Article

ITGuidepath®: Navigating Clients to Successful IT Implementations

For organizations going through IT transformations, it is critical to follow rigorous implementation methodology to reduce risk and secure large investments.

IT transformations are increasingly business critical for organizations in the public and private sectors, but they often present significant risks, and their complexity can lead to delays across the life cycle of the project and additional costs. There is considerable pressure for these large, multi-million-dollar investments to be successful—which means delivered on time and within budget, using proven methods that minimize risks during the implementation process and maintain operational stability. However, many of these projects face challenges that can jeopardize project success.

Guidehouse assembled a team of professionals that brings in experiences from various industries & multiple technology areas. Together, the team defined our IT implementation methodology to provide better value, increased efficiency, improved quality, and peace of mind to our clients. Using our combined experience implementing IT transformation projects in public and private organizations across a variety of industries, we streamlined our delivery frameworks for Agile, traditional, and custom implementations by drawing on industry best practices and internal experience.

Our ITGuidepath® framework provides a structured methodology and a tool set that can be tailored to each engagement, and offers a strong roadmap for executing end-to-end project implementations according to client needs. The ITGuidepath® framework combines the best approaches and tools from across Guidehouse to deliver standardized IT implementation lifecycle methodologies that increase efficiency and manage project costs, scope, and risk.

 

The ITGuidepath® Process

ITGuidepath® focuses on client success. By incorporating best practices for project management and systems development life cycle and aligning the framework with the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) delivery model, our approach delivers high-quality projects to clients. Ourteam focuses on continuous improvement to keep ITGuidepath tools and templates relevant to emerging technologies and implementation approaches. Appraisal at CMMI Level 3 indicates the organization’s processes are well described in standards, procedures, tools, and methods.

The ITGuidepath® framework provides a proven approach for solution implementations of all sizes. Defined components within each phase ensure that Guidehouse delivers higher-quality, consistent implementation results. ITGuidepath® offers the unique ability to configure and prescribe methodology based on the project scope, client requirements, and industry best practices. The templates can be tailored to each project, whether it entails implementing the full framework or only the phases of the process that the client requires support with, such as planning, project definition, design and prototyping, software development, testing, deployment, or operations and maintenance.

Each phase of the framework has five components:

  1. Goals and objectives — Define the desired state and specific actions for each phase
  2. Roles and responsibilities — Define the team positions and their duties
  3. Activities — Define the tasks and work to be completed
  4. Deliverables — Define the work products to be completed during each phase
  5. Document templates — Documents with defined sections that can be tailored for each project      
 

ITGuidepath® Applications

ITGuidepath® templates can be used for Agile, traditional, and custom IT implementations of any kind, from multi-year large IT modernization projects to quick-turnaround targeted projects with more limited scope. Each follows a rigorous process that is technology and solutions-agnostic, allowing Guidehouse to recommend the right tools for each organization’s needs and existing technology infrastructure.

Adaptable to any industry, our ITGuidepath® templates were created to build efficiency, reducerisk, and improve any project’s success and quality. This process:

  • Follows the industry best practice and has necessary framework to drive projects towards success
  • Clarifies client responsibility to reduce surprises and risks that could impact scope or schedule
  • Integrates risk management at all stages of implementation
  • Can embed organizational change management to increase acceptance by end users
  • Strategizes business continuity to reduce IT implementation risks and provide greater stability during the change process

 

Conclusion

Our ITGuidepath® methodology and associated templates represent a growing body of industry best practices. Created by experts with decades of experience, they can be leveraged to support clients in any industry in implementing both large and small digital transformations.

With this standardization of our processes, every Guidehouse IT implementation engagement now leverages our expertise to create customized solutions to deliver better outcomes and reduce risk. This diverse set of capabilities, combined with our technology agnostic approach, uniquely positions us to help organizations deliver highly successful IT implementation projects.

 

Co-authored by Ruben Perello and Amit Grover.

Ruben Perello, Partner

Amit Grover, Director

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