David Bottomley, Head of IT Delivery at Specsavers spoke at the CIO Event, March 2013

1. PM
RO
ISESPROMI
SES -MAKING PROMISES
W E C A N K E E P – D A V I D BO T T O M L E Y – S P E C S A V E R S

3. Promises, Promises
… making promises we can keep
David Bottomley
Head of IT Delivery, Specsavers

4. but IT (sometimes)
Customers want IT that ... supplies IT that . . .
 enables their business  constrains their business
 saves time and money  adds time and money
 is always working  is unreliable
 is totally secure  is insecure
 is flexible and scaleable  is inflexible & unscaleable
 is easy to use  is legacy and clunky
 is cheap to implement  is tricky to use
 is delivered quickly  is expensive to implement
 is modern and sexy  is delivered late
 lasts for a while  soon needs replacing
 is implemented by helpful  is implemented by grumpy
IT people who fully highly-paid IT people who
understand their business don’t understand their
business

5. Expectation vs Reality
PROMISING DISAPPOINTING
REALITY
EXPECTATION

6. IT Projects - School Report
• Harvard Business Review 2011, 1471 IT projects
o Cost overrun - 27%
o 1 in 6 is a "black swan"
 Cost overrun - 200%, time 70%
• Standish Group
o Average overrun - cost 40%, time 80%
• Panorama Consulting - 2,000 projects / 61
countries, 2006-2012
o ERP Projects - 61% late
• BCS "only 1 in 8 IT projects can be considered truly
successful" - ie delivered to cost, time and quality.

7. Project Delays
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0-2 3-5 6-8 9-11 12+
Delay in months for 29 projects

8. The Malevolent 7
 Poor / over optimistic planning
 Inflated scope
 Inadequate resources
 Poor quality design/build
 Hostile legacy environment
 Unidentified risks
 Weak project management
Left to their own devices, all projects will go wrong
and deliver late….

9. Helpful things we do
when projects go wrong
 Get closer to the detail
 Critique the MSP Plan
 Ask for more reporting / RAGs
 Add new progress meetings
 Tighter control and process
 Solve issues ourselves
 Add more management
 Bring in the consultants
 Enforce overtime & tell them to work harder
 Implement bonuses / penalties
 Sack the vendor
 Change the PM
 Shout and intimidate
 Demand more / increase the pressure
 Take over ourselves . . .
 . . . and save the world

10. Plan B
Ask not what
your team
can do
for you
Ask what
you can do
for your
team

11. Setting ourselves up for success
 Create the conditions for success
 More Leadership
 Less Management

12. We Manage
We Lead
• Authority & Control • Influence & Negotiation
By
• Directing • Consulting
• Precision • Vision
Focussing On
• Risk avoidance • Risk vs Opportunity
• Consistency • Flexibility
• Short-term • Longer-term
• Formality • Informality
Using
• Our own experience & knowledge • Our team’s experience &
knowledge
Providing all of the . . • Answers • Questions
TASKS AND PROCESS PEOPLE & STRATEGY

13. The dimensions of success . . .
Quality
Time Cost
How do we create the conditions for success?
Scope

14. Squeeze out the scope
With the Business
 Flush out real
business value
 Challenge woolly With Your Team
business cases
 Keep IT simple
 Challenge  Function
functional thinking  Technology
 Do the MUST  Deliver in chunks
haves

15. Tell the Truth about the Timescales
Confidence
Variability in estimate
FS /
BRD / LLD
HLD Cone of
Initiati
on Uncertainty
Time
Conception

16. Lets Play . . .
Deadlines, Targets, Plans and Promises
Customer
PLAN REALITY > FAILURE
False Deadline
IT PLAN REALITY > FAILURE
Unrealistic Target
PLAN = SUCCESS PLAN = SUCCESS
Achievable Plan
Promises we Keep

17. Right Resourcing
 Do - portfolio resource planning
 Don’t - spread people across projects
 Don’t - start without the right
resources.

18. Assemble into a team
 Enabled
 Squeeze scope
 Truthful
timescales
 Right resources
 Now we need to
glue together a
team

19. High Performing Teams
Engagement / People
LOW HIGH
Enablement / Task
DETACHED MOST EFFECTIVE
HIGH PERFORMING
HIGH
5% 49%
(n 50%
= 744)
Specsavers 2010 = 46%
Hay Group norm = 46%
LEAST EFFECTIVE
WALKING DEAD FRUSTRATED
LOW
21%
20% 25%
(n = 313)
Specsavers 2010 = 23%
Hay Group norm = 27%

20. What can we Promise our team?
 Enablement  Engagement
 Resources  Calm
 Scope  Clarity
 Timelines  Honesty
 Protection  Trust
 Support
 Communication
 Protection

21. Provide Protection
Be a Buffer for the Pressure – not a cause of it.
Performance
Pressure

22. 5 top qualities of a Leader

23. We get what we give . . .
 Fear (of you)  Confidence
 Pressure  Support
 Mistakes  Pride
 Cover-ups  Honesty
 Blame  Trust
 Failure  Success
 Disappointment  Praise

24. Failure due to poor
leadership Promises we Keep
Success
Failure due to poor
management