Execution Management System
The Core of an Execution Culture
An execution management system synchronizes task priorities – across departments, across projects and across all levels of management. It also causes the organization to proactively stamp out problems that could become major fires.
An execution management system consists of:
i) Operational Goals and Measurements
Aggressive operational goals and measurements are required to achieve ambitious business goals. The operational goals consist of targets for cycle time reduction and improvements in project throughput and due-date performance; and measurements promote execution according to synchronized priorities and early warning signals.
ii) Management Policies and Processes
Management policies are needed to enforce the new rules of critical chain, while management processes translate these rules into decisions and actions that can be readily understood by all.
iii) Execution Oriented Project Plans
Project plans need to have enough detail to provide good execution priorities, but not so detailed that control becomes difficult.
iv) Enabling Software (Concerto)
Software enables and enforces execution management rules: pipelining of projects so that resources are not spread thin; ensuring that planning estimates do not become execution commitments; and providing execution priorities and early warning signals.
The software also pinpoints those opportunities for local improvements that will have the most impact on overall performance.
