Three one-page case studies of assignments undertaken by Steve Syder

1. SYDER MANAGEMENT OUTSOURCING (SMOS) LTD.
Case Study — A GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT CHANGE MANAGEMENT AND BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION PROGRAMME
The Company
A major central government Department based close to Whitehall, with 1,500 employees whose morale was exceedingly low as a result of
redundancies. This had important implications for stakeholder liaison. The Department’s structure is typical, with Directorates sub-divided
into Management Units. This assignment was based in the Management Unit responsible for IT.
The Business Problem
A programme intended to deliver a replacement eDRM system was failing. Relationships
between the Department, its integration partner and the software provider had become
strained at best, and the reputations of both the programme and the Management Unit had
slumped in the eyes of the user community.
Many end-users, who would have to use the system on a daily basis, felt alienated from
the delivery process.
There was no agreed implementation date, the budget was at risk, morale was suffering,
and the Department was in danger of losing its status as a Whitehall exemplar for
documents and records management.
The Solution
Steve Syder determined the best course of action in terms of both cost and quality of solution. He facilitated and encouraged a more
collaborative approach in all three areas involved in delivery – the Department, integration partner and software provider, who all firmly
committed to a mutually-acceptable implementation date. A radical change to training design and delivery was proposed, freeing some
staff to return to their normal duties, and Trades Unions and special needs representatives were included in all stakeholder liaison
activity.
The Benefits
Morale improved within the programme team, all of whom became fully-committed to the agreed implementation date. The reputations
of the programme and the Management Unit were restored, and all end-users felt engaged and involved.
Redesigning the approach to training saved the Department £600,000 with ongoing annual savings of £30,000, and resulted in a
training package much more suitable for the needs of the Department.
The eDRM system was delivered on time and under budget to a receptive, well-trained workforce, and as a result, usage rose by 10%
across the Department.
The Department was able to to continue to meet its commitments to the National Audit Office and maintain its “Exemplar” status in
Whitehall.
The SMOS Mission
The SMOS aim is simple – to deliver excellence and a lasting legacy for our clients. Steve Syder has a proven track record of senior ICT leadership
in the private and public sectors. He combines a track record of improving cost effectiveness, productivity and service quality with the ability to
enthuse colleagues about the transformative potential of technology. He is a change agent, who brings an innovative and creative flair to his work.
Contact SMOS.
Address: SMOS House, 42 Princes Road, Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey KT2 6AZ
Telephone: (0) 7968 493218
Email: steve@stevesyder.com
Web: www.syder.net
Reference: TFLN37010

2. SYDER MANAGEMENT OUTSOURCING (SMOS) LTD.
Case Study — B CAMELOT eCOMMERCE AND BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION PROGRAMME
The Company
Camelot Group plc is the operator of the UK National Lottery and related games such as EuroMillions. It employs around 1,000 people
and has an annual revenue approaching £4.8 billion. It operates a franchise, awarded via a bid process every eight years.
The Business Problem
The commitments made in the bid for the Third Licence, to run from February 2009,
required a restructuring of Camelot’s organisation, new IT systems, new games and a new
web site.
Having won the bid process, Camelot effectively had “Preferred Supplier” status subject to
its achieving the commitments by February 1.
The overall programme therefore had an immoveable deadline and a finite budget. Some
areas were progressing very successfully but others, e.g. the programme to deliver the
new web site, were running into time and cost issues.
There was also a fear that some of the many smaller bid commitments might be missed,
causing compliance issues.
The Solution
Steve Syder instigated a Compliance Project to document and track every commitment in the bid. He then conducted a thorough
assessment of the web site programme, revisiting the Business Case to correct the original budget forecast before making
recommendations to Camelot’s CFO. Steve then worked with the Senior Management Team charged with delivering the transformation,
helping scope the new business organisation. Finally, Steve shaped the programme in place to bring new propositions to market, and
created Camelot’s roadmap for the first three years of the new licence.
The Benefits
Camelot was compliant with the requirements of the Third Licence by the due date of February 1, 2009. The new web site is the
fourth biggest UK e commerce site (measured by Comscore). The new organisation has successfully cut costs by 25%, whilst at the
same time delivering more money to good causes and increasing retailers' commission from 5% to 6%. There is a clear business
process in place to deliver new games to market, and POS furniture has been replaced at all 28,000 retailers.
The SMOS Mission
The SMOS aim is simple – to deliver excellence and a lasting legacy for our clients. Steve Syder has a proven track record of senior ICT leadership
in the private and public sectors. He combines a track record of improving cost effectiveness, productivity and service quality with the ability to
enthuse colleagues about the transformative potential of technology. He is a change agent, who brings an innovative and creative flair to his work.
Contact SMOS.
Address: SMOS House, 42 Princes Road, Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey KT2 6AZ
Telephone: (0) 7968 493218
Email: steve@stevesyder.com
Web: www.syder.net
Reference: TFLN37020

3. SYDER MANAGEMENT OUTSOURCING (SMOS) LTD.
Case Study — C GOVERNMENT AGENCY BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION PROGRAMME
The Company
An Executive Agency of the UK Government, employing around 1,500 people. Handles hundreds of B2B and B2C communications
every day.
The Business Problem
The Agency’s mission-critical IT system was held on an aging mainframe computer,
for which the contract was about to expire.
The agency needed to replace it with a modern n-tier application-server based service
before the contract ran out. A programme was instigated to deliver all the hardware and
software changes required for the new system.
Technical problems led to the programme running late, and there was a danger it would
miss this mission-critical deadline.
The Solution
Steve Syder conducted a landscape analysis of the state of the programme and made recommendations to the CEO and an interim
Director, and instigated a forum of senior business managers, who agreed to make changes to some business processes to overcome the
technical problems they were causing. The recommendations were wholly adopted, leading to a restructuring of the programme team to
facilitate efficient delivery.
The Benefits
The new governance arrangements championed by Steve passed a successful OGC Gateway Review. The improved team structure
made delivery of the software possible, and the system migrated successfully on to the new hardware, saving the organisation
roughly £1m pa on the contract costs of the old system.
The SMOS Mission
The SMOS aim is simple – to deliver excellence and a lasting legacy for our clients. Steve Syder has a proven track record of senior ICT leadership
in the private and public sectors. He combines a track record of improving cost effectiveness, productivity and service quality with the ability to
enthuse colleagues about the transformative potential of technology. He is a change agent, who brings an innovative and creative flair to his work.
Contact SMOS.
Address: SMOS House, 42 Princes Road, Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey KT2 6AZ
Telephone: (0) 7968 493218
Email: steve@stevesyder.com
Web: www.syder.net
Reference: TFLN37030