MSP Principles & Processes

MSP Principles

Managing Successful Programmes (MSP®) identifies the following principles of effective programme management and suggests how to put them into practice:

• Programme Management Organisation - giving people clear roles, responsibilities, leadership and lines of communication. There is a Sponsoring Group of senior executives. This includes the Programme Director with ultimate accountability
• Programme planning - using a Programme Plan to establish and maintain control
• Benefits management - identifying, optimising and tracking expected benefits, ensuring they are achieved
• Stakeholder management - ensuring all interested parties are appropriately involved in the programme
• Issue management and Risk management - a strategy for dealing with current and anticipated problems
• Quality management - ensuring that the end products of the programme are fit for purpose
• Configuration management - keeping monitoring information about the programme up-to-date and accurate
• Audit - ensuring that technical, statutory, contract and accounting standards are used

MSP Processes

The first process, Identifying a Programme is triggered by a need for change in the form of a Programme Mandate. This provides the high level requirements of the programme. A Programme Brief is then prepared. The Brief defines the aim and envisaged benefits to the organisation.

If the programme seems justified, senior management can then agree to proceed to the next process. This is Defining a Programme, where the initial vis