Situational Snapshot

Much has been written about the need to identify, track and manage the critical success factors on a program or project. Typically, the focus is on the back end of a program where tracking and control are fundamental practices for ensuring success is achieved. However, it is all too common for programs to complete “on target” with respect to time, cost and quality, but fail to achieve the business results anticipated. Several key factors contribute to this situation:

· Identification of the critical success factors occur too late in the program life cycle, typically at the end of the planning phase and into the execution phase.
· Multiple internal and external forces come in to play which increase program complexity.
· Programs operate in a dynamic environment which introduces continual change.
· Limited executive management oversight is typically applied to appropriately balance the skills, capabilities and experience of a program team with the corresponding program complexity and level of risk.

The culmination of these factors results in an organization’s failure to gain the necessary return on the investment in program resources The Program Strike Zone is a tool used to manage the factors above in order to achieve intended business results. It was derived, defines and characterzed from practices and behaviour at Intel Corporation and Tektronix, Inc. Tektronix uses the term " Bounding Box" to describe similard practices. It is likely that other companies utilize similar practices as well, however, description of these practices in literature is limited.

The Program Strike Zone

The Program Strike Zone (analogous with a baseball pitcher seeking the “sweet spot” for throwing a successful strike) is utilized to identify the critical success factors of a program, to help the organization track progress toward achievement of the key business results desired, and to set the boundaries within which a program team can successfully operate without direct management involvement. It documents a set of control limits for each critical success factor that help to determine if the program is on track, and serve as the dividing lines between program team empowerment and executive management intervention.

The Program Strike Zone is used by executive managers and program managers alike. Executive managers utilize the Program Strike Zone to ensure a new product definition supports business objectives, and to establish control limits in order to assure that the program team’s capabilities and performance are in balance with the complexity of the program. Additionally, it establishes executive management’s role in the decision making process and provides a catalyst to keep them actively engaged in the success of the effort through all phases of the program. Involvement by executive management in the early stages of product characterization tends to enable a cleaner start to product development programs.

Program managers utilize the Program Strike Zone to establish the program vision based upon the critical success factors for the organization, to negotiate and establish their empowerment boundaries with executive management, to communicate overall program progress and success, and to facilitate various trade-off decisions throughout the program life cycle.

Exhibit 1 illustrates the elements of the Program Strike Zone. Elements include the critical success factors for the program, target and threshold control limits, and a high-level status indicator.

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Identification of the critical success factors must begin during the definitinon phase of a program to ensure the product or service definition supports key business objective such as profitability, time-to-market, performance and technology integration

The critical success factors represent a subset of the metrics and other criteria normally tracked by a program team. The Program Strike Zone should include only the critical few success factors that represent business objectives. Each organization will have a unique set of critical success factors based upon its products or services and how it chooses to measure success. Critical success factors deemed as “must haves” by groups within Tektronix and Intel for new product development programs include market, financial and schedule targets, value proposition of the product, and technology objectives.

The target and threshold control limits shown in Exhibit 1 form the strike zone of success for each critical success factor. The target value for critical success factor is that which the program business case and baseline plan is based. The threshold value represents the upper or lower limit of success for a particular critical success factor.

As long as the program progresses within the strike zone of each critical success factor, the program is considered on target and the program manager remains empowered to manage the program through the development life cycle. As indicated in the exhibit, program progress can be tracked via a “dashboard” approach with “status-light” reporting that quickly summarizes progress for executive management.

Executive Management and the Program Strike Zone

Tektronix, Inc, uses a similar tool (called the Bounding Box within Tektronix) on all of their new product development programs. The Program Strike Zone for a program code named NEPTUNE, a product intended for use in the communications test market, is depicted in Exhibit 2. (Note: This real example represents a composite program with many of the values changed for proprietary reasons)

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The initial set of critical success factors shown were derived directly from the approved business strategy and product roadmaps for this specific product line at Tektronix, and form the basis for insuring that business objectives are converted into executable deliverables to be managed by the program team. The control limits for each success factor were negotiated between the program manager and the general manager based upon the general manager’s assessment of the team’s capabilities, experience and past track record. The threshold values were then balanced against the new program’s complexities and risks, and adjusted accordingly.

In order to keep the programs on target, a philosophy of “no surprises to management” keeps senior managers actively engaged and contributing to rapid decision making . During the life of the NEPTUNE program, the critical success factors were violated on several occasions, creating the need for executive management to intervene in the program. Executive management either adjussted control limits appropriately or modified deliverables to reset the program objectives. There is always the possibility that a barrier or issue is so significant that senior management sees limited probability of success, resulting in program cancellation early in the cycle to eliminate further investment of resources.

Critical success factors were added to this program as the development proceeded due to the fact that more was learned about the risks facing the program. This enabled management to further characterize the success factors and control limits. The program could only be formally closed once all the program critical success factors documented for the NEPTUNE product had been met or accepted by executive management.

Program Management and the Program Strike Zone

Like Tektronix, the Program Strike Zone is an important communication and management tool for program managers within Intel. It’s utilized to set and communicate the vision for the program team by identifying the elements of program success as gauged by a business unit. Additionally, the Program Strike Zone is used to manage change at the program level and to periodically communicate status to executive management.

Exhibit 3 shows an example of an abbreviated Program Strike Zone from Intel (called “Success Criteria Document” within Intel).

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