We are using a new approach to project management to ensure the delivery of the Brighter
Futures Programme. This document outlines the approach, how it will be delivered; how the projects will work together and deliver real change.
The department has adopted the Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) methodology to assist in delivering a range of projects as part of our transformation. MSP has been used internationally and is a proven methodology. By definition MSP is the co-ordinated organisation, direction and implementation of a portfolio of projects and activities that together achieve outcomes and realise benefits that are of strategic importance. More information on this methodology can be found at www.msp-officialsite.com
In essence, the program oversees the projects.
A complimentary methodology for managing projects is, Projects IN a Controlled Environment version 2 (PRINCE2). More information can be found at www.prince-officialsite.com/
PRINCE2 is also a proven methodology which has been developed with significant input from users, project management specialists and a review panel of 150 public and private sector organisations. Resulting in a generic best practice tool which is flexible enough to be tailored to any organisation and is used successfully for all types of projects across the globe.
PRINCE2 is a process based methodology. Products are the outputs of projects and are tangible items such as a document or a building. Each product is defined by the following descriptors:

a reference number, e.g. P01

a title, e.g. The Accountability and Responsibility Framework

a description, e.g. the roles, accountabilities and responsibilities for all staff working in the state education sector

a milestone – the due date the product is approved and all work on it has finished

a cost, which in many cases is $0

A RACI (responsible, accountable, consulted and informed) matrix. o responsible: The author(s) who do the work to PRODUCE the product. This is usually one or two people. o accountable: This is the person or group who will APPROVE the product. This will usually be one of: Project Executive, Project Board, Portfolio Board, Agency Head,
Programme Board, Agency Heads Group or Chief Executive. o consulted: This is the list of Key Workers that will CONTRIBUTE to the production of the product. These are usually subject matter experts. o informed: This is the individual or people who will receive a COPY of this product once it is complete.

a schedule – the project plan detailing the who, what, where, when and how the product will be delivered
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The outputs of a project are its products. A product is successfully delivered when it meets the user’s expectations (as documented in the Project Initiation Document (PID’s)) to the budget and timescale set.
The outcomes of the project are the consequences of the combinations of these products. For examples an Accountability Framework, combined with a Training Plan and revised Job and
Person Specifications may result in the outcome being increased capability of the workforce.
The objectives of the project are the specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-sensitive
(SMART) outcomes of the project. For example a project might have an objective to increase the educational achievements of children and young people through increasing the capability of the workforce by January 2016.
So when a project delivers its products on time and within budget, the outcomes and objectives are automatically achieved. As a stand-alone item a project is a success when it achieves its objectives by the timely delivery of its products.
The success of a project is determined by its outcomes and achieving its objectives (on time and within budget); achieved by the timely completion of its products.
The success of a program on the other hand is the realisation of end benefits and the implementation of a new capability or a new method of operation. Programs set a path to realising the end benefits but have often been finalised long before these benefits are realised.
The programme is also responsible for putting in place the infrastructure and new method of operating to ensure the benefits are realised.
A benefit is deemed to be realised once it has achieved its milestone. For example Brighter
Futures has an end benefit to deliver higher standards of achievement for children and young people. The milestone for this might be when 85% of students in state-maintained education achieve a SACE when they turn 18. So we know a benefit has been realised when we can see this result at the end of an academic year. The Programme Board (the program’s governing body) is responsible for confirming the event and a date when it should occur, eg. January 2018.
The program will also include intermediary benefits, stepping stones in effect, to achieving the end benefit. For example for the above end benefit an intermediary benefit might be to increase attendance rates. So the milestone for this would be that students in state-maintained education attend 95% of the state available schooling hours; again a date for this might be January 2016.
Each end benefit and intermediate benefit as well has having a recognition event have a benefit owner. This is the person responsible for ensuring the benefit happens. It is usually a senior manager/executive who would have the outcomes included into their future role/job description
/performance objectives. This is how the program ensures the benefit will be realised and it is why programs (as opposed to projects) require ownership by senior leaders, in the case of DECD the Agency Heads and Executive Leaders Groups.
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So if projects produce products and programmes realise benefits how are they connected? The program connects the products to the intermediate benefits and the intermediate benefits to the end benefits as illustrated below.
P01: Annual assessment plan
(Project P02)
IB: Increase in attendance rates
(measure in school hours in 2016)
P09: Teacher workforce capability
(Project E02) IB: Increase in the annual achievements of children and young people
(measured by NAPLAN in
2015-2018)
EB: Higher standards of achievement for children and young people
(measured by SACE in 2018)
P23: Principal
Accountability Framework
(Project E04)
P12: One child, one plan record management system
(Project C06)
IB: Increase in the child readiness for formal education
(measured by new test for children aged 4 in 2016)
Figure 1: Products to Benefits
In the above example when project P02 delivers product P01, project E02 delivers P09, project
E04 delivers product P23 and project C06 delivers P12 the products for that intermediate benefit are complete. Note the benefit hasn’t been realised since the milestone hasn’t occurred, but the program has delivered the changes required to ensure that the benefit will happen in the future.
These products put everything in place to ensure the benefit will happen. It is the benefit owner assigned to finish the job.
An average project usually delivers around 30 products. Brighter Futures is expected to have around 30 projects, so in total 900 products are expected to be delivered. The role of the
Programme Management Office is to connect the 900 products to the 20 or so intermediate benefits and the five end benefits. This will be documented in the Brighter Futures Benefits
Realisation Plan.
It is not just the benefits that connect the products but many of them are using the same resources, sharing the same governing bodies, and impacting on the same clients and stakeholders. As such it is important that the suite of Brighter Futures projects operate cohesively as one program.
This connection is achieved through three methods:
1. A common purpose
2. A common design
3. A common plan.
The projects share a common purpose to deliver the five benefits and as detailed above the
Benefits Realisation Plan documents how they integrate at a product level.
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Programs are built using a Blueprint. The Blueprint describes the future state of the organisation in terms of the:
 ‘Customers’ it serves, i.e. children, young people and their families
 ‘Partners’ it works with to achieve this, e.g., Department of Health

