The document discusses the Camel Model, which proposes focusing critical planning, decision making, and resource allocation earlier in projects to improve chances of success. It identifies six critical success factors: 1) strong business leadership, 2) well-defined business architecture, 3) solid program/project management, 4) comprehensive change management, 5) clear governance, and 6) trusting relationships. The document advocates establishing communities of excellence around these factors to institutionalize best practices and training at Cisco for more effective project execution.

1. THE CAMEL MODEL
SIX CRITICAL FACTORS
FOR BEATING THE HIGH
ODDS OF BUSINESS
PROGRAM FAILURE
By Karl Meulema
Senior Vice President, Cisco Services
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. C87-625519-00 10/10

2. THE CAMEL MODEL
SIX CRITICAL FACTORS
FOR BEATING THE HIGH
ODDS OF BUSINESS
PROGRAM FAILURE
By Karl Meulema
Senior Vice President, Cisco Services
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. C87-625519-00 10/10

3. Moving the Hump or additional ideas, goals, and milestones. Project
Cisco proposes moving away from the typical project success, however, is far more likely if these issues get
timeline and lifecycle that, when plotted on a graph, resolved up front.
puts the peak ramp-up of resources and decision
There are six critical factors that affect a program’s
making—the camel’s hump—toward the back end
EXECUTIVE Most business programs fail. The harsh reality is that more than 65
of the animal (project), shown in orange in Figures 1
degree of success and that should be solidified
percent of large cross-functional initiatives fall short of achieving during that early major peak of activity. We have
SUMMARY their intended results. In IT projects alone, the failure rate is 68 and 2. Instead, we recommend shifting to a timeline
identified these factors using a mix of postmortem
percent.1 These sobering statistics cry out for a change in the that moves the peak early in the process—nearer
analyses, lessons-learned documents, observations,
way businesses plan and execute their projects, particularly as to the camel’s head (shown in green in the figures).
and interviews with many people involved in large
programs expand to involve interdepartmental business teams and, In real-world terms, this means focusing the high-
cross-functional programs.
as a result, become even more complex to manage. volume critical planning, decision-making, buy-in, and
expenditures to one strategic, peak time period. From The absence of one or more of these success factors
Figure 1. Typical Peaks and Valleys of Project Decision Making and
Resource Allocation
there, the key decisions will have been made and the can be directly correlated to program failures, and
team will have a clear strategic direction that can be unsuccessful programs often lack several of them:
executed. We believe this approach will reduce costs
and shorten the time required to complete the project.
Resources
Critical Success Factors
Figure 2. The Camel Model
• Business Leadership
Business Launch
Time Commit • Business Architecture
Resources
• Program and Project Management
The orange curve shows a significant increase in
resources as the program gets closer to its intended • Change Management
Time
completion date. By contrast, the green curve • Governance
represents higher upfront investments than we
• Strong Relationships
currently make to ensure all elements of the
program are clearly understood and sized. As a
result of the more thorough preparation, the chances
of unanticipated problems down the line are Yellow Hump = Typical Expected Process Flow Today Ensuring that these six factors are present and
decreased and earlier project completion can result. Orange Hump = Typical Actual Process Flow Today consistently executed against with high standards
Green Hump = Ideal Process Flow (advised for future) requires a dramatic shift in Cisco project team
structure, behavior, and culture. Again, it requires a
At Cisco, we are striving to grow from a $40 billion company into process change that involves deploying resources
an $80 billion one while remaining the industry leader in customer and making decisions earlier in the program lifecycle
intimacy, product leadership, and operational excellence. These Advising in favor of thorough upfront preparation and
than has typically been the case and moving to a
are ambitious goals that involve thousands of programs along the decision making might seem self-evident. However,
relationship culture in which team members feel
way—and thus require a fresh approach to managing and executing more often than not, in practice an initiative takes
comfortable expressing their opinions at the start of
those programs to beat the odds of failure. Specifically, we propose off prematurely, without a number of factors being
the program.
