Case study

Johnson Matthey – PMO

The challenge

    Johnson Matthey (JM) was implementing a new, global IT function to support the entire business. This was a £14m programme and it was the first time that JM had developed a truly centralised support function. Ignite became involved when the programme was initially established to help manage the Programme PMO. This was needed because:

  • JM did not have any PMO capability to support projects or programmes across the business – global programme governance was new territory
  • The Programme was complex and needed careful, integrated management. It was made up of 13 workstreams, each containing several projects
  • The Programme Manager needed support to ensure that the programme was on-track and being managed well – fulfilling all required project governance and compliance.

The result

  • The ITOM Programme ran successfully and efficiently – by having a competent, highly effective PMO supporting it
  • The Programme teams felt able to do their work to a high standard and the Board felt re-assured of progress being made – due to the role of the PMO in bringing structure, governance and visibility to the programme
  • The PMO became the bedrock of the programme – bringing trust, confidence and continuity throughout
  • The PMO set the standard – and contributed to a JM-wide PMO capability that followed

What made it successful

  • Client context – Understanding the client’s environment & requirements – to ensure the right PMO was established that met their needs whilst still delivering on impact
  • Senior sponsorship – Having a clear mandate and set of responsibilities defined
  • Collaboration – Close working with the programme manager – to ensure there was confidence and trust in the ability of the PMO to deliver and contribute to the smooth running of the programme
  • Relationship building – The relationships built with the wider programme team – enabling the PMO to provide project managers with the right balance of ‘help and support’ vs ‘tell and control’
  • Capability building – The visibility of the PMO throughout the programme – so that people felt supported and able to seek guidance/information when needed.