Delivery models it operates, e.g. central and local delivery

Culture that permeates through how it operates, e.g. solution focused

Underlying business processes, e.g. population planning processes

Organisation charts

Operating costs and performance levels

The supporting tools, technology and physical environment.
The project definition (which includes its purpose and scope) describes how that project will deliver each part of the Blueprint and this is summarised in the program model. The model also connects child outcomes with projects.
Each project details the who (RACI), what (products), where (definition), when (schedule), how
(schedule) and why (benefits, outcomes and objectives) in its Project Initiation Document (PID).
The projects across the whole programme are brought together in the Programme Brief.
The Programme Brief captures the project descriptions and how they achieve the Blueprint; the business case for doing all this work, linked to the benefits; the milestones that connect all the projects together; and the governance (in terms of roles, Project Boards, Programme Boards, etc.) – in effect the who, what, where, when, how and why for the whole programme.
As well as the Programme Brief the Change Management Plan covers how the program will communicate and manage relationships with stakeholders during this transformation. This prevents projects appearing disorganised and failing to achieve both the organisational change and cultural change expected.
Once the Programme Board have approved the program documents and the underlying PIDs the program is ‘baselined’. Each week the Brighter Futures Project Managers report progress on delivery of their products to the timescale and budget set. If a project fails to deliver a product to the timescale set (the milestone) by the Programme Board an Exception is raised at the
Programme Board and the responsible Project Executive is asked to report why they missed the milestone, what corrective action they will take and how this can be avoided again. Many of the causes for milestone slippage can be identified in advance and are called risks. These risks have both a likelihood and consequence. Risks of the highest consequence and likelihood are managed the closest and an updated reported weekly.
In summary, the products are the core elements that ensure the outputs, outcomes and benefits of the programme are being delivered. These products are delivered by projects and documented in the Project Initiation Documents. The products, their purpose, and the people impacted by them are brought together, at a programme level, in the Benefits Realisation Plan, the Blueprint, the Programme Brief and the Change Management Plan. They are underpinned by the programme Business Case and Governance document as illustrated below.
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Brighter Futures Programme
DECD in January
2013
Programme Benefits Realisation Plan
Programme Change Management Plan
(including communications and stakeholder management)
Programme Brief
(including programme plan and financial plan)
Project Initiation
Document
Project Initiation
Document
Project Initiation
Document
Project Initiation
Document
Project Initiation
Document
Programme Blueprint
Programme Governance
Programme Business Case
Figure 2: Delivering Brighter Futures
All of these documents will be baselined on the 18 June and available for staff, in a condensed format, from early July 2013.
Redesigned
DECD in January
2014
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