The AI Adoption Gap: What’s Really Holding Public Sector Organisations Back?
Summary of a talk exploring why AI, despite its success at an individual level, has struggled to become a meaningful force for organisational delivery.
PPDS Education Centre
Understand the Programme and Project Data Standard
A practical education centre for understanding the Programme and Project Data Standard (PPDS), what it means for government project delivery, and how to prepare your organisation.
Explore guides, videos, articles, FAQs and practical resources covering everything from the fundamentals to individual data entities and compliance readiness.
Programme and Project Data Standard
Seven core data entities
- Project Features
- Risk
- Issues
- Milestones
- Benefits
- Cost
- People
New to PPDS?
Start Here
If the Programme and Project Data Standard is new to you, start with these three questions.
1
What is PPDS?
Understand what the Programme and Project Data Standard is, why it was introduced and what it changes for government programme and project data.
2
Who is responsible?
Understand how accountability flows from Accounting Officers and Chief Data Officers through to Portfolio Directors, SROs and data stewards.
3
How do we prepare?
Start assessing your current data environment, identify gaps against the standard and build a clear implementation plan.
PPDS Basics
What Is the Programme and Project Data Standard?
The Programme and Project Data Standard (PPDS) establishes a common approach to how programme and project data is defined, formatted and maintained across government.
Before the standard, different departments, teams and systems could record the same types of project information in different ways. Milestones, risks, costs, benefits and other project data were not always directly comparable.
The standard creates a common language for programme and project data, making information more consistent and easier to understand, compare and use.
The Standard
Explore the 7 Core Data Entities
The Programme and Project Data Standard is structured around seven core types of programme and project information: Project Features, Risk, Issues, Milestones, Benefits, Cost and People.
Project Features
The identification, classification and core information that describes a programme or project and links its data together.
Risk
How risks are identified, categorised, scored, owned, updated and responded to.
Issues
How issues are identified, classified, owned, responded to and maintained once a risk or event has materialised.
Milestones
How planned, forecast and actual milestone dates are structured, including baselines, critical-path status and milestone categories.
Benefits
How benefits are classified, owned, valued and tracked through to realisation.
Cost
How project costs are structured across monthly, financial-year and whole-life views, including RDEL and CDEL.
People
How project workforce data is captured, including headcount, FTE, vacancies, contractors and project-delivery roles.
Does every project need all seven?
Not necessarily. Smaller programmes and projects may not need every entity where that information is not required to manage the work effectively.
Governance
Who Is Responsible for PPDS?
The Programme and Project Data Standard defines clear responsibilities for programme and project data across the organisation, from Accounting Officers down to the data stewards who maintain it day to day.
-
1
Accounting Officers
Accountable for how information and data are managed across their organisation.
-
2
Chief Data Officers
Responsible for establishing clear expectations for data management and supporting compliance with data and security requirements.
-
3
Senior Officer Accountable for Project Delivery
Responsible for ensuring the organisation's programme and project data meets the requirements of the standard.
-
4
Portfolio Directors and Senior Responsible Owners
Portfolio Directors are responsible for portfolio data, while the SRO acts as the data owner for an individual programme or project.
-
5
Data Stewards
The people responsible for creating, maintaining and using specific project data in line with the standard.
Data Quality
What Does Good PPDS Data Look Like?
The Programme and Project Data Standard connects programme and project information to six dimensions of data quality: completeness, uniqueness, consistency, timeliness, validity and accuracy.
-
Completeness
Required records and essential values are present.
-
Uniqueness
Records are not duplicated and unique identifiers are used consistently.
-
Consistency
Related data points do not contradict one another.
-
Timeliness
Information is reviewed and updated at the required frequency.
-
Validity
Data follows the required format, categories and permitted values.
-
Accuracy
Information reflects reality and uses consistent definitions.
These dimensions provide a useful framework for assessing the quality of your existing programme and project data before looking at individual PPDS attributes.
PPDS Readiness
A Practical Path to Preparing for PPDS
For most organisations, preparing for the Programme and Project Data Standard begins with understanding what already exists and where current practices differ from the standard.
-
Step 1
Assess
Understand your current programme and project data environment, systems and data-management practices.
-
Step 2
Identify Gaps
Compare current data against the requirements for each relevant entity and attribute.
-
Step 3
Assign Ownership
Identify data owners and stewards and make responsibilities clear.
-
Step 4
Build the Plan
Create a documented implementation plan covering the changes, activities, owners and timelines required.
-
Step 5
Improve & Validate
Update processes, systems and data practices and test whether information meets the required definitions, formats and validation rules.
Featured Resource
UK Government's Programme and Project Data Standard is coming. Are you ready?
Download our information guide for a clear introduction to the Programme and Project Data Standard and what it means for programme and project teams.
Guides & Checklists
Put PPDS Into Practice
Use practical tools to assess your current position against the Programme and Project Data Standard, understand individual requirements and plan your next steps.
Checklist
PPDS Readiness Checklist
A practical checklist for understanding where your organisation stands today and where preparation needs to begin.
Checklist
Data Entity Checklist
Review which of the seven data entities apply to your programmes and projects and identify where the biggest gaps sit.
Guide
Implementation Plan Guide
Understand what a credible PPDS implementation plan should cover, from current-state assessment through to ownership and delivery.
