 1. Procedure for the start of a project Improving Project Management Practice 435 The main weakness of this process lies in this phase because this document will be filled according to what its author deems pertinent and valid and then submitted to the board of directors. With the requirements obtained through several contact points (iterative approach) [7,8], because of the involvement of several employees, the following process was defined as desirable: •Problem: when identifying a problem or opportunity, all its characteristics and impacts must be identified with the organization. •Idea: subsequently, a list of requirements that may lead to the resolution of the previously identified situation must be elaborated. •Solution: the identification of one or more solutions must be performed to solve the difficulty or opportunity felt. •Proposal: fill in a document that translates the difficulty or opportunity so that it can be introduced into the organization. •Authorisation: with the proposal, the administration should take the decision making that should be one of three possibilities: do something, do the minimum or do nothing. The workflow is simplified and ensures that decision making is better sustained, ensuring better engagement by all stakeholders at different levels of the company. Thus, with the introduction of a structured document, which is the Business Case Template, 30% of the complexity is reduced thanks to process uniformity and documentary support. 3 Business Case According to the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) [9], the BC is a tool that provides the justification for a particular solution, based on the benefits to be gained when compared to the cost, effort and several other considerations made IIBA [9] further indicates that it must capture all the reasoning necessary to achieve change and is often presented as a formal document. Observing and analysing the business for improvement is only part of the process of identifying the benefits. It is also necessary to develop a BC to justify the level of investment and ensure that all risks are identified. One of the key elements of the BC is the identification and quantification of benefits guaranteed by change [9]. To facilitate its implementation and versatility, this should not be a complex document, it can be the catalyst for several different change initiatives and follow the whole life cycle of a project as seen in the Fig. 2. 436 F. Martins et al. 3.1 Business Case Application in the Life Cycle of a Project To develop a BC template, both BABOK Guide [9] and Prince 2 [11] were used as a major influencers. The BC is one of the techniques present in BABOK in order to promote and sustain organizational change [9]. BC covers a series of areas that aim to respond to that purpose, having a description and several constituent elements and considerations of use. The BC in PRINCE2 is one of 7 themes that represents the key aspects that needs to be addressed in PM [11]. This artefact is developed at the beginning of the project and updated throughout it, it should be formally reviewed at various times, such as decision moments or at the end of each phase of the project. With the understanding of all existing processes, it is possible to develop a Business Case Template that provides all the necessary information from a business point of view that allows determining the feasibility and obtaining the necessary commitment with it to achieve success [12]. According to the BABOK® Guide, the BC is not only a justification for an investment to deliver a proposed solution, it must consist of the benefits, costs and risks associated with the investment. Thus, the BC should be composed of [9]: •Why the project is being carried out; •Problem statement/definition; •Recommended solutions; •What are the benefits to the various stakeholders (i.e. organization, project team and client); Fig. 2. Business case change lifecycle [10,p.4] Improving Project Management Practice 437 The Rational Unified Process (RUP) [12] and the BABOK® Guide [9] indicate that the BC should be carried out in the preparatory phases for the project. The RUP approach defines BC as part of the Inception. Inception’s main objective is to obtain the agreement between all the stakeholders in the objectives of the project life cycle. This phase is particularly important for new efforts, where there are several business risks and requirements that must be addressed before the project can proceed [12]. Considering the dynamics and relationship present in the BC and the projects, it was considered valid that the defined template would be structured according to the principles present in the RUP, PRINCE2 and BABOK® Guide, so through the RUP it is possible to introduce a time point where the BC is necessary, and with PRINCE2 and BABOK® Guide we define the requirements necessary to create the artefact in question, with the complexity required for the document and its importance [9,11,12]. 3.2 Requirements The characteristics of a BC differ between the BABOK® Guide and PRINCE2, as can be seen in Table 1[9,11,12] and from that, according to the requirements also imposed by standard NP4457:2007 [5], the requirements for the Business Case Template TUB are defined in Table 1. 