a shift at Cisco to what we’re calling the Camel Model. The hump of decided or with the presumption that the initiator’s
the camel symbolizes the optimum period of time, occurring early ideas and assumptions are all correct and on target. Conducting upfront, candid dialogue flies in the face
in the process, during which to make critical decisions and allocate of the command and control model, whereby key
After the initial thrust to get the project off the ground,
key resources to projects and initiatives. Allocating these resources players assume that what a particular strategist has
new considerations, details, and issues emerge. So
sooner rather than later avoids added cost, time, and duplication proposed is the only good idea and subordinates
do ideas and opinions that weren’t expressed earlier,
of effort throughout the duration of the project. The Camel Model tend to accept what they are directed to do by
perhaps because participants weren’t paying close
focuses specifically on moving the primary areas of critical decision their superiors. Added to this is the fact that Cisco
attention in early planning meetings or feared that
making and resource allocation earlier in the project lifecycle than is transitioning from command and control to a
speaking up would be viewed negatively. “Fixing” the
is typically done, even if it means that some projects are terminated collaborative, virtual team environment. We have
project as reality sets in results in another wave of
early in the vetting process. not yet reached the maturity in this new structure for
expenditure in time, money, and human resources as
people to feel ownership for decisions made by the
1
The Standish Group, CHAOS Summary 2009 participants rework or fine-tune the plan with different
virtual team. Therefore, by the time the unquestioned
PAGE 1

4. “good idea” has made its way down the path toward Unlike the role of the general manager in a command That individual is charged with building a reference than fighting it, giving projects a far higher chance
implementation and it is discovered that the idea and control structure, the role of the business leader in blueprint for the company and deciding how it should of success. Change management helps sustain
wasn’t strong or needs to be modified, the company a collaborative, virtual team environment is much less evolve regardless of outside or tactical factors. When productivity, decrease learning difficulty, and increase
might very well have lost a window of opportunity and defined. The leader must have significant abilities new ideas or products come along, the process is to overall customer satisfaction during transition periods.
profitability. Discovering and dealing with obstacles to influence people over whom he or she has no direct hold them against the blueprint and gauge the degree
at the start eliminates or minimizes their impact and control. The leader must also have a strong ability to which they can reuse existing infrastructure versus
Implications of Poorly Managed and Unmanaged Change
improves the company’s chances of the project to recognize and understand the interdependencies creating special-purpose infrastructure to meet their
remaining in line with goals and the business strategy. between work being done in various areas of unique needs. • 35 percent ROI when a poor or nonexistent change
the organization. management program is part of a project, vs. 143 percent
Strong relationships require honest and frank Doing this exercise early in the process might expose ROI with an excellent change management program*
discussion and criticisms up front to vet the project Lack of strong business leadership significantly flaws or considerations that drive stakeholders to • 20 to 30 percent rework rate on day-to-day service
and its components before execution begins. We affects a project team’s ability to stay focused propose slight modifications up front that either make requests within a shared services center
believe this approach not only leads to a reduction and overcome roadblocks. It will often result in goals more realistic or allow Cisco to achieve similar • 20 percent unplanned increase in transition resources
to account for lack of skilled resources
in total resources expended, but also shortens indecisiveness, frequent scope changes, and a results at a lower expense. This requires a dialogue
• Additional funding used to re-create training materials
project duration and increases overall stakeholder general lack of discipline in executing the other among key stakeholders at the project’s outset,
• 40 percent unplanned increase in change management
satisfaction. critical success factors—results that often lead to allowing time to create solutions that easily fit the FTEs to manage sponsorship and additional user testing
Figure 3. Six Critical Success Factors
expenditures late in the project’s original timeline. The blueprint and support the business strategy. • Loss of high performers, creating knowledge transfer
domino effect of weak leadership ultimately leads to gaps and a need to hire temps
budget overruns, time delays, and an end result that 3. Program and Project Management • Disengagement of employees, resulting in rework, unmet
