1st Edition
Operational Readiness How to Achieve Successful System Deployment
This book offers a guide on how to prepare business and operational environments to safely receive and effectively utilise systems (i.e., products of projects) to prevent successfully completed systems from failing to add value to their intended environment. It is supplemented with four extended practical exercises to help readers apply the principles to their own large, complex projects and ensure project success.
Operational Readiness remains one of the least developed practices of both Project Management (PM) and Systems Engineering (SE). As a result, satisfactorily completed "systems" (e.g., satellites, aircrafts, mine shafts, power plants, road and rail networks, hospitals, and schools), completed on time, on budget, and to specification, are often failing to add value by providing improvements in their intended operational environment. In numerous cases, System Deployment is also accompanied by adverse and detrimental effects on the business and operational environments, and at times on the broader environment (e.g., persistent pollution, negative economic externalities, exacerbation of social ills such as deprivation and crime). In this book, the author discusses both the process and challenges of deploying the product into its intended operational environment and offers guidance to enable organisations to benefit from a holistic framework for Operational Readiness.
This forward-thinking book is essential reading for all those involved with managing large projects including project managers, sponsors, and executives. It will also be useful for advanced students of Project Management and Systems Engineering looking to understand and expand their knowledge of Operational Readiness, infrastructure projects, and systems deployment.
List of Figures,
List of Tables,
About the Author,
About this Book,
Foreword,
Acronyms,
1 Introduction,
2 Systems, Systems Engineering and Systems Thinking,
3 System Deployment and Impacts on Environment,
4 Necessity of Operational Readiness,
5 Scope of Operational Readiness,
6 Operational Readiness and Project Lifecycle,
7 Focus of Human Capital Readiness,
8 Re-engineering Business Processes,
9 Operational Readiness Implementation,
10 Post-Implementation Review,
11 Conclusion,
12 Practical Operational Readiness Applications,
12.1 Large Infrastructure Projects – Putting Empathy into Operations,
12.2 Sustainability Article (Excerpt only),
12.3 Practical Exercise No 1,
12.4 Practical Exercise No 2,
12.5 Practical Exercise No 3,
12.6 Practical Exercise No 4,
Personal Reflections,
References,
Index
Biography
Pascal Bohulu Mabelo has more than 20 years of professional experience and possesses a wide range of technical and managerial skills pertaining to projects. He has previously served as the national chairman of Project Management South Africa (PMSA) and is a regular speaker at Project Management conferences and seminars. He promotes the application of Systems Engineering concepts to unravel complexity in Large Infrastructure Projects.
"This book will help many people and organisations ... in a simple way, it makes the reader understand the risks of bad project management decisions and gives a complete ... understanding of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in projects." – Sergio P. Capitine, Mechanical Engineer, Project Manager at BP Mozambique
"The concept of Operational Readiness lies at the heart of systems development. Awareness of it should be maintained throughout the SDLC ... A book that is easy to read and a ‘must-have’ for system developers from all walks of life." – Tapiwa Bande (MEng), Managing Director of African Hard Systems (Pty) Ltd
"A comprehensive treatise on Operational Readiness ... OR and PIR Planning are indeed business activities ... operability failure may lead to business failure." – Saseka Vara, Chartered Accountant, Senior Manager at Transnet SOC
