A Guide to Tranches and Landing Points for Program Delivery

Tranches and landing points are two concepts that can help you plan and deliver your program initiatives more effectively.

In this blog post, I will explain what tranches and landing points are, how they can benefit your program, and how to use them in practice. I will also share an example of how to use tranches and landing points in a program.

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What are tranches and landing points?

Tranches are groups of related initiatives that are delivered together within a program. They are usually aligned with a strategic objective, a business outcome, or a phase of the program lifecycle.

Tranches help you break down your program into manageable chunks, prioritize your initiatives, and allocate your resources.

Landing points are specific points in time when you expect to achieve a significant milestone, deliver a key output, or realize a measurable benefit within a tranche. They help you track your progress, communicate your achievements, and validate your assumptions.

Some of the benefits of using tranches and landing points

Using tranches and landing points can help you:

• Clarify your program vision and scope.
• Align your initiatives with your strategic goals and stakeholder expectations.
• Manage interdependencies and risks among your initiatives.
• Monitor and control your program performance and benefits realization.
• Adapt to changing circumstances and feedback.
• Engage and motivate your program team and stakeholders.

How to use tranches and landing points effectively

To use tranches and landing points effectively, you need to:

• Define your tranches based on your program objectives, outcomes, and deliverables.
• Identify your landing points based on your tranche outputs, benefits, and milestones.
• Plan your activities, resources, and budget for each tranche and landing point.
• Execute your tranche initiatives according to your plan.
• Review your tranche results and benefits at each landing point.
• Adjust your plan for the next tranche based on your learning and feedback.

How do I create tranches and landing points?

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to creating tranches and landing points.

You need to consider the nature, complexity, and duration of your program, as well as the expectations and preferences of your stakeholders. Here are some general steps that can guide you:

• Start with the end in mind. What is the ultimate goal of your program? What are the main outcomes or benefits that you want to achieve?
• Work backwards from the end goal. What are the major steps or phases that you need to complete to reach the end goal? These can be your potential tranches.
• Break down each tranche into smaller initiatives. What are the specific outputs or deliverables that you need to produce within each tranche? These can be your potential initiatives.
• Define the criteria for each initiative. What is the scope, quality, time, cost, risk, and benefit parameters for each initiative? How will you measure their success?
• Sequence and group your initiatives. How do your initiatives relate to each other? Are there any dependencies or conflicts among them? How can you group them logically and efficiently?
• Assign a landing point for each initiative or group of initiatives. When do you expect to complete each initiative or group of initiatives? What are the tangible results or benefits that you will deliver or realize at that point?
• Validate and refine your tranches and landing points. Are they realistic, achievable, and aligned with your program objectives and stakeholder expectations? Do they provide enough flexibility and agility to cope with uncertainty and change?

Example of using tranches and landing points in a program

To illustrate how tranches and landing points work in practice, let me share an example from one of my recent programs. The program was about implementing a new customer relationship management (CRM) system for a large organization. The program had four main objectives:

• Improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.
• Increase sales revenue and profitability.
• Enhance operational efficiency and effectiveness.
• Foster innovation and collaboration

Based on these objectives, I defined four tranches for the program:

• Tranche 1: Designing the CRM system.
• Tranche 2: Developing the CRM system.
• Tranche 3: Testing the CRM system.
• Tranche 4: Deploying the CRM system.

Within each tranche, I identified several initiatives that were required to deliver the tranche outputs. For example, in Tranche 1, some of the initiatives were:

• Conducting stakeholder analysis
• Defining business requirements
• Selecting CRM software vendor
• Designing CRM system architecture
• Designing CRM system features

For each initiative, I defined the scope, quality, time, cost, risk, and benefit criteria. I also sequenced and grouped the initiatives based on their interdependencies and priorities.

Finally, I assigned a landing point for each initiative or group of initiatives. For example, in Tranche 1, some of the landing points were:

• Landing Point 1: Completing stakeholder analysis and business requirements.
• Landing Point 2: Selecting CRM software vendor and signing contract.
• Landing Point 3: Completing CRM system architecture and features design.

At each landing point, I expected to achieve a specific output or benefit, such as:

• Obtaining stakeholder buy-in and approval for the CRM system design.
• Securing the best value and quality for the CRM software.
• Ensuring the CRM system meets the business needs and expectations.

At each landing point, review the results and benefits of the tranche initiatives and adjust the plan for the next tranche based on the learning and feedback.

Milestones in relation to Tranches and Landing Points

A milestone is an important event or accomplishment that indicates the progress of a program or a project. A milestone can be a landing point of a tranche if it satisfies the following conditions:

— It marks the end of a tranche or a major output within a tranche.

— It has a clear and quantifiable result that can be validated by the program stakeholders.

Milestones initiates a decision point for the program, such as whether to proceed, modify, or terminate the program.

Some examples of milestones that can be landing points of tranches are:

• The approval of the program charter, which outlines the vision, goals, benefits, and governance of the program.
• The delivery of a new system or service that enables a business transformation or enhancement.
• The achievement of a predefined level of benefits that shows the value of the program.

Conclusion

Tranches and landing points are powerful tools that can help you plan and deliver your program initiatives more effectively.

They can help you clarify your program vision and scope, align your initiatives with your strategic goals and stakeholder expectations. Additionally manage interdependencies and risks among your initiatives, monitor and control your program performance and benefits realization. They also adapt to changing circumstances and feedback and engage and motivate your program team and stakeholders.

I hope this blog post has given you some insights into how to use tranches and landing points in your own programs. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me.

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