Governance - The executive-level Single hump toward
the front symbolizes misses the original mark. This component involves developing, collecting, and customer expectations, and unmet project timelines
“brain” that keeps project aligned
with business strategy
one primary period of
expenditures of time,
performing ongoing monitoring of all project plans Source: Accenture 2009; * Source: McKinsey
resources and
decision making early
2. Business Architecture: Impact on the and risk assessments, and inspecting all program
Relationships -
Created and nurtured
in the process Current Environment elements. This discipline establishes common
from the heart and gut
This success factor represents an interrelated methodologies with supporting processes and clear Lack of structured change management will result in a
infrastructure of systems, processes, tools, and roles and responsibilities. A program and project lack of up-front commitment to the changes ahead, in
Business programs created to achieve desired business results. management discipline jointly improves and sustains part because of confusion over goals, processes, and
Change
Management
Architecture
It requires gathering a complete understanding of the the quality and effectiveness of project delivery. It decision-making authority. In particular, stakeholder
Foundational impact of a new program on the existing environment leads to tight control over budget, scope, and timeline buy-in and explicit plans for stakeholder inclusion
components that
give the project the
legs to move
Business
Leadership
and clearly articulating that impact across all and will help Cisco build an experience base for and communication that are tightly integrated into
forward
Program/Project relevant departments. future programs. the program plan are critical components that decide
Management
failure or success.
Creating a successful business architecture Lack of proper program and project management
requires accurately defining and describing the will lead to an inability to control the overall program. 5. Governance
A Closer Look relationship between the company strategy and its Replanning based on changes in requirements, Governance is the executive oversight and support
Cisco’s ambitious growth plans require us to zero in functions, processes, and governance. Components budget, or timeline becomes nearly impossible. A needed to ensure that a given program aligns with the
on the six key success factors and ensure that they of the business architecture are the company’s solid program management discipline, by contrast, company’s objectives and that project scope, budget,
are in place at the start of any given project. Let’s take data/information architecture, project processes, allows individuals to speak with one common and timelines are properly adhered to throughout the
a closer look at what each critical factor entails. communications structure, and relationship culture. language, no matter their industry, their geography, lifecycle of the program.
or whether they manage projects, programs, or
1. Business Leadership: Accountability and Power Intense interaction between the business Of particular importance here for Cisco is to define
portfolios, in order to achieve repeatable,
Every project and program needs a general manager architecture team and the business strategy group is and make known specifically what group or groups
predictable results.
with overall accountability and budget power. This recommended, because it yields informed trade-off have oversight on an initiative. This is partially due
individual acts as a single point of contact and is decisions between strategic value and operational 4. Change Management to Cisco’s highly collaborative work environment, in
responsible for the ultimate level of the project’s feasibility. Once those are discovered and accepted, An end-to-end change management program that which it can be challenging to ascertain who has the
success. He or she is also responsible for the project the project can move forward without surprises and accounts for both work processes and culture helps final say on decisions. Not infrequently, one board or
budget, project plan, and timeline and leads a team the second-guessing and subsequent changes that ensure that people and organizations are ready and group thinks it has oversight and begins work on a
of people that can be composed both of people so often accompany them. willing to operate in a new business environment. A project only to discover later that another thinks that
who report directly and those who report virtually. structured, end-to-end process for change is a critical it should be involved in key decisions, too. This lack
The business leader ensures that all resources and At Cisco, we have appointed a vice president of component for ensuring that people understand and of clarity creates confusion, delays, misdirection, and
elements that affect the project are in sync with operations in the Advanced Planning Team, who is buy into the need for change and thus accept it rather added expense.
one another. in charge of business architecture across the board.
