Client

The client is a leading provider of antenna and technology systems for the DoD and other governmental subsets.

Challenge

The company is experiencing significant growth and expanding its portfolio of offerings through the newly formed Innovation Center of Excellence. This strategic shift allows the company to generate large and complex systems from R&D through manufacturing. To ensure success in this expanding market, it is essential to elevate measurable processes and skills to accommodate the needed maturity. This involves implementing advanced project management methodologies, adopting cutting-edge technologies, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement and innovation. By doing so, the company can enhance its operational efficiency, drive product innovation, and maintain a competitive edge in the industry. This approach ensures that the company remains agile and adaptable, capable of meeting the evolving demands of the market while delivering high-quality products and services.

Solution

After developing a clear scope of work with senior stakeholders, AMS conducted onsite interviews and reviews of the organization’s engineering and project management processes and practices. Functional mapping of roles and responsibilities was undertaken to ensure project team composition and competency were consistent with project demands. A detailed gap analysis with recommendations was delivered to a senior steering committee, which agreed with our assessments and recommendations. A key recommendation was that rather than AMS “taking over” the implementation project, it would be more beneficial for designated client resources to lead the implementation. Consistent with our recommendations, we developed an execution plan where client resources were coached and mentored to achieve specific practices and deliverables for PgMO development, Project Management rigor, and implementing a practical system for Integrated Project Control across multiple functional contributors. The organization’s development lifecycle was also “fitted” with a structure of scalable stage gates and application criteria.

The PgMO plays a pivotal role in aligning project initiatives with the organization’s strategic vision. By swiftly designing and implementing a PgMO, we ensure that all projects contribute directly to market growth and competitive positioning. Our focus is on understanding market dynamics, customer needs, and competitive landscapes. The PgMO will tailor project portfolios to address these specific market demands.

Recognizing the urgency, our team will expedite the PgMO setup process, leveraging best practices and pre-defined templates. We’ll adopt agile principles to iteratively build out the PgMO, ensuring quick wins and continuous improvement. Rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, we’ll design a PgMO structure that aligns with the client’s unique context, including defining roles, responsibilities, and reporting lines. Skilled resources will be allocated efficiently, considering both internal talent and external expertise.

The PgMO will establish governance mechanisms, ensuring that projects adhere to quality standards, timelines, and budget constraints. We’ll proactively identify risks and develop mitigation strategies, prioritizing rapid decision-making. Engaging senior leadership early will secure their commitment to the PgMO’s success, and their endorsement will accelerate adoption. The PgMO will foster collaboration across departments, breaking silos and promoting knowledge sharing.

We’ll define clear Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) aligned with market goals and ensure regular reporting to track progress. The PgMO will remain agile, adjusting strategies based on market shifts and emerging opportunities, ultimately driving sustained success and competitive advantage for the organization.

Benefits

As a result of the overall assessment, the organization’s best practices that were functional and working well, were validated and measurable. Scalable front-end planning practices were adopted to ensure the project's objectives were decomposed properly into an accurate technical design basis, and requisite project management execution practices were aligned and applied. The PgMO was developed and chartered as a service-based organization first and a governance mechanism second. This approach helped shift cultural inertia and early apprehensions about the PgMO assuming a “heavy handed” governance role.

The client's project portfolio stabilized, and key clients who had been hesitant to award them mission-critical projects were impressed enough with the organization’s transformation to award the projects as a sole-source procurement. Each of these projects was extremely successful, with one being awarded a project of distinction award from the federal agency client. The transformation underscored the effectiveness of the new practices and the strategic alignment achieved through the PgMO’s implementation. By adopting these scalable practices and focusing on service-based governance, the organization was able to meet and exceed client expectations, thus securing its reputation as a reliable and efficient partner in project execution. This success highlighted the importance of a well-structured and strategically aligned PgMO in driving organizational growth and client satisfaction.