COLLABORATION DRIVES SUCCESSFUL

SYSTEMS INTEGRATION
This article explores practical methods for creating effective
collaboration toward rail program delivery.
July 2, 2020
Due to the highly complex nature of modern
railway megaprojects, it is impossible that any
team or organization has all the required skills
and knowledge to deliver a successful outcome
on its own. As is true for any major project,
collaboration is critical.
One of the main goals of systems integration
(SI) is to enable effective technical collaboration
by building it into the management framework of
a megaproject/program. From this perspective,
collaboration can be defined two ways:
1. Right Resources at the Right Time –
Getting the right mix of niche technical
expertise and deep domain knowledge, Figure 1 – Systems Integration through the SI:D3 approach
provides program leaders with practical methods for
with the team efficiently deployed undertaking collaborative systems integration.
against the program to assure the
outcome Collaboration and communication are central to
WSP’s SI:D3 framework, which brings together
the best knowledge from people, teams and the
2. Driving Collaborative Behaviours –
organization. Considering each organization’s
Supporting all team members to work in
unique culture and stakeholder objectives, the
an aligned way toward the collective
SI:D3 approach facilitates effective
delivery of the program
multidisciplinary thinking and interaction for
shared understanding and coordinated action
toward delivery of the expected outcomes.
Enabling collaboration across a megaproject
organization is a critical skill for SI team
leadership. If the focus on collaboration and
communication is not there, no amount of tools, Creating an Environment for Effective
techniques, people or process will fill the void. Collaboration
With teams and people at its core, WSP’s SI:D3
The leader of the SI team plays a key role in
framework provides practical methods for
creating the ideal environment for effective
collaborative SI.
collaboration by undertaking the following
activities:

⎯ Locating and securing the required

competence and technical expertise
 ⎯ Undertaking team-building exercises to megaproject. To bring about a successful
develop a shared understanding of the outcome, the SI team must make its approach:
goals
a) Relevant – by articulating how it
⎯ Creating clarity around roles and will help stakeholders achieve
responsibilities their objectives

⎯ Planning the work as far ahead as b) Accessible – using a commonly

possible understood vocabulary to aid
discussion and collaboration,
⎯ Providing the tools and platforms
and agreeing on a small number
necessary for collaboration (such as
of simple key artefacts
online workspaces)
(diagrams, dashboards etc.)
⎯ Monitoring and holding the team
accountable for the delivery of SI work
on a regular basis Successful and sustainable collaboration relies
on shared understanding not just of the end
⎯ Taking time to recognize success and goals but also the methods, tools and
learn from failure terminology being used to drive the SI effort.
Early on, the SI team will propose formal
methods—such as lifecycle models, requirement
Collective Competence of a Team sets, interface matrices and migration plans—to
Eclipses Its Size underpin program delivery. While these are the
right tools for the job and do not require
High levels of competence are a prerequisite for
explanation to SI experts, they can appear
effective collaboration. A competent team is one
obtuse to the uninitiated, and may be unfamiliar
that has both the technical expertise and the
to the client/sponsor. Formal SI methods can be
confidence to self-organize, solve problems and
seen as abstract and esoteric—this is kryptonite
address risk with rigour. This competence also
for collaboration.
supports a reduction in the amount of checking,
reviewing and authorizing required—leading to
enhanced program productivity. Where To gain stakeholder buy in, it is not necessary to
competence levels are low, integration becomes give an in-depth description of each SI method
very difficult, as there is a tendency to fill being proposed, only to provide simple,
competency gaps with more team members and straightforward answers to the following key
suppliers offering specific technical expertise. questions:
The larger the team becomes, the more difficult ⎯ What is this method?
it is to integrate everyone’s knowledge and
experience. Rather than reaping the benefits of ⎯ Why are we doing this? What value
enhanced collaboration, additional team does it bring us? What risk does it
members can result in cost and timescale mitigate?
challenges. ⎯ Who needs to interact with this? When
and how should each person, or team,
Establishing Shared Understanding do so?
Engaging stakeholders in the SI process from
the outset lays the foundation for structured
collaboration across the lifecycle of the
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 collaboration to progressively work toward the
commissioning of a completed and integrated
railway.

Due to the high stakes and difficulty of delivering

megaprojects, mistakes along the journey are
inevitable. It is possible to learn a lot from these
experiences as long as teams maintain a
collaborative culture through the delivery
Collaboration at Every Stage lifecycle, to retain and share lessons—and
The nature of technical collaboration changes as refocus, as necessary, on the short-term
the program moves through the lifecycle. At the objectives and long-term outcome. In this safe
front-end, the key SI steps are to establish the environment, individuals feel more inclined to
technical feasibility and requirements of the own, discuss and address shortfalls.
megaproject. Here, collaboration is required to
effectively negotiate trade-offs between the
Emerging vision for the Northern Powerhouse Rail network
engineering solutions that will deliver the output
operational capabilities and meet the needs of
stakeholders, the costs and the program impacts
(e.g societal and environmental).

