Overview
Xoserve had been in the process of delivering the UK Link programme for some time and had been experiencing challenges with certain elements of technical delivery. This was a complex programme involving multiple partners, onshore and offshore delivery, and close scrutiny from the UK gas industry.
The programme involved delivering a suite of highly integrated IT solutions, based on a core of SAP applications, and was highly visible within the UK gas industry due to the central role of Xoserve as a participant in the industry processes and the key nature of the solutions in ensuring the smooth running of the UK competitive gas market.
What We Did
DNASTREAM appointed a senior programme manager and other project management resources into the UK Link programme to focus on getting the technical delivery back on track and rebuilding the relationship with Wipro, one of the programme delivery partners, which included:
Resetting the relationships between Xoserve, the industry participants and Wipro to ensure these were effective and that all parties understood their respective roles
Providing leadership and direction to programme management and Wipro to refocus the programme delivery plans and address key areas of risk
Challenging all parties, including the industry participants, to ensure there was a focus on common goals and that each party was held to account for meeting its obligations
Strengthening the programme governance to ensure proactive risk management, effective ownership and monitoring of issues and clear visibility of status across the programme
Bringing deep knowledge of the SAP solution landscape to ensure there was a rigorous and thorough approach to design and delivery
Applying focused management to the SaaS reporting work stream to ensure successful delivery
Establishing effective management of change to address areas of scope creep and challenge all parties to justify all requirements to introduce changes to the scope
Following stabilisation and recovery of the technical delivery, DNASTREAM were requested to take a leadership role in establishing the post go live support (PGLS) function, which was at risk of not being completed in time. This involved:
Working closely with the industry participants, Wipro and National Grid to ensure the PGLS processes were fully defined and agreed, with clear accountabilities and ownership
Redefining the go live readiness criteria to ensure these accurately reflected the key decision points and measures with respect to determining the programme’s state of readiness
Driving all parties in delivering the required outputs and outcomes to ensure the PGLS function was capable and competent prior to go live, with any residual risks identified together with mitigating actions
Following go live, DNASTREAM supported the PGLS and ongoing support functions to ensure the solutions were properly embedded and the support processes were working effectively
Outcomes
The key benefits delivered were:
Technical delivery activities were successfully stabilized and recovered to enable on-time programme go live
The SaaS reporting work stream was successfully delivered on time
Effective relationships were established between the various parties that was key in ensuring future industry engagement was on the right footing
Established business readiness assessment processes and criteria including a fully operational Command Centre capability to manage high risk activities during cutover and post go live support
The post go live support function was established within a six week period to ensure successful go live of the programme
WHAT THE CUSTOMER SAID
"This was a complex programme involving multiple partners, onshore and offshore delivery, and close scrutiny from the UK gas industry."
"The customer came to us due to our track record of successfully delivering other programmes in the UK utilities industry."
Andy Milner, MD, DNASTREAM