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Client : DCS Group Plc
My Role & Responsibility:
- Overall
Project Management using customised PRINCE2
- Client
liaison and management including Main Board and operational executives
- Management
of onsite/offsite and offshore development resources
- Develop software
re-engineering and data migration methodology for Mindteck (Offshore
supplier to DCS Group)
- Assess technical
and commercial options for the T&L
Division regarding migration/re-engineering of its AS400 applications to
J2EE environment
Project Scope
- Define and
implement overall Project Management methods
- Define and
implement software development/data migration methods
- Analyse
application requirements in-line with business requirements
- Develop
and test SAP/ABAP applications for Automotive
Division
- Evaluate
and assess migration/re-engineering/integration options for T&L Division including IBM WebSphere,
BEA WebLogic, CAST, SEEC
and Ascential (now IBM WebSphere
DataStage TX)
- Duration –
12 months
- Overall
Project size - £7.5m
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Key Drivers for Business Change:
Changes
in the UK/European motor manufacturer/dealer market caused by the Block
Exemption regulations resulted in significant turbulence in DCS’ marketplace.
Especially
for the larger motor dealerships, these changes in business environment
presented opportunities for growth and diversification in service offerings,
as well as the negative aspect of potential erosion of market share if
current business models were not re-engineered to reflect the altered
business climate.
Consequently,
DCS made the decision to re-develop their existing
market-leading software package using SAP R/3 and Oracle Database as the core
for the new enterprise-wide product – Quantum.
DCS did not have the internal Programme/Project management or software
development expertise available for this major project.
Previous
major projects had run over-budget time and cost, due to lack of formal
project management processes.
The Transport & Logistics Division of DCS
had major investments in a proprietary AS400 software package used by over
300 customers across Europe and needed to
migrate, re-engineer or convert functionality and data to a J2EE environment.
However, the Group did not have internal expertise to assess the viability of
differing transformation options and subsequent application/data integration.
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- Implementation
of formalised project management processes (PRINCE2) and software
development methods (SEI CMM
Level 4) allowed the Group to exercise better control over its strategic
business initiatives
- Time, Cost
and Resource requirements could be more accurately predicted and
monitored thus supporting optimised strategic decision-making
- Return on
investment was optimised by ensuring alignment of the Business Case for
projects with the actual benefits delivered
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- Adoption
of an outsourced offshore development model provided a 30% reduction in cost
compared to UK/European-based development. Implementation of PRINCE2
approach ensured effective control was maintained even in this
geographically dispersed development environment
- Overall
“time to market” for new products was reduced by adopting a more
rigorous approach to project planning and control
- “Scope
Creep” which had occurred in previous projects was eliminated
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