Managing an Oracle SI — Holding Your Partner Accountable

Close the knowledge gap between you and your implementer. How to read a project plan critically, challenge a change request intelligently, spot a delivery failure before the SI admits it, and manage the SI relationship under pressure. 6 hrs · 2 sessions · Advanced. Overview The client-SI relationship on Oracle programmes is structurally imbalanced. The SI has delivered dozens of these programmes; your organisation may be doing it for the first time. The SI's project manager knows every risk in the plan; yours is learning the methodology as the programme runs. The SI knows which deliverables are genuinely complete and which are being presented as complete to protect the payment milestone; your team often cannot tell the difference. This course — built directly from Simpl'IT Consulting's experience rescuing and assessing Oracle programmes across Africa, the Middle East, and Europe — teaches how to close that gap. Not by becoming a technical Oracle expert, but by learning to read the signals, ask the questions, and create the conditions in which an SI cannot hide delivery problems until they become crises. Learning outcomes • Read an Oracle project plan critically and identify what is missing, misleading, or at risk • Evaluate a change request independently and know when to approve, negotiate, or reject • Spot a programme in delivery difficulty 4–6 weeks before the SI formally acknowledges it • Conduct progress reviews that produce honest status rather than prepared presentations • Manage a deteriorating SI relationship constructively while maintaining accountability • Know when and how to trigger an independent programme assessment or rescue intervention Prerequisites • No Oracle technical knowledge required • Experience managing suppliers or large contracts is assumed • Programme Governance course is recommended first, though not mandatory Modules 1. Reading the plan, evaluating change requests & the early warning system (3 hours) How a healthy Oracle project plan looks versus a padded one: the tasks that are always underestimated, the dependencies that are always understated, and the buffers that disappear first when a programme starts to slip. The deliverables that are almost always missing from an Oracle project plan — data migration test cycles, environment setup, hypercare planning — and what their absence signals. How to run a meaningful progress review that surfaces real status: the questions that get honest answers, the questions that get the answer the SI prepared. Change request evaluation: what constitutes legitimate scope change versus what should have been in the original plan, how to assess the cost and timeline impact of a change request independently, and when to approve, negotiate, or reject. The early warning signals that a programme is in delivery difficulty: consultant turnover patterns, deliverable repackaging, testing phases compressed without justification, client sign-off being rushed, the SI starting to manage your expectations downward. Topics: Healthy vs padded project plans; Missing deliverables; Progress review technique; Honest questioning; Change request evaluation; Scope vs plan deficiency; Consultant turnover signals; Early warning indicators 2. Managing performance, escalation & the rescue decision (3 hours) How to raise a performance concern with an SI without triggering defensive behaviour that makes the problem worse: the language, the timing, the evidence required, and the right escalation path within the SI organisation. Formal versus informal escalation — when each is appropriate and what each achieves. What your contract says about remediation, cure periods, and exit — and how to use those provisions without immediately destroying the relationship. How to bring in an independent Oracle assessment (a health check or programme assurance review) without the SI interpreting it as a statement of no confidence. The rescue decision: when intervention is necessary, what the intervention options are, how to structure an independent review, and what a realistic recovery looks like given where the programme is. Case patterns from Simpl'IT rescue engagements across the region: the common situations, what went wrong, what the intervention looked like, and what the outcome was. Managing the post-crisis SI relationship: how to rebuild trust and maintain delivery momentum after a difficult episode. Topics: Performance escalation language; Formal vs informal escalation; Contract remediation provisions; Independent assessment; Rescue decision criteria; Intervention options; Recovery planning; Post-crisis relationship management Delivery Best delivered to the programme management team and key client-side workstream leads together. The shared mental model of what to look for is as valuable as the individual knowledge. Can be delivered as a standalone course or as part of a broader Oracle leadership programme. Certification Certificate of completion Price USD 1100 · per participant per person · indicative · group pricing available HRDC eligibility Up to 75% refundable Mauritius-registered employers may claim this training via the HRDC levy. We provide full documentation to support your claim. Languages English Provider reference SIMPLIT-036-MANAGING_YOUR_SI

• Programme directors responsible for SI performance on an Oracle engagement • IT directors whose team manages the SI relationship day to day • PMO leads conducting progress reviews with the SI • Executive sponsors who want to understand what healthy SI delivery looks like • Anyone who has felt that the SI is managing them rather than the other way around • Organisations planning an Oracle programme who want to avoid the dependency trap