1. A Dutch holding company of a large chain of stores
launched a project to make its organisation and stores
more efficient. However, implementation got off to a
bumpy start, so Deloitte was called in to assess the
project.
Deloitte Analytics
Looking for flaws in a
tricky, ongoing project.
Domain Risk and Regulatory Analytics
Proposition Predictive Project Analytics (PPA)
Client Dutch holding company of a large chain
of stores
Description Is the project we’re running being
handled well and are we in control?

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© 2013 Deloitte The Netherlands
The client’s project, costing about 10 million euros, was made up of three
sub-projects: setting up web shops, shrinking the logistics chain and making
processes within the stores more efficient.
To assess each of these projects, Deloitte used Predictive Project Analytics (PPA). PPA
contains a huge database of successful projects which can be used to assess whether
a particular project is running successfully or whether adjustments need to be made.
‘Data analytics helps us find correlations between the complexity of a project, specific
project features and the kind of measures that should be taken to make a project
successful,’ says Van der Voort. ‘The old-fashioned way of assessing projects is to use
a standard checklist, but that’s not nearly as project-specific as PPA, which provides a
much better basis and gives more specific advice.’ According to Van der Voort, PPA can
make a valuable contribution to projects costing about 1 million euros upwards. ‘These
are usually so complex that project managers no longer have a good overview.’
On the basis of fifty questions and answers, PPA charted the complexity of the
client’s project, producing what is known as the complexity profile. A picture of the
level needed to direct and control the project was then generated. Deloitte’s experts
filled in the PPA for the client after interviewing relevant employees and consulting
documents on issues such as plans and budgets.
The solution then compared the entered data with successful projects of a similar
nature already in the database. It showed where there was room for improvement.
‘PPA indicated the gaps in the different areas of our client’s projects. The information
on those gaps and our own expertise allowed us to formulate concrete advice for the
client,’ explains Van der Voort.
‘A case in point was the great deal of uncertainty about roles, tasks, mandates and
responsibilities.’ Deloitte advised the client to bring clarity to the projects by, for
example, creating KPIs for each relevant team/department and using these KPIs to
control the projects. The client is now acting on Deloitte’s recommendations. In
October and in mid-2014, Deloitte will once again use PPA to monitor the progress
of the projects. ‘The client found it gratifying and innovative to have their project
compared with a large number of similar, successful projects,’ says Van der Voort,
‘especially as it meant our recommendations were customised and evidence-based as
a result.’