Programme Readiness Self-Assessment

Most programmes don't fail because of the technology. They fail because the organisation wasn't ready. This assessment checks the six dimensions that matter before day one.

18 questions 3 minutes Instant results
0 of 18 answered
1
Sponsorship and Authority
Is the right person backing this programme, and do they have the authority to make it happen?
SA-01
The programme has an identified executive sponsor who has committed time and attention to the initiative.
SA-02
The sponsor has the authority to approve budget, resolve escalations, and remove organisational blockers.
SA-03
The leadership team is aligned on why this programme is happening and what success looks like.
2
Scope and Expectations
Does the organisation know what it is buying, what will change, and what "done" actually looks like?
SE-01
The programme scope is documented and understood by the people who will be accountable for delivery.
SE-02
There is a realistic timeline that accounts for organisational capacity, not just vendor delivery schedules.
SE-03
The organisation has defined what is explicitly out of scope, not just what is in scope.
3
Governance Readiness
Are the decision structures, escalation paths, and reporting cadences defined before the programme starts?
GR-01
A steering committee or programme board has been established with defined membership and decision authority.
GR-02
Escalation pathways are clear. People know who decides what, and when an issue needs to move up.
GR-03
There is a plan for how progress will be reported, to whom, and at what cadence.
4
Vendor and SI Alignment
Is the relationship with your implementation partner set up for accountability, or are you relying on trust alone?
VA-01
The vendor or SI contract includes clearly defined deliverables, milestones, and acceptance criteria.
VA-02
The organisation has someone (internal or external) whose role is to hold the vendor accountable to what was sold.
VA-03
There is a process for managing scope changes that prevents the vendor from delivering less than what was agreed.
5
Organisational Readiness
Is the business actually prepared for the disruption a major programme creates?
OR-01
The business units affected by this programme have been consulted, and their leaders are engaged.
OR-02
There is a plan for how the organisation will manage business-as-usual while key people are pulled into the programme.
OR-03
The organisation has assessed the change impact on end users and has a plan to support them through the transition.
6
Delivery Capability
Does the organisation have the internal capability to run this programme, or is it entirely dependent on external partners?
DC-01
The programme has a dedicated programme manager or delivery lead with the authority and experience to run it.
DC-02
Subject matter experts from the business have been identified and their time has been formally allocated to the programme.
DC-03
The organisation has considered what happens after go-live: who owns the system, who supports it, who measures whether it delivered value.
All 18 questions must be completed.
The Argument

Why Readiness Is Decided Before Day One

Two and a half minutes on what the Queensland Health Payroll System Commission of Inquiry found when it traced a failure back past the technology, and the six dimensions this assessment checks before a programme mobilises.

The Start Condition: What Readiness Means Before Day One

Transcript

The Start Condition 11 chapters

Every programme has a start date 0:00

Every programme has a start date. Not every programme has a start condition. The date arrives either way.

Ready is not the same as planned 0:11

A programme is not ready when the plan is finished. It is ready when the organisation can answer six questions. The Queensland Health Payroll System Commission of Inquiry reported in 2013.

The front rank of failures 0:25

The commissioner placed it in the front rank of failures in Australian public administration. The State paid out more than four times the contract price. It took three times longer to deliver than scheduled.

One month of scoping 0:37

The scoping exercise had been given about one month. Scope never stabilised after that. It was never clear which officer was accountable. The decision to go live was taken by people who had already made up their

The controls nobody used 0:51

minds. The controls that would have stopped it were in place from the start. Nobody used them. Testing found thousands of defects. The inquiry traced them back to the scoping.

Not one is a technology problem 1:03

Read that list again. Not one of the causes is a technology problem. They are questions about the organisation, not the software. Most of them are cheaper to answer before mobilisation than after go-live.

Symptoms on your own programme 1:17

The business case is approved and nobody owns the outcome. The vendor has a delivery plan and your side has a date. The steering committee meets for the first time in week three.

Six dimensions of readiness 1:28

So we built an assessment around six of them. Sponsorship and authority. Not whether a sponsor exists. Whether they can remove a blocker. Scope and expectations. What is explicitly excluded, not just what is included. Governance readiness. Who decides what, and when it escalates.

Vendor and SI alignment 1:50

Vendor and system integrator alignment. Whether anyone on your side holds them to what was sold. Organisational readiness. Whether the business can run while its best people are seconded. Delivery capability. Whether you could still finish this if the partner walked away.

Findings against five of six 2:09

The inquiry made findings against five of these six. 18 questions. 6 dimensions. 3 minutes. A score straight away, and a written breakdown on request. A senior practitioner reads every submission.

A start condition 2:25

A start date is a decision someone already made. A start condition is 18 answers you can count.