Operational Readiness

This book offers a guide on how to prepare business and operational environments to safely receive and effectively utilise systems (i.e., products of projects) to prevent successfully completed systems from failing to add value to their intended environment. It is supplemented with four extended practical exercises to help readers apply the principles to their own large, complex projects and ensure project success. Operational Readiness remains one of the least developed practices of both Project Management (PM) and Systems Engineering (SE). As a result, satisfactorily completed "systems" (e.g., satellites, aircrafts, mine shafts, power plants, road and rail networks, hospitals, and schools), completed on time, on budget, and to specification, are often failing to add value by providing improvements in their intended operational environment. In numerous cases, System Deployment is also accompanied by adverse and detrimental effects on the business and operational environments, and at times on the broader environment (e.g., persistent pollution, negative economic externalities, exacerbation of social ills such as deprivation and crime). In this book, the author discusses both the process and challenges of deploying the product into its intended operational environment and offers guidance to enable organisations to benefit from a holistic framework for Operational Readiness. This forward-thinking book is essential reading for all those involved with managing large projects including project managers, sponsors, and executives. It will also be useful for advanced students of Project Management and Systems Engineering looking to understand and expand their knowledge of Operational Readiness, infrastructure projects, and systems deployment.