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Implementation approach

Better Practice results: Well-structured phasing reduces many common risks to project success, allows earlier delivery of outcomes, and can be more responsive to the priorities of government.

Planning a project as a series of linked but independent modules or phases, with each phase providing a particular capability or outcomes, can have many benefits. However, there is a risk that the structure of project phases will be guided by the perspective of those undertaking the detailed planning.

To help achieve an appropriate balance between technical requirements and government priorities, it is better practice for the project sponsor to:

• understand the major constraints imposed by logical dependencies between different project components – for example, a new database may be needed before any applications can be received;
• provide guidance to the project planning team on the importance of different factors, such as risk reduction or timeframe, to use when comparing alternative implementation approaches – taking into account the views of key stakeholders; and
• review and agree to the proposed implementation approach.

Some issues for the project sponsor to consider in assessing and comparing implementation approaches are listed in the following table.

ISSUE	POTENTIAL CONSIDERATION FOR IMPLEMENTATION APPROACH
Reducing risk and uncertainty	Ability to test uncertainties early; or allow risks to be identified and resolved with a lower impact.
Timing of benefits	Providing some functions earlier than otherwise.
Recipient of benefits	Relative priority to give to benefits accruing to different stakeholders.
Increasing flexibility or reducing possible losses	By packaging work to provide points for possible project exit or change of direction that would minimise wasted effort and provide some ongoing value of products delivered to that point.
Resource impact	Packaging work taking account of who is involved to avoid impact on areas with other responsibilities, such as a peak work load for business-as-usual activities and other possible projects.
Management control	Packaging work so that progress can be reported in terms of a series of completed and independently useful project phases provides reliable status information, and useful choices on the value of further funding. (In contrast to a series of parallel, interdependent phases which may be ‘80% complete’ but with no delivered value, which limits the choice of further funding to ‘all or nothing’).

Where different implementation approaches offer significant variations in the timing of benefits to different stakeholders, or the effectiveness of project control, it is good practice to provide these as options in the business case, which are analysed and compared with other types of options – such as different solution approaches. Any significant information about the implementation approach should be included in the executive summary, for the information of decision-makers.

In addition to considering and deciding the overall approach to implementation, as discussed above, it is important for the project sponsor to consider the work needed to effectively develop or acquire the project products, and to introduce the project products into effective use. Chapter 4: Overview of project implementation at page 87 provides an overview of the typical activities during project implementation. This is useful background for considering the implementation activities which will need to be budgeted for in the business case.

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