OGC and Project Management

On 15th June 2010, the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) became part of the Efficiency and Reform Group with the UK government Cabinet Office. First-time visitors to my blog may well ask, “And? What does the OGC have to do with project management?”

In fact, it was the OGC that first developed the PRINCE2 (PRojects IN Controlled Environments) project management methodology – now the top project management guidance and qualification in the UK, and the official project management method in the UK government and public sector. Among the 6 key goals identified by the OGC in a recent stakeholder review were “delivering projects to time, quality and cost, realising benefits” (sound familiar?) and “improving central Government capability in project and programme management.” It is a sign of the increasing recognition of project/programme management as essential to the lost art of getting things done that that the OGC has been incorporated into this new ‘Efficiency and Reform’ group.

Aside from its more general support role and its importance in the development of PRINCE2, the OGC has long-term links with specific public organisations: Local Governments, the NHS, the Department for Education and Skills, Central Government, the Ministry of Defence, government suppliers and other executive agencies or non-departmental bodies, such as voluntary organisations. An important element in these relationships is the provision of project/programme management tools and advice, and for this reason the OGC-developed methodologies – PRINCE2 (project management), MSP (programme management), M_o_R (Management of Risk) and P3O (project, programme and portfolio support office) etc – are standard across the board for project/programme teams within these organisations and their partners.

“What does the OGC have to do with project management?” For any project manager – or indeed, anybody who wants a project/programme management career in the UK, particularly within the public sector – the OGC has defined in large part the qualifications (e.g. PRINCE2) and employment criteria.