At the design stage, collaboration is supported

by design tools and/or a common design
environment that enables various engineering
teams and organizations to work toward a
collective design solution. These tools aid
interface management processes, such as the
establishment of interface responsibilities, which
dictate how subsystems (e.g. power, track, train,
communications and control) interact with each
other, both within and across contract
boundaries.

In the construction, testing and commissioning

stages, a systems migration plan supports the
collaborative delivery of the schedule across
teams, contracts and stakeholders. This plan is
a key SI tool using concept configuration states Credit: Transport for the North
and integration milestones—i.e. higher risk
points in the schedule where multiple contracts
combine— to deliver a tangible system output,
such as a timetable change. These milestones
bind contract packages together and encourage
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Putting SI into Action for Northern route.” This immediately achieved
Powerhouse Rail shared understanding in the room as to
what these terms meant.
WSP worked hand-in-hand with our clients on
the early SI effort for the CAD 60 billion (£36
billion) Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) 3. Avoid using terms that carry
megaproject in the North of England. The initial “baggage” for stakeholders. Some
challenge was to engage the core stakeholder terminology may hold pre-existing
group (Transport for the North, Network Rail, meaning for stakeholders. For example,
Department for Transport, and the supply chain) a Client Requirements Document (CRD)
in the formal systems engineering process of is a standard deliverable within Network
requirements development. The quality of the Rail. We therefore avoided using this
requirements outputs would depend entirely on term on NPR, to avoid any risk of
their full, collaborative participation in the confusion with the Network Rail process.
process. But how could we make this seemingly Taking this approach resulted in a
dry and abstract method—with its shalls and generic set of terms that had commonly
shoulds, its hierarchy and traceability—clear and agreed meaning across the NPR
engaging to a new audience? stakeholder group.

1. Relate the method to things they 4. Create a sustainable connection

already care about. On NPR, above all, between the stakeholders and the
the stakeholders care about achieving science. We created simple artefacts to
development consent. We explained summarize the shared understanding
that requirements are a way to capture that had been reached. A picture on a
overall goals and benefits, then trace page can be powerful—for example,
and justify how the chosen solutions will NPR’s full requirements model and
achieve them. In other words, we said timeline are shown in the diagram
“doing requirements properly will below. (Note how it ends with
automatically generate a large part of development consent being granted,
your case for consent.” Now we had tying the process back to the
their attention. stakeholders’ key motivator.)

2. Use examples for everything. We The outputs produced at this stage should
associated every mention of an abstract become focal points for collaboration. They
SI idea (e.g. a level of requirements; a provide the interface between the SI team and
physical interface) with examples the other parts of the organization. SI has every
audience could relate to. For instance, chance of success if, as has become the case
the concept of a requirements hierarchy on NPR, a point is reached where the wider
was illustrated by explaining that “Level stakeholder group is routinely communicating in
0 will include the NPR train frequencies a common language of Level 0/1/2
and journey times between cities. Level requirements, technical assumptions, interface
1 will include the lines of route chosen to agreements, etc.
achieve them. Level 2 will include the
interventions needed along the lines of

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 ⎯ Rich, evidence-based reporting

⎯ Assurance of delivery of outcomes

These SI artefacts should become part of the

megaproject’s day-to-day operation. Meetings at
all levels of governance up to the highest
decision-making forums and boards should use
at least one artefact as a focal point, to serve
both as a trusted source of information and a
platform for updates and decisions. The
artefacts are the gateway through which
program data flows, between the wider team and
Figure 2: NPR requirements model against timeline – the formal SI “engine room.” They inform and
highlighting achievement of the client’s ultimate goal
give structure to collaborative decision-making
and enable its outputs to be robustly captured
and justified.
***
Robust and Informed Decision- Railway megaprojects are complex
Making environments that require a high degree of
Ultimately, SI supports the delivery of collaboration for success. The focus of SI
megaprojects by enabling informed, justifiable leaders should be to create an environment
and optimized decision-making. Decisions are where collaboration is the norm throughout the
based on the information available, and a highly lifecycle of the megaproject. Ongoing
functioning, collaborative SI process ensures collaboration can be achieved using the
this information will be as holistic, accurate, principles, methods and tools of SI, implemented
accessible and relevant to the project objectives in a shared and comprehensive way such as
as possible. through the WSP SI:D3 framework.

The few simple, agreed-upon SI artefacts that

are established (see point 4 in the case study) Authors
should offer a one-stop shop to reach decisions.
Adam Rixon
At a glance they provide:
Associate, Systems Engineering &
Integration, United Kingdom
⎯ Clear understanding of how activities
Adam.Rixon@wsp.com
combine to achieve overall goals and
benefits

⎯ Clear identification of constraints, Nassar Majothi

dependencies and risks to release of Deputy Head of Discipline, Rail,
benefits United Kingdom
⎯ Comprehensive understanding of
impacts of change

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About WSP

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