Guide
PPDS Data Validation Guide
Understand the validation rules and data-quality checks that need to be considered as part of implementation.
Watch & Learn
The PPDS Video Series
Short, practical explanations of the Programme and Project Data Standard, who it affects and what individual requirements mean in practice.
The Government Just Changed How Projects Must Record Data
A three-minute introduction to the Programme and Project Data Standard, who it affects and why it matters.
Who Is Responsible for Compliance?
Understand how responsibility flows through government organisations and what PPDS means for Accounting Officers, CDOs, SROs and data stewards.
Risk Data: Getting It Right Under the New Standard
Understand the three-tier risk scoring model, PPDS risk attributes and the rule that can turn a risk into an issue.
PPDS Insights
Guides and Deep Dives
Go deeper into individual areas of the Programme and Project Data Standard with practical guidance for programme and project teams.
-
-
Government Does Not Have Five Transformation Problems. It Has One Data Problem.
Government is now preparing for one of the most important shifts in portfolio management in recent years: the Programme and Project Data Standard.
-
The Next Four Years of Government Transformation Starts Now
Government is now preparing for one of the most important shifts in portfolio management in recent years: the Programme and Project Data Standard.
PPDS FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Straightforward answers to common questions about the Programme and Project Data Standard.
What is the Programme and Project Data Standard?
The Programme and Project Data Standard establishes common rules for how programme and project information should be defined, formatted and maintained. Its purpose is to create more consistent and comparable project-delivery data across government.
Who does the Programme and Project Data Standard apply to?
The standard applies to programmes and projects undertaken within or across government departments and their arm's length bodies. The specific data entities required may vary depending on what an individual programme or project needs to manage effectively.
What are the seven PPDS data entities?
The seven core entities are Project Features, Risk, Issues, Milestones, Benefits, Cost and People.
Does every project need to use every data entity?
Not necessarily. Smaller programmes and projects may not need every entity where that information is not required to manage the work effectively. Teams should understand which entities apply to their project rather than creating unnecessary data.
Who owns PPDS data for a programme or project?
The Senior Responsible Owner is identified as the data owner for an individual programme or project, with accountability for the overall quality and appropriate use of its data. Data stewards can manage individual data entities day to day.
What is a PPDS data steward?
A data steward is responsible for creating, maintaining and using specific programme or project data in line with the standard. Existing project-team members can act as data stewards for the information they already manage.
Do we need to create new data-steward job roles?
Not necessarily. Someone already responsible for maintaining a risk register, milestone plan, benefits tracker or another project dataset may act as the data steward for that entity.
What does full compliance mean?
Full compliance means in-scope programme and project data is defined, formatted and updated in line with the relevant attribute requirements of the standard.
What should we do if our current systems cannot meet every requirement?
The starting point is to understand the limitation, identify the gap and document the changes required to move towards compliance. A credible implementation plan should cover the current environment, gaps against the standard, required activities, ownership and timelines.
What are the six PPDS data-quality dimensions?
Completeness, uniqueness, consistency, timeliness, validity and accuracy.
Why are unique identifiers important?
Unique identifiers allow projects, risks, issues, milestones, benefits and related information to be reliably distinguished, linked and analysed without duplicate or ambiguous records.
What is different about PPDS risk data?
PPDS risk data includes separate inherent, current and residual risk positions, structured categories, defined update frequencies, ownership information and validation rules.
What happens when a risk becomes certain?
When current risk likelihood reaches the maximum score of 5, the risk should be treated as an issue and managed using the issue entity.
What is the difference between a planned and forecast milestone date?
The planned date acts as the baseline, while the forecast date reflects when the team currently expects the milestone to complete. Keeping the two separate allows slippage to be measured.
What does PPDS require for benefits?
Benefits data includes identifiers, descriptions, ownership, Green Book classifications, forecast and actual values, realisation dates, beneficiaries and links to business-case and strategic objectives.
What does PPDS require for people data?
People data includes measures such as headcount, approved FTE, funded and in-post FTE, vacancies, contractor and contingent-worker FTE and project-delivery roles.
What should an organisation do first?
Start by understanding your existing programme and project data environment, identifying which entities apply, assigning ownership and comparing current information against the standard's requirements.
Further Reading
Official PPDS Resources
Verto's Education Centre is designed to make the Programme and Project Data Standard easier to understand and implement. For authoritative requirements and government guidance, always refer to the official source material.
- External source: Government Project Delivery Programme and project data standard The official standard, setting out how programme and project data should be defined, formatted and updated across government.
- External source: Government Project Delivery Adopting the programme and project data standard Official guidance on assessing, planning for and implementing the requirements of the standard.
- External source: Government Project Delivery GovS 002: Project delivery The functional standard for portfolio, programme and project management across government, which the data standard complements.
- External source: Government Project Delivery The Teal Book: information and data management Practical guidance on managing programme and project information and data.
- External source: HM Treasury The Green Book Central government guidance on appraisal and evaluation.
- External source: HM Treasury The Orange Book Central government guidance on the management of risk.
- External source: Government Project Delivery Project delivery library The full library of Government Project Delivery standards, guidance and publications.
PPDS Education Centre
Start Preparing With Confidence
Explore the guidance, understand your data and build a practical path towards the Programme and Project Data Standard.