Planning Collaboration

planning collaboration

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Many large and complex schemes today are characterized by:

complex collaborations and partnerships
multiple and diverse benefits to different stakeholders
commercial, social, political and technical uncertainty

Best practice in business planning has failed to keep up with this complexity.

Our Planning Approach

Scoping and relationship management
Business operation design
Technology programme
Risk/reward management
Business development roadmap
Business case

Value Creation	Value Protection
CoOperation, Growth, Multiplication, Synergy	Risk, Security, Trust

The logic of the business case is developed through a series of interconnected models.

Stakeholder Model
Service Value Model
Value Protection Model
Value Development Model
Consolidated Value Model

Our Planning Approach

veryard projects > planning > collaboration > approach

Scoping and relationship management

One of the key planning issues for a collaborative partnership scheme is defining the boundaries and fundamental membership policies of the scheme.

Sometimes it is quicker to start a scheme with a relatively small number of committed players, and then allow others to join later. But this leaves a potential for conflict when the scheme is expanded later.

Business operation design

Large schemes typically involve a complex network of autonomous entities providing services to one another. The overall performance and cost-effectiveness of the scheme relies on a clear and flexible configuration of services.

Key issues here include the packaging of services and the basis for cross-charging. In some schemes, such arrangements will be governed by market forces; in other schemes, they will be governed by agreement between the members of the scheme, or by an external regulator.

We expect key requirements such as security to be designed into the operational network. Although there is a role for technical security mechanisms, it is bad design practice simply to bolt these on as an afterthought.

Technology programme

The business operational design (including security) will usually have technology implications. Technical systems and components will need to be acquired and installed; existing systems and interfaces will need to be modified. Standard interfaces and exchange protocols will be agreed between the members of the scheme – based on prior industry standards where possible.

Responsibility for technical development and customization is typically allocated to members of the scheme. Some coordination will be required at the programme level.

Technical costs are dependent on the expected scale of operations, as well as the timing of requirements. Procurement of technology should be managed to balance the risk of premature expenditure against the risk of inadequate capacity. While this is a familiar problem for technology planners, new complications arise when the planning involves many collaborating parties.

Risk/reward management

Risks and rewards for all stakeholders need to be properly balanced and fairly distributed.

Traditional approaches to risk management are disconnected from management of benefits. We need to recognize that some stakeholders will be able to carry a greater share of the risk, in return for higher rewards.

Business development roadmap

It usually makes sense to develop large schemes in stages, with different levels of investment, usage and benefit at each stage. Detailed design and policy decisions can often be deferred to later stages.

The roadmap shows the risk/reward equation that is applicable at each stage, and the likely take-up of the benefits of the scheme. Early stages of the scheme may be designed for a small number of early adopters – the roadmap needs to indicate how the scheme will subsequently be disseminated to a larger population of users.

Business case

Business Case should produce a viable and attractive business proposition for each participant:

Service provision and consumption
Value creation opportunities and partnerships
Allocation of risk and reward
Provision for extension

The business case indicates the benefits available at each stage – and therefore gives each stakeholder the justification for a given level of investment and participation.

A complex scheme typically provides multiple sources of value. These sources of value interact with one another – either positively (which we call the "multiplication scenario") or negatively (which we call the "interference scenario").

Programme management is then focused on promoting the multiplication scenario and avoiding the interference scenario.

Business Case Models

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