Programme Development

---

It all starts with the Project, which is, by definition Unique. 

It has its own unique blend derived from:

• The Form of Contract
• Contract Scope
• Time for The Works
• Budget
• Stakeholders
• Resources - In-House /Sub-Contract
• Location(s)
• Constraints

These are all brought together into an inter-dependant, logic-linked network of activities. We will work collaboratively with you and your team to meld these into a bespoke programme to deliver the outputs and ongoing visibility you require. 

Key to this is the development of the programme to determine the 'Critical Path' i.e. the longest path through the programme to which any delay will cause a delay in the finish of the project. Visibility of the Critical Path and also the 'Near-Critical Path' i.e. those activities with a little float but which have the potential to become critical within a reporting period are the prime candidates for closer monitoring and management by the project delivery team.

Organisation and layout of the programme is also important, to make it logical and more 'user -friendly'. Although we work with programmes all day long, we do understand that not everybody can find their way around as readily, so we do try to help. There are many ways to organise the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) - to 'slice or to dice'? organise by work location or discipline?... or a bit of both? - there is no textbook right or wrong answer.
What matters is what's right for you and which best suits your project. Sometimes it's obvious but often it's not.

The layout can be changed if required, but, in general, the standard WBS layout should be that which best represents the requirements of the greatest number of people accessing the data. Specific layouts for different stakeholders or team members can easily be created and, when used with a detailed activity coding structure, the options are limitless.

Both Rail and Highways, where we do much of our work have certain strict processes and norms which govern the various stages of a project i.e. GRIP and SGAR for Rail and Highways respectively. These Governance and Gateway processes determine the higher-level project organisation for key stages and within that there are requirements for review, approval and sign-off with standard durations by discipline or deliverable.

It is vital to get the programme developed correctly at the start. It should form the basis of the project delivery and also form an important part of the commitment to the contract with your client, and is likely to form part of the Contract documentation. Depending on the Form of Contract that you are entering into, the basis of the programme may be especially important. Our experience in working with NEC 3 & 4 contracts helps us to understand the importance of a programme that is at the heart of the reporting mechanisms and gives visibility for progress, payments and possible delays.