Business transformation is a top priority for many CEOs, but how do companies manage through the complex changes that are necessary to do it? Success requires great execution one project at a time.
Business transformation—whether in the form of a construction project, new processes to improve the customer experience, an enterprise IT rollout, or something else—is a step-by-step process. That means organizations must excel at an unglamorous but essential competency: project management.
Smooth execution translates into business agility, faster time to market, and other advantages, but business and technology managers can’t pull off these business-changing initiatives simply through meetings, phone calls, and e-mail. They must have tools that are designed specifically for project management—applications and cloud services for capital planning, cost control, risk analysis, project tracking, and analytics.
Let’s look at what’s happening in manufacturing, for example. Manufacturing production is expected to grow by 2.4 percent this year and by 4.1 percent in 2015, according to the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation U.S. Industrial Outlook. It’s a promising sign of recovery, but growth hinges on strong execution in an environment where resources are tight.And project management isn’t a one-time undertaking. Most companies have a full slate of projects to manage, and this is true across industries—aerospace and defense, automotive, engineering and construction, financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, oil and gas, utilities, and in government, too.
“As the industry rebounds, manufacturers that survived now face a more competitive environment where they must do more with less,” according to the Oracle white paper that provided those statistics. “They will have to optimize resources, choose projects wisely, better manage risk and find the time and budget to innovate in order to thrive.”
Last fall, the Economist Intelligence Unit published a report on the impact of aging infrastructure across the process manufacturing industries. The report, based on a survey of 366 executives in the oil and gas, utilities, chemicals, and natural resource industries, found that aging infrastructure has had an impact on the operations of 87 percent of those surveyed.
Not only that, but many survey respondents worry that aging infrastructure poses a serious operational risk. For instance, when asked about their biggest concerns on the impact of aging infrastructure on operations, 43 percent of respondents in the largest companies ($10 billion or more in revenue) pointed to the risk of operational failure.
What does that have to do with project management? Given the critical nature of this infrastructure, it’s imperative that leaders in these companies make the right choices about where to invest limited resources and execute with precision. And many of the execs surveyed are simply not confident in their project-planning capabilities.
When asked about the biggest obstacles to successful infrastructure upgrades, “poor project planning and due diligence” ranked second in the survey, right behind insufficient funding. Shortage of staff, red tape, and lack of expertise were all lower on the list of obstacles, making it clear that these manufacturing companies see project planning as something they must master if they are to increase their success rate.
The 32-page report from the Economist Intelligence Unit offered the following insights to process manufacturing companies:
- Implement strong project planning and due diligence processes.
- Spend now to save later.
- Invest in monitoring technologies and data analytics to identify infrastructure problems early.
- Change the project culture.
What more can businesses do to drive business transformation through better project management? Oracle ORCL -0.75% is fielding a survey to get at the answer. The survey is investigating organizational preparedness for business transformation initiatives, challenges faced, and capabilities needed to succeed. The survey results will be published in the coming weeks.
Best Practices
Business leaders in the throes of business transformation will come together to share their experiences and discuss best practices at Oracle Industry Connect, a new event to be held March 25 and 26 at the Marriott Copley Place in Boston. The conference is unique in its structure, featuring keynotes and sessions across six major industry groups: communications, financial services, health sciences, retail, utilities, and project-intensive industries such as construction and manufacturing.
For business and technology executives with responsibility for project management, Oracle Industry Connect will offer a full slate of expert speakers, case studies, panel discussions, and other deep dives into the state of the art of project management. The content lineup includes sessions on managing construction projects, improving pharmaceutical development processes, and establishing a project management office.
Keynote speakers include Oracle President Mark Hurd, Oracle Executive Vice President of Global Business Units Bob Weiler, and Dr. James I. Cash, James E. Robison Professor and Senior Associate Dean, Emeritus, of the Harvard Business School.
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