"We thought we were just upgrading our server and enterprise software systems…complex as it was Realising-Potential assisted us in assessing our needs, scope of work procurement and implementation, while shining a spotlight into how our operational processes work. They changed our thinking."

--Management

Details of Project

Industry: Performing Arts
Service Type: Large multi-venue Systems Upgrade & Application Implementation

The Client

The Venue Manager for performing arts venues including His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth Concert Hall, State Theatre Centre of Western Australia, Subiaco Arts Centre and the Albany Entertainment Centre.

The Challenge

To Project Manage the implementation of an enterprise level event management application.

  • Manage the implementation of an application where no definitive functionality requirements had been defined.
  • To identify and manage each venues differentiators while standardising processes across the organisation.
  • Oversee the upgrade of the information technology infrastructure and wide area network.
  • Transition a PABX phone system to VOIP on a unified communications network, completing programming and operational requirements.
  • Coordinating vendor activity with the availability of staff (the venues do not follow standard working hours).
  • Establishing master data constructs across the business.
  • Define application integration points.
  • Managing multiple vendor activities.
  • Change management.
  • Having two new venues come on stream – they were not in the original plan.

The Solution

We formed a Subject Matter Expert Group that could define requirements for and make decisions on behalf of each venue.

Operational processes were reviewed and optimised to take advantage of the workflow improvements enabled by the application and infrastructure upgrade.

Vendor services were synchronised to ensure the various activities aligned to the budget, project timeline and availability of the various venues and staff.

The application was configured in a way to meet 90% of requirements and was interfaced into the enterprise financials application reducing the need for manual journals and extensive data manipulation.

The Result

The team, diverse in their roles and responsibilities worked well. They bought into the project and delivered considerable improvement to the business.

The organisation transitioned from predominantly manual forms based workflow, with all the inherent data integrity and timing issues that is experienced with these types of processes, to an effective, streamlined process.

For the first time the Executive Team had complete visibility of information across all venues.

Venue calendars were automated, streamlining the venue booking process.

On completion of the project skills and knowledge were able to be easily transferred across the venues as they were no longer silo based operations

Project Outcomes:

  • The new event management system was delivered within agreed budget and timelines.
  • 90% of operational requirements were met and delivered.
  • All key business processes were defined for the ‘as is’ and the ‘to be’ state enabling change management, transition and resource planning.
  • Business process improvements were realised.
  • Application integration was delivered.
  • The ICT infrastructure was substantially upgraded and put under a managed services contract.
  • A new VOIP based telephony system was implemented.
  • Knowledge transfer improved.
  • Financial reporting for events reduced from an average of 10 days to an average of 5 days.