Andrew Kemp NHS Trust

“ProjectProgress has enabled me and my team achieve demonstrable compliance with the PRINCE2™ project management process which has satisfied the requirements of both my internal management team and the OGC Gateway Review panel.”

Appointed as Project Director for the construction of two secure mental health facilities for the NHS with a combined construction cost of £47m, Andrew faced the problem of how to demonstrate a sound project management method and compliance, as a recent OGC Gateway review had resulted in 13 red lights (immediate action required) and outlined several key areas to be addressed including risk management..

“Our Stage 1 OGC Gateway Review identified a need to manage risk on our £12m and £35m projects. We subscribed to ProjectProgress and immediately moved from red to amber at the next Gateway Review. Working with the ProjectProgress CRM team we have identified how we can make further use of the application that will achieve a full Green across the board at the next review.”

Andrew needed not only assistance with effective risk management, but the ability to demonstrate compliance with best practice. As an organisation SLAM NHS is committed to the use of PRINCE2™ on its projects, and the ProCure21 project was already running under the auspices of PRINCE2™.

In May 2005 Glenn subscribed to ProjectProgress to obtain assistance in implementing PRINCE2™ on his projects. Over the next three months 11 of her 13 red lights were to turn amber.

“We looked at a range of project management software and decided on Project Progress as we could access the service via the web which meant didn’t need to interfere with our hospital’s hardware or software, it is also built completely for the PRINCE2 method. As a government organisation, we follow PRINCE2™ and this enabled seamless integration into our project team, both internally and externally.”

Over the last year, my in-house team has double in size which was no problem for ProjectProgress, I simply invited my additional staff members to join my project teams via email. ProjectProgress has provided a standard configuration management system that has allowed all of my team members get up to speed in the minimum time. In addition the ProjectProgress CRM division has worked closely with all of my team to ensure that they understand not only our existing use of the application, but how I intend fully rolling it out across the organisation. I now have control of the PRINCE2™ environment in my organisation which has allowed me to take on an organisation wide quality assurance role.

Overall summary quote:

What is the meaning of the Red, Amber, Green (RAG) Status in an OGC Gateway report?

The OGC Supervisory Board has asked all OGC Gateway Review Teams to agree a RAG status for inclusion in the report at the end of each OGC Gateway Review. The definitions of the statuses are:

Red - To achieve success the programme or project should take remedial action immediately. It means 'fix the key problems fast', not 'stop the project'.

Amber - The programme or project should go forward with actions on recommendations to be carried out before the next OGC Gateway Review.

Green - the programme or project is on target to succeed but may benefit from the uptake of the recommendations.