Initiative Management – The ‘Lite Touch’

A critical part of delivering performance targets and managing risk is managing and aligning the organisational change agenda, which can be made up of short term actions and longer term initiatives. Additionally, ensuring initiatives and actions are managed and aligned will reduce waste and save scarce capital.

Research shows that there is significant waste and room for improvements within organisations' capital expenditure related to actions and initiatives. Indeed it has been estimated that organisations waste between 20% - 40% of their capital expenditure through a lack of alignment. Therefore continuously managing the portfolio of initiatives and actions is a critical management activity.

StratexPoint is designed to provide a ‘lite touch’ approach to portfolio management, uniquely integrating initiatives and actions management within an overall performance and risk management solution.

The flexibility of the solution means organisations can deploy it in various ways; they can manage initiatives-related risks and controls, monitor the performance of initiatives, and continuously manage the alignment of the portfolio of initiatives. Specifically, users are able to:

· Align their initiatives to objectives, controls and risks

· Apply KPIs around each initiative

· Define risks and controls, with associated indicators and assessments for each initiative

· Define tasks for each initiative and link those initiatives to Microsoft project tools, including Microsoft Project Server and Microsoft Project 2007/2010

StratexPoint and Enterprise Performance Management

StratexPoint enables the effective implementation of an Enterprise Performance Management approach, including the Balanced Scorecard, by:

· Developing clarity around the organisational strategic objectives

· Defining a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each objective

· Aligning the organisational change agenda to deliver the objectives via initiatives and actions

· Encouraging the right performance culture using the RACI model to define ownership and governance

· Automating performance dashboards and reporting, while enabling advanced analytics

· Encouraging a collaborative approach to delivering performance via commentary, alerts and other web 2.0 collaboration capabilities

Growing Importance of Operational Risk Management

Alongside the growth of Enterprise Risk Management, Operational Risk Management is a disciple which has emerged and raised up the management agenda as a result of operational and regulatory pressure. Basel 2 brought operational risk management to the forefront of the risk management agenda prior to the credit crunch. In the wake of the crisis, there is a renewed emphasis in operational risk management as organisations look to reduce operational losses and establish a 'no surprises' environment.

Operational Risk is all about the risk related to processes, systems and people. Managing these risks has the potential to create significant value for organisations, with operational losses often a costly item for many organisations. Additionally organisations are often forced to allocate capital to these risks by regulation. Therefore reducing the level of risk frees up capital for income generating activities.

Coupled with the implementation of a new risk management framework, significant business benefits are emerging.

· Defining key and emerging risks and map these using a risk map

· Defining processes and systems, and their related risks and controls

· Defining a set of Key Indicators, KPIs, KRIs and KCIs

· Assessing risks and controls related to the processes and systems

· Defining accountability for risks and controls to individuals

· Automating process and systems related risk and controls dashboards and reporting, while enabling advanced analytics

· Encouraging a collaborative approach to delivering performance via commentary, alerts and other web 2.0 collaboration capabilities 

What can the Balanced Scorecard Enable an Organisation to do?

· Define strategic objectives and map these using a strategy map

· Develop clarity around the organizational strategic objectives

· Define a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each objective

· Align the organisational change agenda to deliver the objectives via initiatives and actions

· Encourage the right performance culture using the RACI model to define ownership and governance

· Enable Theme-based management

· Automate performance dashboards and reporting, while enabling advanced analytics

· Encourage a collaborative approach to delivering performance via commentary, alerts and other web 2.0 collaboration capabilities 

9 Things StratexPoint Enables Users to do…

StratexPoint is the only SharePoint application which is specifically designed to support an integrated approach to performance and risk management, and specifically the Risk-Based Performance methodology. Within the solutions users are able to:

1. Define strategic objectives and map these using a strategy map

2. Define key and emerging risks and map these using a risk map

3. Define risk appetite within the context of the defined objectives and risks

4. Manage and monitor the alignment of risk exposure to appetite

5. Define a set of Key Indicators, KPIs, KRIs and KCIs

6. Align the organisational change agenda to deliver the objectives via initiatives and actions

7. Encourage the right culture using the RACI model to define ownership and governance

8. Automated performance dashboards and reporting, while enabling advanced analytics

9. Encourage a collaborative approach to delivering performance via commentary, alerts and other web 2.0 collaboration capabilities