3.3 Phases of a Project Lifecycle Certain that the contribution of the employees is determinant for the accomplishment of the objectives of the public entities, the requirements defined for a BC model and considering the process defined for the use of the same, several iterations were then made in the construction of a valid model. When designing a first proposal for a Business Case Template, it became clear that it is necessary to define the process and the desired project life cycle initially. Table 1. Business case content BABOK® Guide PRINCE2 Template Business Case TUB Scope Description Need Desired Results Alternatives Scope Viability Assumptions, Risks and Constraints Financial Analysis and Valuation Recommended solution Usage Consideration Forces and Limitations Reasons Actions to take Do nothing Do something Do the minimum Expected benefits Consequences Costs Time scale Risks Investment valuation Program part Consulting / External Support Introduction / Justification Scope, Purpose and Purpose Objectives and Expected Results Definitions / Acronyms and Abbreviations Inputs Solution Description # Expected Benefits Consequences Risks Time Costs Investment Evaluation Program Consulting / External Support Deliberation 438 F. Martins et al. Thus, mapping the process that starts in identifying a need that originates a project becomes a vital issue for the preparation of the Business Case Template and the entire remaining life cycle of projects. Considering the characteristics of the template to be developed and the requirements that it must have, we also analysed the internal process groups that belong to the life cycle of a project, creating a workflow and the way in which these, in ideal situations, relate and precede activities among them (Fig. 3). Fig. 3. Phases of a project lifecycle Improving Project Management Practice 439 3.4 Tools and Techniques For those organizations that perform well, it is necessary to set in motion a set of mechanisms that do not have an instantaneous effect or act if they are used in isolation [13]. Thus, in order to create some control guidelines we used the tools and techniques present on the standards PMBoK [14] and PRINCE2 [11] to implement and customize the BC template in order to facilitate all the management of a project life cycle. In this way, the Business Case Template will have the following tools and techniques: This covers the whole life cycle of a project divided by the 4 phases that interact with the different areas of PMBoK knowledge (Table 2). 3.5 Business Case Template Having defined the life cycle process of a project, requirements and tools to be incorporated, thus ensuring a thorough understanding of it, it is now possible to define what a Business Case Template should address. Therefore, the proposed model will be composed of: Cover Sheet Inserted in the initiative of standardizing and customizing the PM processes to the organizational context, a cover page was then introduced to the template in order to offer various information through a brief consultation (Table 3). Information is more than a production factor, it is the resource that allows the effective combination of other means in order to optimize the organization’s performance [13] and thus ensure that several units of the company provide inputs. This way it is related to filling the fields according to the assigned responsibility. Table 2. Tools and techniques of the business case template Opening Statement Project Management Plan Scope Management Categorization of Project Typology Time management Cost management Quality Management Matrix of Responsibilities Stakeholders Skills Management Risk Management Lessons Learned Business Case Pre-Project xxx x xx x x Planning and Execution of the Project xxxx Follow up Monitoring and Quality control xx x x Evaluation and Closure xx x 440 F. Martins et al. Business Case/Pre-project A BC provides the justification for a solution, based on the benefits to be gained when compared to the cost, effort and other considerations made [9]. Not to mention that the standard NP4457:2007 [5] follows a PDCA approach, following guidelines for continuous improvement, the document created has the necessary elasticity to follow the entire project life cycle. This group involves the entire initial phase that originates the creation of a project, through the introduction to the problem it intends to solve, identifying the scope, objectives and referencing documents that support this need (Table 4). Table 3. Business Case - Cover Sheet Field Responsibility Description <PROJECT NAME> Author/Project Manager Short designation of the project <PROJECT MANAGER> Author/Project Manager Responsible for creating the idea and later managing the project <DEPARTMENT> Author/Project Manager Department responsible for creating the idea and later managing the project Project < PROJECT REFERENCE> Portfolio Manager Indication of the internal reference of the project given out by the Portfolio Manager Type of Project: < ProjectType> Management and Inspection Systems Manager Definition of the type of Project IDI type: < IDItype> Management and Inspection Systems Manager Definition of IDI type Starting Date: <AAAA/MM/DD> Author/Project Manager Creation date of idea Table 4. Business case - business case/pre-project Business Case document field Description 1. Introduction Identification and description of the difficulty or opportunity identified Receives inputs from: PMBoK - Integration Management, Scope Management 2. Scope/Purpose/Purpose The questions that must be answered in this field are: What is the scope and purpose for the project in question? What is its purpose? Receives inputs from: BABOK® Guide/PRINCE2/PMBoK - Integration Management, Scope Management 2.1 Objectives and Expected Results The solution must have clear and identified objectives so that a solution can be evaluated against these requirements Receives inputs from: BABOK® Guide/PRINCE2 (continued) Improving Project Management Practice 441 12. IBM Corporation, IBM Rational Unified Process, Version, vol. 7, p. 2000 (2007) 13. Carapeto, C., Fonseca, F.: AdministraçãoPública - Modernização, Qualidade e Inovação, Edições Si (2014) 14. PMI, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge - PMBOK® Guide, 5th edn. Project Management Institute, Newtown Square, Pennsylvania (2013) 15. Varajão, J., Pinto, J., Colomo-Palacios, R., Amaral, L.: Modelo para a avaliaçãodo desempenho potencial de gestores de sistemas de informação. Interciencia 37(10), 724–728 (2012) 16. Hobbs, P.: Project Management. In: Project Management. DK, Ed. (2009) 17. Bell, D.: Comparing the differences and complementary features of PRINCE2® and the PMI PMBOK® Guide, p. 5 (2009) 448 F. Martins et al.