Past Events

BCS Elite Group Autumn Event - Delivering Benefits to Mission-Critical Operations through Programme Management

Date: December 1st 2005
Venue: BCS, London

The event featured two topics:-

The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) Gateway™ Review framework.
Speaker: Peter Clark, OGC Better Projects Director

National Air Traffic Service (NATS).
Speakers: Michael Stoller, General Manager of Asset Engineering, and Frank Wood, Senior Programme Manager.

The OGC Gateway™ Review framework was put in place several years ago under an initiative from Sir Peter Gershon, and makes a significant contribution to improving the quality of IT-based (and other) government investment programmes.

OGC has recently carried out a review of the effectiveness of the review process, particularly with regard to mission-critical projects and programmes. Peter Clark will be summarizing some of OGC’s experiences with the Gateway™ Reviews, and giving an early glimpse of developments in the work of the OGC Better Projects team, particularly with respect to Mission Critical schemes in Central Government, and the adoption of Reviews in the wider public sector.

One example of a mission-critical operation is National Air Traffic Service. NATS has, over the past few years, been investing heavily in new and upgraded solutions, to respond to the enormous increase in air traffic over the past few years, which is forecast to continue through the next decade.

With increasingly crowded air-space, and with the safety of aircraft and their passengers depending upon real-time cooperation between air-traffic controllers in different countries, the pressure upon resilient IT systems to provide controllers with accurate and digestible information has never been greater.

In this presentation, Michael Stoller and Frank Wood outlined some of their experiences in delivering significant improvements to the service NATS provides, and drew some conclusions of relevance to IT programmes everywhere, particularly those of a mission-critical nature.

Each presentation lasted around half-an-hour, with an opportunity for Questions from delegates. Following the formal part of the evening, at around 7:15, there were drinks and a buffet, to allow Elite members time for networking, and to meet the speakers.

Peter Clark's presentation (PPT 462Kb)