Case Studies
Results speak louder than promises. Here are examples of how I’ve helped organizations solve real operational challenges. Details have been anonymized to protect client confidentiality.
Financial Services Firm Builds PMO from Scratch
Industry: Financial Services
Challenge: No formal project governance
Duration: 12 weeks
The Situation
A mid-sized financial services company had grown to 300 employees and was running 15+ projects simultaneously. There was no visibility into project status, resource utilization, or portfolio health. Projects frequently ran over budget, and leadership only learned about problems when they escalated to crisis level.
The Approach
I conducted a maturity assessment and designed a PMO framework appropriate for the organization’s size and culture. This included:
- Project intake and prioritization process
- Standardized project lifecycle with stage gates
- Portfolio reporting dashboard
- Resource allocation visibility
- Risk management framework
- Template suite (charters, status reports, change requests)
Implementation was phased—starting with portfolio visibility, then adding governance layers incrementally to avoid overwhelming the organization.
The Results
- Full visibility into $15M project portfolio
- 35% reduction in project budget overruns within first year
- Clear prioritization criteria eliminated resource conflicts
- Early warning system caught issues before they became crises
- Framework still operating successfully two years later
Key Lesson: PMO success requires right-sizing. A lighter framework implemented well beats a comprehensive framework that nobody follows.
Healthcare Provider Cuts Reporting Time by 70%
Industry: Healthcare
Challenge: 20+ hours weekly on manual reports
Duration: 8 weeks
The Situation
A regional healthcare provider’s operations team spent over 20 hours each week manually compiling reports from multiple systems. Data was copied from three different platforms into spreadsheets, reformatted, calculated, and distributed to department heads. The process was error-prone, and reports were often delivered late.
The Approach
First, I mapped the current reporting process to understand data flows and identify optimization opportunities. Then:
- Eliminated two redundant reports that nobody was actually using
- Redesigned remaining reports based on what recipients actually needed
- Implemented Power Automate workflows to pull data automatically
- Created dashboard templates that self-populated
- Established data validation checks to catch errors
The Results
- Report generation reduced from 20+ hours to under 6 hours weekly
- Reports delivered 2 days earlier than previous schedule
- Error rate dropped from ~5% to near zero
- Operations team reallocated time to patient care initiatives
Key Lesson: Before automating, question whether the work needs to be done at all. Eliminating unnecessary reports saved as much time as automating the remaining ones.
Technology Company Recovers Stalled ERP Implementation
Industry: Technology / Manufacturing
Challenge: ERP project 6 months behind
Duration: 14 weeks
The Situation
A technology company’s ERP implementation was originally planned for 12 months. At month 18, the project was nowhere close to go-live. The original project manager had left, the implementation partner relationship was strained, and stakeholders had lost confidence. Leadership was considering scrapping the project entirely—writing off $2M already invested.
The Approach
I conducted a rapid assessment to understand actual project state versus planned state, identify critical blockers, and assess what was salvageable. Then:
- Reset scope to focus on essential functionality for initial go-live
- Rebuilt project plan with realistic timelines and clear milestones
- Re-established governance and decision-making processes
- Improved communication cadence with stakeholders
- Renegotiated implementation partner engagement
- Added project controls to catch issues early
The Results
- Project achieved go-live 14 weeks after recovery engagement started
- Deferred features delivered in Phase 2 over subsequent 6 months
- Saved $2M sunk cost that would have been written off
- Client internalized lessons for future implementations
Key Lesson: Project recovery often requires scope reduction and hard conversations. Better to deliver essential functionality than to keep chasing an impossible plan.
Your Organization Could Be Next
Every case study started with a conversation. If you’re facing similar challenges, let’s talk about what’s possible.