Red

Teams
Using Red Teams to Ensure Excellence in Program Delivery

Steve DelGrosso

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Introduc)on

Red Teams are part of an overall delivery transforma5on program.

Driving more successful outcomes to client projects.
Ensuring Excellence in Delivery for client-based projects.
Building a team of mul)-disciplinary professionals:
Program managers;
System engineers;
Risk managers; and
Solu)on design and delivery process experts.

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 Red Team Descrip)on

The Red Team concept evolved from

military roots.
Directly applicable to any complex
situa)on, be it in war or in business
Apply military Red Team concepts and plans
to any business Sector or Industry.
Use a structured and itera)ve process
Trained, educated, and prac)ced team
members
Military Strategists use Red Team concepts
Relevant subject maMer exper)se
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Red Team Benets

Whats driving the need for Red PMIs 2015 Pulse of the Profession
Teams? study
Growing complexity of projects Benets of properly managing and
and programs execu)ng projects and programs
Complex systems bring along an High-performing organiza)ons
increased uncertainty in reliable successfully meet goals two-and-a-
execu)on and delivery half )mes more oSen
Global mix of both public and These organiza)ons waste 13
private sector )mes less money than their low-
performing counterparts
*Reference: PMIs 2015 Pulse of the Profession study

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Process Assump)ons

Several areas of focus need to be considered:

Team Culture
Pursue people of imagina)ve
unconven)onal thinking
Background, experience, and exibility to
dene and rene agendas
Environmental Factors
Allow for the development of a sense and
place of being removed from the daily
crises of a typical large program Provide an expansive thinking
A`tudinal Adjustments environment

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IBM Experience

Building exper5se in managing complex Red Team Considera5ons

projects and programs requires a long- Formed with experienced program
term investment and technical specialists (called gray
Short-term project interven)on beards) and supplemented with SMEs
through the use of Red Teams Intervene early enough in the project
Increasing the use of predic)ve so that poten)al delivery risks are
analy)cs to focus delivery teams on iden)ed early and proper mi)ga)on
poten)ally troubled programs strategies and plans are put in place
Process changes to ensure both Dierent organiza)ons and
program complexity and complex companies dene a troubled project
program management skills are or program in dierent ways
evaluated and properly matched

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Red Team Recommenda)ons

Implement Red Teams as part of a comprehensive

delivery excellence improvement transforma5on.
The combina)on of an eec)vely managed
Red Team program and other supplementary
programs is powerful
Rely on data and metrics, not just best thinking.
Use a mul)-year history of project review data
and root-cause analysis to predict trouble
Use the data provided by alerts and trending
informa)on to ini)ate Red Teams
Assess the talent know your people

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Conclusion and References

Delivery excellence programs that include eec5ve Red Teams can be implemented
through a focus on the fundamentals of Culture, Talent, and Process.
Good PM culture allows high-performing organiza)ons to fully understand the
value of project management and create a project management mindset*
For eec)ve Red Teams to be part of a delivery excellence improvement
program, the organiza)on must invest in proper training of experienced
individuals who will conduct the Red Team reviews
Using eec5ve processes, including the full suite of project, program, and
poreolio management processes though standardized prac)ces and by aligning
projects and programs to the organiza)ons strategy.*

*Reference: PMIs 2015 Pulse of the Profession study

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The Journey to Excellence in Delivery

Huge achievements come from humble beginnings!

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 Visit: IIL.com Questions: Learning@iil.com

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