PME – programme management improvement

The Issue

Ineffective programme management at an international defence contractor had recently caused losses which had required a $300 million cash injection.  Two of the organisation’s divisions were both about to undertake the largest (and riskiest) weapon development contracts in their history. The failure of either programme could have bankrupted the entire corporation.  PwC Performance Improvement Consulting was asked to undertake a PME assessment of the two divisions.

Our Approach

We created two multi-disciplinary and multi-national assessment teams.

The teams used the PwC PME (patent pending) maturity framework, to assess program management processes, organizational effectiveness, culture and alignment.

Each team spent two weeks meeting with personnel at all levels in the organization as well as customers. In total, nearly sixty interviews were conducted. In addition, the teams reviewed relevant documents, policies and procedures.

Each division was assessed individually and benchmarked against the other  to identify strengths and weaknesses and discover gaps in critical program management.

Each division was assigned ratings using the PwC PME maturity framework. The teams then came together to compare and contrast assessments and synthesize common themes and recommended remedial actions.

The Outcome

PwC identified several areas for management attention, including a competition for scarce engineering talent between the two divisions, inadequate knowledge management practices, and opportunities to optimize supply chain management.

Based on our work, management created a program management “champion” and developed a standard program management work stream analysis.  In addition, several cross-divisional initiatives were identified, including enhancing the role of finance in the change control and risk management processes, strategic source management, and human capital management. 

In addition, PwC identified a number of strengths that could be fostered to become competitive advantages in the global aerospace and defence market.

One divisional CEO stated, "The (PME assessment) report is viewed as a useful benchmark of related industry practices which could be used for future initiatives.  The outcome of this assessment will most certainly be used in evaluating our current business execution....  We definitely extracted value from the interaction.”

PwC have since been retained to provide assessments at three more divisions, and is working with the client to enhance working practices in the realm of program management.

The lead PwC partner on this engagement was Glenn Brady.  Contact him on +1 314 206 8118 to find out what PwC can do for your company.