The strategy and innovation department at a global FMCG company reached out to TriFinance as their portfolio management officer was going on maternity leave. Given the project's significant strategic focus, it was redirected to Pragmatic Advisory & Implementation. This presented Project Consultant Andrew Watticant with an excellent opportunity to enhance his proficiency in portfolio and project management by gaining comprehensive insights into all related aspects.
Once a traditional Belgian brand, this client has undergone a remarkable transformation, expanding its operations across Europe and beyond. With a workforce of approximately 240,000 employees worldwide and impressive group sales reaching 87 billion in 2022, they have emerged as a major player in the global fast-moving consumer goods sector.
Ensuring continuity
To ensure seamless continuity of daily PMO operations, the client embarked on a mission to optimize and integrate their processes. This involved implementing a project management ERP and revising portfolio management tools. The goal was to enhance efficiency, effectiveness, and alignment within their PMO framework.
The optimization aspects
To optimize the current processes and tools, Andrew relied on the findings of the Portfolio Management Officer who had already identified multiple optimization aspects, such as:
- improving the current business case templates,
- improving the knowledge sharing in the project acceptance process,
- fostering communication on the best ways of working in the project management community and,
- improving the project lifecycle monitoring process.
Andrew worked closely with key stakeholders to revise and optimize critical documents based on the Portfolio Officer's analysis. He achieved high buy-in from end-users by ensuring their input and involvement. The templates he revised included the financial business case, project management document, and a section on project closure and key success factors.
To promote knowledge sharing, Andrew spearheaded the creation of a centralized platform that serves as a valuable resource, featuring FAQs, general information, and a PM community channel. It marks an important milestone towards optimized and standardized project management practices within the organization.
The PMO also played a pivotal role in establishing corporate project management excellence standards and procedures, through which the company could adopt a standardized and centralized approach to projects, allowing for risk mitigation and value maximization.
Unlocking career potential
During the project, Andrew Watticant gained valuable experience and comprehensive understanding of various aspects of project management and portfolio management, along with a broader understanding of high-level management practices.
The PMO was, for instance, in charge of setting up the corporate general project management excellence standards (the general acceptance threshold of a project demand) and procedures. This provides the company with a standardized and centralized way of approaching projects, allowing risk mitigation and value maximization.
‘Observing project review meetings provided me with insights into the company's business model and power dynamics within the department,’ Andrew says. ‘This accelerated exposure enabled me to efficiently address project governance bottlenecks and develop expertise in high-level project management.’
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