The goals of this process are to:
- delegate responsibility for producing deliverables to the appropriate people;
- monitor the performance of the work and track against the delivery plans;
- take action where necessary to keep work in line with plans;
- escalate issues and replan if necessary;
- accept work as it is completed;
- maintain communications with all stakeholders.
| Indicators | Level 2 attributes |
How the process, and therefore this competency, is implemented will depend upon the complexity of the work being managed. Less complex projects will have few work packages while programmes and complex projects will have many. Where there are many work packages, these are likely to vary in terms of their scale and whether they are performed by internal teams or external suppliers. More complex work will require more complex techniques. Whereas Gantt based slip charts may be adequate in a non-complex situation, other circumstances may require more sophisticated techniques such as earned value management. All these contextual factors must be taken into account when considering maturity for this process. Where the work includes delegated work packages and the use of the development process, the maturity of the two processes should be the same, i.e. the delivery process cannot be at level 3 if the development process is only at level 2. |
Description | The delivery phase is managed separately from definition. Where appropriate the phase is divided into stages or tranches. | |
Authorise work | Work is divided into packages that are formally assigned to teams with performance criteria. | |
Co-ordinate and monitor progress | Progress is recorded and its impact is assessed and acted upon. Teams working on different work packages are co-ordinated. | |
Update and communicate | Documentation is regularly updated and disseminated in accordance with the communications plan. | |
Corrective action | Exception plans are produced where necessary and work is terminated when a business case is no longer achievable. | |
Accept completed work | Deliverables are formally accepted by the management team. | |
| Indicators | Level 3 attributes | |
Description | A process for the delivery phase is centrally defined. This is tailored to suit the context of the work. | |
Authorise work | The impact of new work packages on the performance of existing work packages is assessed. | |
Co-ordinate and monitor progress | Progress information from multiple work packages is consistent and consolidated. Plans are regularly reviewed and updated information fed back to the work packages. | |
Update and communicate | Adherence to the communications plan is monitored and controlled. Key documents are subject to configuration management. | |
Corrective action | Systems are in place to identify the need for corrective action in advance. | |
Accept completed work | Deliverables are subject to a consistent acceptance procedure including sign off and handover. | |
