Project Description
Implementing a program management office with standardized tools and meeting cadences to dramatically improve coordination and visibility across multiple company projects.
The Client
A multi-brand leading manufacturer and wholesaler of bedding and accessories in US and Canada. The company manufactures most of its own product, but also sources from domestic and overseas suppliers.
The Challenge
Along with increasing competition, the company was facing pressures to improve customer service and enhance their supply chain capabilities. The client embarked on nine different projects to meet these new demands. Unfortunately, each of these projects was planned in a silo with no visibility to the other projects’ timelines or requirements.
Additionally, many people within the company were working on several of the projects simultaneously, and they required access to the same code base within their existing ERP system. Projects were delayed when an associate was not available because another project was still using that resource. When leadership asked when the delayed project would resume, the team could not answer because they did not have an integrated plan to know when associates would be available. Furthermore, the leadership team was not kept apprised of key issues or risks and was not able to assist the teams in removing roadblocks.
The Parker Avery Solution
Parker Avery used a multi-step approach to create and implement a program management office (PMO) for the nine projects:
- Gathered timelines, resource requirements, and project tasks from each project
- Created a high-level program plan that identified key dependencies between projects
- Developed a program reporting structure and hierarchy rolling all projects into one program
Key activities included:
- Maintained program-level project plan
- Reviewed risks, issues and change request logs per client’s SDLC methodology
- Contributed and participated in key stakeholder meetings (program status, project team, design workshops, steering committee)
- Reviewed and consolidated project manager status reports to create a program-level report for executive level review
- Led program weekly status meetings and monthly program steering committee meetings
Deliverables consisted of:
- Program-level project plan
- Weekly program status report
- Monthly steering committee meeting presentations
The Result
Following the PMO implementation, the client leadership team was able to understand project timelines, dependencies, key risks, and issues. If an issue was at risk of causing a delay, the client had visibility to the issue and what was required to ”get back to green,” including requesting support from the leadership team to remove any roadblocks.
