1

Capability and expertise

It all comes down to having people with the right skills: you shouldn’t do these things if you don’t have these – but it takes time to build this

2

It’ll be much more complex than you expect

It’s the unknown unknowns that get you - but the more experience you have, the better you will be able to deal with the unknowns

3

You need a Vision and a Roadmap

You have more chance of getting where you want to go if you know where you’re going, and how you’re going to get there.  These provide a strategic frame within which to make prioritization and sequencing choices, and help you Keep the Faith when things get difficult

4

It’s all in the Set-up  

You make things very difficult if you don’t set the initiative up properly in the first place (with the right people, structure, governance model, business engagement/stakeholder management etc)

5

Time spent in reconnaissance is seldom wasted

There are usually multiple ways of skinning a cat, so you need to ensure you’re doing the right initiatives, in the right way, rather than jumping straight to any particular answer – this requires rigorous and high quality analysis, and takes time

6

Swings and Roundabouts

There is a trade off between the purity and sophistication of the solution, and the cost, complexity and risk of delivery – you need to be honest and ruthless about this

7

These are Business projects, not IT ones

These initiatives are all about delivering a business benefit, and so the business needs to own them, understand them, believe in them, and buy in to the value proposition.  You need Executive Level sponsorship in support of this

8

Governance and Transparency

All this needs to be underpinned by strong, unambiguous governance, with clear decision rights and accountabilities, and accurate information about programme progress. But don’t ask the governance board to take decisions that they aren’t equipped to take – so you need professional staff work to support the governance board and make sure it works effectively

9

Keep your hands on the tiller

Things will happen, changes will occur, issues will arise – there is a need for constant and continual attention, otherwise you will be blown off course, and you may hit the rocks

10

Assurance

Expert independent and objective review of the initiative is invaluable to all concerned - but you need to ensure the reviewers really are expert and independent, because often they aren’t