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5. 6. Strong Relationships To date, Cisco has established COEs in project
Trust and openness between all program and management, change management, and
governance players are intangible, but critical, business architecture.
components of project success. Research shows that
• In the Program and Project Management COE,
high-performance teams are also the most highly
we have developed job descriptions, families of
committed teams—those with individuals that are
required job skill sets, and project classifications, and
committed to protecting one another from failure.
They build higher levels of intimacy and trust that
we have adopted industry-standard methodologies BACKGROUND External Reference to the Camel
that can be repeated throughout the community. The The notion of more thoroughly vetting projects and
allow them to proceed with faster decision making,
next step is to further build out the community and
OF THE CAMEL processes to avoid costly re-do’s has been around in
more robust problem solving, and innovative thinking.
instill the methodologies in all practitioners. MODEL one form or another for some time.
Missing the level of relationships needed for • For the Change Management COE, the Cisco
success will ultimately sabotage the program. When Business Operations Council, the highest Cisco
working on highly complex, dynamic projects, not internal operations organization, has adopted a U.S. company
Design changes
everything can be planned up front, even in the process and moved it up to a corporate level. Our
best of circumstances. On an ongoing basis, it is plan, again, is to drive consistent methodologies
necessary to review the project to assure that every and career opportunities for the members of this
aspect of the project stays on track. Team members community.
and stakeholders need to voice honest status reports, Japanese
concerns, and new information so that decisions • The Business Architecture COE has made company
can be made as quickly as possible to put projects substantial headway in reverse-engineering our 90% of
total Japanese
back on course. To do that, participants need to have existing business architecture and has a revised changes complete
the trust and confidence that speaking up will have blueprint against which to assess new initiatives. In
addition, training of business architect practitioners 20-24 14-17 1-3 Job #1 +3
no negative repercussions. Otherwise, they will be Months Months Months Months
reluctant to provide their unique perspective—the is under way.
very factor that constitutes their primary value to • Moving forward, we plan to do similar work to
the company. establish a Business Leadership COE. In his 1986 article “Quality Function Deployment,”
Lawrence Sullivan contrasted American and Japanese
Striving to Excel: How Cisco Is Executing Governance and relationships are two areas at Cisco automobile manufacturers. He clearly demonstrated
Cisco is committed to the six critical factors in project that require significantly more work. that American manufacturers without strong project
success as we evolve our business practices to management and cross-functional alignment
deliver more consistent success. We therefore need
Conclusion
As Cisco strives to become an $80 billion company, disciplines have significantly more design changes
to make changes to our processes, or we will continue after the first car comes off the line, presumably at a
we need to execute faster and with greater
to risk suboptimal outcomes. high cost. In comparison, Japanese companies that
effectiveness. By addressing the six factors outlined,
we can move the hump of the camel from the back use Quality Function
Our solution is to develop Cisco Centers of Expertise
(COEs) in four of the six disciplines. Each COE will to the front and execute with greater discipline. Our Deployment techniques have essentially frozen their
see to it that its aspect of the project is executed in projects will come in on time and on budget, and will design by the time the first car comes off the assembly
systematic, consistent ways. This consistency will deliver results that are in line with expectations. line. Better up-front analysis of what success will look
give us a foundation from which we can learn and like and what interdependencies to expect, and strong
We will also see projects terminated earlier in the
grow, rather than making the same mistakes with program and change management disciplines can
lifecycle. This is actually desirable. Today, too many
every project. lead to significant savings in time and resources over
projects continue to receive funding that, if the total
cost had been known earlier, might not have been the lifetime of a project.
Each COE comprises people with core expertise in
that field, who can take a step back and synthesize funded in the first place. It pays to know when to stop
what the discipline is all about: the processes, putting good money after bad, and forcing a front-
job levels, and associated skill sets. This assessment hump approach will allow us to focus our resources on
provides a framework for gauging whether the right programs with successful outcomes.
the discipline is being executed to their level
of expectation.
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