Case Study: Next Generation Technologies Fund Program Management Office
Overview
The Para Bellum team was an integral part of the Next Generation Technologies Fund Program Management Office for the client, providing project management and contract administration services across both Themes and Grand Challenges.
Para Bellum team members were responsible for the full range of management activities, such procurement, contract administration, project/delivery management, or financial management. This included the creation and management of the associated frameworks and approaches, and their implementation.
Situation statement
The client had an established Program Management Office (PgMO) for the Next Generation Technologies Fund. Para Bellum was engaged to bring specific expertise to enable efficient management of submissions.
Our role
The Para Bellum team administered:
● Defence Industry Competitive Evaluation Research Agreement (iCERA)
● Australia–US Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (AUSMURI)
● Trusted Autonomous Systems Defence Cooperative Research Centre (TAS-DCRC)
Procurement (in conjunction with the appropriate client team): Approaches to market; tender evaluations; vendor communications; contract creation and review.
Contract Administration: Tracking milestones and associated payments; processing contract change proposals with the relevant client team; creating and managing Release Registers, along with any associated Intellectual Property constraints or concerns; identifying, assessing and managing any associated risks as per the established framework.
Project Management/Delivery Management: Creating and managing a full delivery framework, including Work Take-On (WTO) processes, Risk Management Plan, Communication Plan, Governance Framework and Project Management Plan; creating and managing all required artefacts; maintaining all planning data in relevant project management tool; full delivery data reporting.
Financial Management: Management of budgets at the Theme/GC level; creation of Purchase Orders and other associated artefacts; processing all invoices; tracking expenditure against budget.
In collaboration with the PgMO, each Para Bellum team member was responsible for delivery of their Theme or Grand Challenge, involving numerous smaller projects each requiring a full delivery framework.
Example
A sub-surface autonomous vehicle project, part of the Trusted Autonomous Systems (TAS) Theme, was delivered by a Para Bellum team member.
Artefacts created for the TAS Theme, then tailored for the project were:
● Risk Management Plan (RMP):
o The RMP was created to align with both CASG’s PRMM (Project Risk Management Manual) and the ISO 31000 standard.
● Communication Plan:
o A Mendelow Matrix was developed, the outputs of which were integral to both the Communication Plan and the Governance Framework.
● Governance:
o Project governance spanned activities from an Executive Steering Group of two-star members to technical discussions before WTO activities.
● Project Management Plan (PMP):
o The PMP was effectively the three artefacts described above along with the collated WTO worksheets, described below, defining the scope.
● Work Take-On processes:
o Scoping activity between client staff and the main industry partner.
o High-level project plan (e.g. deliverables, timeframes, risks, FTE, budget).
These artefacts collectively formed the delivery framework for the project, with a similar approach used for all Themes/GCs across the broader program.
Conclusion
Through the provision of consulting services, Para Bellum Solutions effectively supported the client in delivering programs of work that aligned with best practice and efficient project management.