While l’équipe de France stranded in the Rugby World Cup semi-final, the Sogeti team succeeded all the way.
Jacques Benassis
Sogeti France, Technical Director &
2007 Rugby World Cup Project Director
The Rugby World Cup 2007 project was a very special experience - not only for me as the Project Director, but for most of the people who worked on it. Sogeti and Capgemini, the official sponsors of the tournament, had joined forces to provide the information systems.
The task was enormous, a multi-faceted IT endeavour,
including: the conception, design and maintenance of the official Rugby World Cup 2007 websites – www.irb.com and www.france2007.fr; the implementation of the scoring and statistics systems, as well as their transmission on TV channels, Internet and mobile phones; there was the integration of tools, the planning logistics and the tournament administration; and of course the information services needed for the 4,000 accredited journalists in the press stands and in the media centers.
Because of our extensive network and implementation capability, Sogeti was made responsible for the installation and maintenance of all the materials and information applications in the 12 stadiums – spread over ten locations in France, one in Wales and one in Scotland – and the tournament organization committee centers. And I was put in charge of making that all happen.
I started in September 2006 - on my own and from scratch. The only known elements were the key dates of the tournament: the kick-off game - September 7, 2007 - and the final match on October 20. It was the only project that I have ever been involved in that had such a definite end-point. From the beginning there was enormous time pressure.
In the first month I visited all the stadiums, to understand what were the logistical and physical structures of each of the venues, so that I would be able to define the network architecture for each location, each stadium and to deploy the required equipment. For instance; where could we put network cables; were there any sockets in the changing rooms; where could we plug in the PCs? I made an inventory of the infrastructure to be put in place and set out to define the parameters and configuration of the project. And then I put together the Sogeti teams, selected from specialists from Sogeti IS, Sogeti Régions and Sogeti UK, for each regional venue and defined the working procedures.
The team then started to think about the network that needed to be built and the configuration for each location. We had discussions with the Organizing Committee about their communication needs for each location; the number of PCs needed for the ticket office, for human resources, for team organization, and so on; what kind of PCs, which software? We defined the master image. And we planned to deploy all this equipment in each region. That phase took four months and involved just five people.
The third phase took another four months and involved 20 people. We built the ‘masters’ and we ‘pulled out all the breaks’ to meet the various challenges: managing logistics, delivery on time, addressing data issues, installing network appliances. We were faced with all kinds of different problems – obviously the pressures of meeting a strict deadline – but also those emanating from the different organizations and cultures involved – Sogeti, Delta 3, Capgemini, Orange, and the World Cup Organization Committee.
It was a jump into the deep end for everybody. Nobody had ever been involved in a project like this before. There were no legacy systems or procedures. But everyone in the team gave their best. It created a fantastic atmosphere of ‘togetherness'.
Information was shared, a Support Center was set up, all the teams worked to the best of their abilities, and in late August, two weeks before the official kick-off, we had the last ‘try out’ with a warm-up match – France v England in Marseille. We had two local support teams involved, one in Paris and one in Marseille; everything was tested and everything went really well.
But still, the big question remained. Would it all work out as planned when the tournament started? We had only five days to connect 600 PCs and 200 laptops. Would all 12 teams in the 12 playing cities be up to the task? The pressure was mounting. It was nightmarish. The whole world was watching, expectations were sky high and time was running out. And I was the roll-out project leader.
The success of the opening match set the tone for the rest of the tournament. All 12 of my teams, plus my own – 70 people in all by now – did a fantastic job. 48 matches in total, up to 4 matches each day of play. Not a single problem. As the tournament progressed, everything became easier and we grew more and more confident. We made it to the Final! Where l’équipe de France got stranded in the semi-final, the Sogeti team succeeded all the way!
When the final whistle had blown, and the last match reports and interviews had been transmitted, my job was also finished. In spite of the success, I felt depressed.
One year of building together, working together, sharing knowledge, experience and emotions – it all disappeared there and then. Contacts had become friendships.
But now everybody went their own way. Project done; everybody gone. Looking back on it, I’ve learned a lot from it. It was an a-typical project, but very exciting because of that. It was a massive experience, and one not to be missed.
