This case study is on a national public body, independent of government. They have a statutory duty to promote, monitor, and enforce laws in relation to their area of expertise.
Ryton Projects was involved at the very start of this body, which was formed by the merger of three existing organisations. Building a new organisation from these constituent parts involved many challenges, and the area that Ryton Projects assisted with was the creation of a new national IT infrastructure.
There were numerous issues to be considered in such work. Each of the three precursor organisations already had their own IT infrastructure, and the main challenge was to ensure the best parts of each were re-used, while taking the opportunity to upgrade where necessary.
Ryton Projects was brought in to project manage the IT infrastructure work, and to act as a link between the IT team, based in Manchester, and the rest of the ‘transition team’, based in London. This link was of vital importance – the IT project was just one part of the larger programme of work taking place, with many dependencies between the various strands.
For this contract, Ryton Projects’ contribution was very much around the ‘traditional’ project management endeavours – planning, co-ordination, risk management, etc. Much of the design work for the new infrastructure had been done before we were engaged – our engagement happening as it became clear external expertise and assistance was needed for such a large body of work.
By providing the project management function, Ryton Projects freed up the key internal client team (made up of staff from the precursor organisations) to focus on the work that needed their expertise – building the new infrastructure. In addition, we were able to handle the (relatively simple) procurement required, taking pressure from the IT team. Finally, Ryton Projects also handled some basic management of temporary external contractors.
Of course, with any project of this size, there will always be the odd surprise and hurdle. In this case, a change was made to when the national helpline was due to start, bringing it forward by 6 weeks. Ryton Projects reacted by flexing the project plan to ensure the IT needs of this helpline could be delivered sooner – but that was the easy part. The office the helpline was due to be based in was still undergoing a major refit! To cope with this, temporary office accommodation was secured, and the necessary IT infrastructure, telephone systems, and desktop computers were put in place – all within a couple of weeks!
While some of the reason for this was the project management flexibility and skill shown by Ryton Projects, the majority of the praise would have to go to the IT team, including both internal staff and temporary contractors, who threw themselves into the challenge.
This demonstrates the way Ryton Projects works – providing project management expertise, freeing you up to do what you do best. Together, we can build a strong team spirit within the project, and build on that to achieve success.
Ultimately, the project delivered a working IT infrastructure for the national body as it launched, enabling it to carry out its vital work.
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