Establishing a Project Management Office to Strengthen Portfolio Delivery and Governance
Delivering integrated portfolio control and a scalable PMO framework to optimise resources, reduce risk, and align delivery to strategic goals.
Results and Outcomes
Integrated Portfolio Control
Established a centralised PMO providing visibility across more than 50 active projects, worth £120 million.
Improved Resource and Risk Management
Introduced an Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) and portfolio governance model to optimise resource allocation and mitigate delivery risk.
Faster, Informed Decision-Making
Enabled transparent decision-making and prioritisation across digital and operational portfolios through standardised reporting and KPIs.
Embedded Governance and Capability
Delivered a sustainable PMO structure, training, and tools to embed governance disciplines and build internal capability.
Client Overview
A government-owned infrastructure body responsible for the maintenance and enhancement of a major national road network.
Problem Statement
The client was delivering a large portfolio of digital and operational projects but lacked consistent governance, visibility, and prioritisation.
With over 50 concurrent initiatives and limited oversight, critical projects were delayed, dependencies unmanaged, and resources overstretched.
The absence of a central PMO led to fragmented reporting, unclear decision rights, and difficulty balancing delivery capacity with strategic objectives.
Approach
Cross 8 deployed an experienced PMO team to design and establish a robust governance model, align decision-making processes, and embed a portfolio-wide delivery framework.
The engagement began with a full ‘as-is’ assessment of current processes, identifying inefficiencies, duplication, and governance gaps. Using these insights, Cross 8 built a scalable PMO structure underpinned by an Integrated Master Schedule, consistent reporting cadence, and defined portfolio roles and responsibilities.
Key Actions and Solutions
- Integrated Master Schedule (IMS)
Consolidated all projects into a single integrated view to identify interdependencies, conflicts, and critical paths.
Improved resource utilisation and prioritisation decisions through transparent visibility of workload and timing.
Enabled scenario modelling to assess the impact of change or delay across the wider portfolio. - Portfolio Governance Model
Introduced a clear governance framework with defined decision-making forums, escalation paths, and risk ownership.
Implemented regular KPI-based performance reviews for senior executives. - Portfolio Health Check – Golden Rules
Introduced a standardised health check model to assess project status against ‘Golden Rules’, ensuring consistent evaluation of success criteria, stakeholder engagement, and delivery readiness. - Embedding the PMO
Provided business change support to ensure new governance processes were embedded.
Delivered training, mentoring, and coaching for internal teams.
Deployed tools such as MS Project and Power BI dashboards for performance tracking.
Established continuous improvement reviews to maintain adoption and responsiveness to organisational change.
Conclusion
Within six months, Cross 8 successfully implemented a sustainable PMO that delivered transparency, control, and measurable performance improvement. Critical projects—including strategic reviews, application upgrades, and roadside technology programmes—were delivered on time, demonstrating the effectiveness of the portfolio management approach.
Want to know more? Contact:
Tobias Robinson
Managing Director