Category: Insights

How to build a Data Governance Program by Stealth: Introducing the Lighthouse Projects Concept

Chances are, you’re reading this article because you’ve been asked to launch, or support, some form of data governance initiative. Firstly, congratulations. You’re embarking on a worthy endeavour.  Here at Oakland, our Data Governance Team have trodden a similar path as we guided our clients across multiple data governance implementations. The results have been profoundly…

What is a Digital Twin? Definition and examples of next-level performance improvement

This article introduces the digital twin concept and its application to operations management through the lens of real-life examples. From operations management to customer experience and beyond, digital twins are transforming the way our clients are delivering products and services. The missing link between performance and data There are several questions clients routinely ask me. Some…

When Data Geeks and OPEX collide

It is just me, or are the years speeding up? It only seems like 5 minutes ago, we were attending the IQPC OPEX Exchange 2019 (https://www.processexcellencenetwork.com/events-opexexchangeeurope/) and before you know it, a year has passed, and we’re onto the next event. This year has been like riding an out of control rollercoaster. The OPEX community…

AI to assist projects has been around for decades – why aren’t we using it?

I recently read a fascinating article entitled ‘Using Artificial Intelligence Techniques to Support Project Management’. It discusses AI-assisted decision-making on projects, knowledge-based interactive graphics and hybrid computer-human systems. It sits well with the large number of articles and reports that both APM and IPMA have been sponsoring recently, and with the launch of the Project Data…

What’s changed at the Chief Data Officer Exchange?

We always look forward to the IQPC CDO Exchange. It usually means a couple of nights away from the kids, a few drinks in the bar, and, more importantly, getting the inside track on what is keeping CDO’s awake at night. This year’s event was somewhat different, conducted virtually but working just as well. It…

Improving outcomes of complex projects using advanced analytics.

A data expert, an academic, a project manager and a lawyer combined on 17 September to discuss how individuals and organisations working on complex construction projects might exploit more data-driven approaches. Recurring themes included taking a whole-life approach, and the need for organisations to nurture data as something that delivered long-term strategic value. Entrenched industry…

Big Data and 30 Years of Total Quality Management

The notion of ‘Quality’ in business performance has exploded since I wrote the first edition of ‘Total Quality Management’ in 1989. That book was the first in the world carrying that title and it presented one of the early ‘models’ of TQM. This was a simple triangle of ‘systems,’ ‘tools’ and ‘teams,’ surrounding a core…

Applying digital twin thinking to programme management

Digital Twins – A longer history than you may imagine. The notion of digital twins is nearly 20 years old. American academic Michael Grieves coined the term at the University of Michigan in 2002 when he was considering product lifecycle management. He proposed that a digital model of a physical system (for example, a car)…

The Importance of Wellness in the Workplace

Putting wellness at the heart of our business At Oakland mental health and wellbeing is at the forefront of all we do and during lock-down we have been looking to support our employees in more ways than ever as we all adjust to new ways of living and working. A recent study by Total Jobs…

Managing your business through a pandemic – in 4 phases

When it comes to navigating the current COVID-19 crisis, we at Oakland are no different to our clients. We’re all working our way through a situation that we never fully prepared for. Even with the most comprehensive business continuity plans in place, it would have been near-impossible to predict the true impact of this global…

What does it mean to be a process-managed business in the digital world

New possibilities for breakthrough performance provided by the emergence of new enabling technologies and digitalisation seem to be endless.  Explosive advances in IT have enabled the dissemination, analysis, and use of data and information from and to customers and suppliers and within enterprises, in new ways and in time frames that impact processes, organization designs…

How to survive and even thrive working from home

Not Just Another ‘My Working-From-Home Routine’ Blog Look at us! Living through a global pandemic. Incredible! I can say with absolute certainty that this was not, I repeat not, on my list of 2020 New Year’s resolutions! But here we are: living, surviving, and thriving (maybe). Initially, when the lockdown began, my routine was all…