Digital Media Initiative of British Broadcasting Corporation - Essay Example

BBC Digital Media Initiative Introduction British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) launched the project of Digital Media Initiative (DMI) with an intention to modernise the production of the organisation (National Audit Office, 2015). The Digital Media Initiative is the main technology project which was aimed to bring efficiency while also recuperating productivity and creativity. The project of DMI was awarded to Siemens, who is the technology supplier of British Broadcasting Corporation (National Audit Office, 2015). The project was carried out with an aim to reduce the times and the procurement costs. The decision of providing the contract or agreement to the Siemens does not resulted in the proposed outcome and led to delay of almost 21 months. In this way, it led to the impediment in the enhanced working practices and therefore to the failure of DMI project (House of Commons, 2014). The project was stopped in the year 2013, due to various problems as well as lack of growth or progress. The DMI initiative of British Broadcasting Corporation lacked proper planning and was also perplexed in its objectives (House of Commons, 2014). The main purpose of this paper is to highlight the fact that BBC has learned lessons from its mistakes. The essay will lay emphasis on the theories of the project management and will show how the organisation can be its path in order to deliver the programme without any delays. Lessons Learned by BBC from its DMI Failure The lessons which was learnt by British Broadcasting Corporation from its Digital Media Initiative project failure was the worth of having apparent and effectual project governance. The organisation also learnt that there should be an appropriate representation from the suppliers’ side, business areas and projects (House of Commons, 2014). The organisation also lacks in sharing the key facts of its DMI project with the National Audit Office. It has resulted in the false impression of the organisation in front of the National Audit Office and was also considered as one of the reasons for its project failure (House of Commons, 2014a). The executives of the British Broadcasting Corporation learnt that they should maintain transparency in their project’s scope and should manage the change in their project. They also came to know that they should make use of more accurate and timely evaluation of its major projects to minimise the likely losses (National Audit Office, 2015). Current Issues in Project Management Lack of transparency in the project’s scope: The project scope forms the base for an accord between the project sponsor, project customer and the project team, by discovering both the goal of the project as well as the main project deliverables. If there is lack of transparency in the project’s scope, then it will lead to the failure of the project (Kerzner, 2013). Shift in the organisational priorities: The constant change in the characteristic of the companies and economies creates uncertainty or ambiguity on the organisational priorities (Soderlund, 2004). The most annoying experience for the project manager is managing the project within the business environment at the time of implementation of the project (Soderlund, 2004). If any change occurs in the organisational priorities, then it can have an impact on the entire project and consequently affect the operations of the company (Soderlund, 2004). Changes in the project not well managed: The approved project plan and scope statement initiate a need for change or amendment when there comes a requirement to modify the scope of the project (Meredith and Mantel, 2011). Changes in the scope often need adjustments to quality, risk, time, cost and other deliverables of the project. Corrective action is required so that the project performance should correspond with the plan of the project (Meredith and Mantel, 2011). If the changes in the project are not managed in an efficient way and if the actions are not taken properly, then it may lead to project failure (Meredith and Mantel, 2011). Lack of management skills: Most of the companies have departments of training and growth that supervise training at entire staff level (White and Fortune, 2002). The training on project management should be managed by the department of project management. The lack in the project supervision skills affects the training of employees and also the execution of the project (White and Fortune, 2002). Project Management Technique PERT Model Project Evaluation Review Technique (PERT) is one of the project management techniques which is utilised for the purpose of defining as well as controlling tasks needed to complete the project (Burke, 2013). The steps of the PERT are as follows: Identification of activities and the milestones: The activities are usually the project’s tasks. The milestones are referred to the events which mark the commencement as well as the end of activities (Reiss, 2013). Determination of appropriate series of activities: This step is combined with the above step as the sequence of activities is obvious for few tasks. Other jobs may need some investigation in order to find out the correct order in which the activities must be performed (Pearlson and Saunders, 2004). Construction of the network diagram: By making use of the sequence of activities, a network diagram is drawn which shows the series of parallel and successive activities (Milosevic, 2003). Estimation of time needed for every activity: A special characteristic of PERT is that it deals with the uncertainty in the activity completion period. It includes time estimates for every activity (Tayntor, 2010). Determination of the critical path: Usually, the critical path of every project is decided by totalling the time for each activity in every sequence and also by deciding the longest path for each