Program Management

• IT investments align with the overall business goals,
• All potential investments are properly analyzed and prioritized, to determine which will best serve the organization,
• Investments are acquired at the lowest lifecycle cost, and
• Once acquired, investments are put to their most effective use, and work together in an integrated manner.

Many government and commercial enterprises have turned to Ventera for Program Management support, and we have provided them with senior management expertise, lessons-learned, and best practices to:

• Understand and help customers adapt to changing Federal and industry rules and regulations,
• Keep abreast of changes in the industry and changes in the needs of the organization’s customers,
• Establish standards, policies, and procedures for acquiring and using IT resources,
• Establish IT investment budgets and measure ROI,
• Prepare project justifications, to gain funding,
• Define and implement methodologies for managing projects,
• Improve management practices on a continuing basis,
• Encourage and foster management-oriented communication throughout the organization,
• Conduct technology assessments,
• Provide lessons learned, risk awareness, and risk mitigation strategies, and
• Train and mentor staff in all of these areas.

Examples of Ventera’s support in this area include the following.

In an ongoing effort with Sprint Nextel, Ventera has established a robust Program Management Office (PMO) for a major business initiative. Through this PMO, Ventera is helping Sprint Nextel focus their attention on the financial planning and control of IT investments, and ensure that all activities contribute to achieving the overall business strategy, vision, and key objectives. Specific Ventera activities include:

• Implementation of a comprehensive and consistent mechanism for reporting on all projects, that allows intra-group comparisons and rolling up data to the executive level,
• Development and implementation of a Program Communications Plan,
• Training project managers, executives, and others on PMO activities and processes,
• Facilitation of regular meetings to review project progress and ensure a consistent approach to project implementation,
• Acting as the first escalation point for issues,
• Reducing costs by centralizing appropriate project management activities,
• Development of a Program-level branding strategy to communicate the program within Sprint Nextel; concepts have been applied to PowerPoint, Word, and Excel templates and the program’s intranet home page, and
• Development and implementation of the PMO governance structure, which defined roles and responsibilities, and escalation paths for issues and risks.

For the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Ventera developed a comprehensive approach to Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC) that:

• Minimizes financial risks associated with IT investments,
• Implements control processes for the development and review of performance goals,
• Aligns IT investments with agency strategies,
• Streamlines the decision-making process (and related documentation),
• Increases the quality of work products (e.g. business cases), and
• Adheres to US laws and regulations including the Clinger-Cohen Act.

In addition, Ventera conducted a comprehensive review and analysis of SEC’s project management delivery process, and developed recommendations for an improved project management delivery methodology. Ventera provided specific recommendations for:

• Implementing and continuously improving a revised project management process,
• Enhancing communications across the Office of Information Technology,
• Creating a formal resource management process to ensure adequate project staffing, and
• Establishing executive sponsorship and support of PM objectives.

Working with one of the world’s largest financial services firms, Ventera provides:

• Enterprise-level strategic planning and analysis by:
  • Developing project plans (including project vision, scope, risks, GANTT chart, organization chart) to help managers gain funding for high-priority projects,
  • Helping senior managers analyze competing projects and set priorities to meet enterprise-level objectives, and
  • Applying appropriate project management and review processes during project execution.
• Technology assessment and business analysis by:
  
  • Defining process and technology “quick hit” initiatives to address critical needs with limited time and resources,
  • Conducting product assessments,
  • Redesigning key business processes to help the organization reduce costs and operate more efficiently, and
  • Analyzing common functions across disparate business units, in order to better standardize data and work processes, enable more data sharing and cross-selling to customers, and develop enterprise business strategies.

For Whereoware, an internet-based portal for the home accents, gifts, and collectibles industry, Ventera provided a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) who served during the 18-month startup period. Ventera’s CTO helped Whereoware define a technology strategy for the company, select specific technologies to implement, define requirements and develop applications, create the company’s IT infrastructure, and define business processes for the technology team to follow.

Ventera’s Program Management support helps both our government and commercial customers get the most from their IT investments. We focus on working with customers to infuse the right management methods, that meet the customer’s needs while being consistent with the customer’s existing corporate policies and processes. Our bottom line for customers is helping them to be more productive while reducing their operating costs.