How to navigate complex projects

By Ben Burrows, Head of Project Delivery

Systematiq has built working relationships and delivered successful projects directly for the Australian Government, as well as for Primes and Defence-related SMEs for over 12 years now.?

Our project management specialists understand how to navigate complex project delivery environments such as those that exist in State and Federal Government.??

These types of projects are challenging by nature because they often involve significant sums of public money, security provisions, rigorous risk management and regulatory requirements.??

They involve long-lead times to procure, build and deliver upgrades to existing infrastructure and/or new defence capabilities (such as armoured vehicles, aircraft, submarines, space systems and guided weapons) to deliver on Australia’s defence strategy and uphold our nation’s security.??

Project owners must take all this into account as they deliver on requirements on time and on budget. They must be astute and agile enough to navigate all these considerations (and more) in a highly dynamic and sensitive environment.??

How do we define a complex environment??

Systematiq’s Head of Project Delivery, Ben Burrows, is a former Defence Project and Program Manager for Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group (CASG) in the Australian Defence Force. He has firsthand knowledge of what is required for a business to deliver a project to Government to the right exacting standards.

When working with a client there are common themes that Ben and his team look for to categorise a project as operating in a complex space. They include:?

• Ongoing scope creep as the requirements of the customer keep changing, the real problem trying to be overcome is not clearly defined or understood.?
• Plans and actions based on known systems, tools and training do not necessarily lead to the predicted or usual outcomes.?
• A high number of external stakeholder inter-dependencies and elements of the project that are outside of your control.?
• A highly dynamic strategic landscape that creates or changes risks faster than they can be treated.?

Addressing capability gaps in complex project delivery?

According to Ben, the need for people with specialist skills to manage complex projects for and on behalf of government and industry continues to be in high demand. ?

The Defence Strategic Review, released in April last year, identified a gap in skilled personnel within their own ranks when it comes to project delivery and management.??

Amongst its findings, it stated in Section 12 of the Review, ‘the increasing volume and complexity of capability projects is overwhelming Defence’s capability system, its limited workforce, and its resource base.’?

The real value that Systematiq brings to project delivery is a mature approach to complex project management in the form of consultation, support, and personnel.??

“It is not enough to be a technical expert in one area and presume you can successfully manage projects of this nature end-to-end. We support our clients to break down problems, investigate variables, prototype solutions and adapt as you go,” says Ben.?

Systematiq’s best value-add as a Project Management Office (PMO)? ?

“We find clients, particularly small to medium size local businesses may produce a product or service that the government seeks to acquire but they are unfamiliar with the procedural requirements they must follow to secure and then fulfil a defence contract; whereas larger clients may have the skills but need to scale-up to because of the sheer volume of work they need to deliver.?

By managing these project requirements on their behalf, we reduce the burden on the client (and the risk to the Commonwealth), they can concentrate on what they do best, and everyone achieves the results they are looking for,” says Ben.??

What does success look like for the client??

According to Systematiq’s Director, Strategy and Projects, Brydon Johnson, added benefits include building the clients’ in-house capabilities via association and unlocking future growth opportunities.??

“A client may engage us to work on one or two elements of project delivery, but this can quickly lead to a much deeper and long-lasting relationship. This is because they quickly realise the added value we can bring to their delivery of the project," says Brydon.

“A stand-out experience for us includes our work with defence engineering firm Chemring on Land 500. We provided a Project Manager to assist with the delivery of the project, and a range of support services in ILS (Integrated Logistics Support) and Systems Engineering to address the Statement of Work (SOW). Not only did Chemring successfully deliver the full scope for Land 500, but through our support, we helped them to identify an additional $3M of scope for the project.”?        

Are you ready to take the next step in your project???

Speak to us to learn how we can improve your project performance.??

Systematiq.com.au

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Systematiq is an SME member of the International Centre for Complex Project Management?