project (McManus and Wood-Harper, 2003). Up gradation of the PERT chart: As the project develops, the proposed time is substituted with the actual time. In some instances, delays may happen; in that case, additional resources are needed in order to remain on the schedule and then the PERT chart is customized to show the novel situation (Maserang, 2002). Project Management Theory Project Leadership Leadership is defined as the capability to get whole things done by others. The project leadership skill helps to pay emphasis on the efforts of the group members towards the common objective and thus allowing them to perform better (Andersen, 2006). The effective project leadership skill helps in the decision making as well as problem solving process. It provides direction to the staff members in making important decision related to the execution of the project (Andersen, 2006). It also assists in the team building process. Effective leadership skill of an individual guides the team in case of any conflict that might occur while performing the work. If the employees perform well and pay attention towards the project’s transparency then the project will not lead to failure (Shenhar, 2004). Due to the effectual project management skill, it was assured by BBC that the organisation was on its path in order to deliver the programme without any delays. The Digital Media Initiative programme was absolutely essential for the BBC and it was also stated that the future of British Broadcasting Corporation was coupled with the thriving delivery of the DMI programme (National Audit Office, 2015). Project Monitoring and Control It comprises of methods for identifying likely problems. When necessary, remedial actions are taken in order to exploit the opportunities of project or to get pending project back on the track (Crawford and Bryce, 2003). The requirement is that the performance of the project is observed as well as measured on a daily basis to identify the variations form the actual project schedule. Monitoring the project performance helps in the successful implementation of the project and protects it from the failure (Cicmil and Hodgson, 2006). Through effective monitoring and control, British Broadcasting Corporation tried to monitor its production, people and infrastructure processes in order to support the awareness of its creative vision. They make sure that the procurements must follow best procedures in order to guarantee that value for money is successfully attained (National Audit Office, 2015). Impact of Hard and Soft Skills on the Management Companies need employees who can remain organised as well as focus on the main projects. The skills like organisational and management skills including planning, scheduling, time management and coordination resources are required at the workplace. Similarly, effective communication skill is also necessary to commune the information at all levels of management (Robbins et al, 2013). Before the beginning of any project effective planning is very necessary. Projects are normally divided into various different tasks; therefore the employees should plan their duties or tasks before its commencement in order to bring the programme or project to execution (Robbins et al, 2013). The managers should have the potential to coordinate the resources i.e. both external and internal in an efficient way. Time management is one of the significant factors that lead to the successful implementation of any project (Whetten, 2005). The managers of BBC are required to possess all these skills as it will help them to plan their project efficiently. Time management skill will assist them in the effective delegation and completion of project. Conclusion The paper is proposed to focus on the main reasons for the failure of the DMI project of British Broadcasting Corporation and the lessons learned by the corporation from its failure. The DMI project lacked proper planning and was also perplexed in its objectives, which led to its failure. The issues in the management of project has been identified which leads to the project failure. PERT model as an important tool helps in defining as well as controlling tasks needed to complete the project. Project leadership as well as project monitoring and management skill helped the managers of BBC to monitor its production, people and infrastructure processes in order to support the awareness of its creative vision. Enhanced management and organisational skills are required for the BBC managers to plan and execute their project efficiently and also to attain success. Recommendations For future projects, it is recommended that British Broadcasting Corporation should have an update evaluation of the capability and capacity of its contractor towards the delivery of the programme. The corporation is advised to opt for the best option for management of risk associated with project and should take full advantage of cost-benefit of the investments. It is suggested that BBC must commission autonomous assurance reports especially on the system design at the time of contracting-out the software progress or development. Reference List Andersen, E. S.,“Toward a project management theory for renewal projects”, Project Management Journal, vol, 37, no., 4, 2006, p 15. Burke, R., “Project management: planning and control techniques”, New Jersey, John Wiley & Sons, 2013. Cicmil, S. and Hodgson, D., “New possibilities for project management theory: A critical engagement”, Project Management Journal, vol, 37, no., 3, 2006, p 111. Crawford, P. and Bryce, P., “Project monitoring and evaluation: a method for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of aid project implementation”, International Journal of Project Management, vol. 21, no., 5, 2003, pp. 363-373. House of Commons, “BBC Digital Media Initiative – HC 985”, Ireland, The Stationery Office, 2014. 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