Case Studies
An in-depth look at the projects I’m most proud of—where strategy, execution, and leadership came together to deliver exceptional results. These detailed case studies unpack the challenges faced, the approaches taken, and the measurable outcomes achieved. From complex PMO overhauls and mission-critical project recoveries to groundbreaking workflow innovations and global volunteer efforts, each story demonstrates my passion for solving problems, driving efficiency through technology, and empowering teams to succeed.
Case Study 1:
OnePlan PMO Maturity Program
Client Profile
A provincial health authority with a large IT portfolio managed by the PMO, supporting strategic initiatives across clinical, operational, and corporate functions. The PMO consisted of six project managers and worked closely with the Business Analysis team of seven analysts, delivering a mix of technology and business transformation projects.
Business Challenge
The PMO operated with multiple disconnected systems for project management, intake, reporting, and resource planning. This created:
Fragmented portfolio visibility
Inefficient manual processes using spreadsheets and SharePoint
No integrated enterprise demand and capacity planning
Inconsistent governance and reporting practices
Limited adoption of Agile methods within the organization
A PMO audit had already identified gaps in governance, process consistency, and tool capability. The Executive team tasked the PMO with addressing those audit findings and recommendations while also maturing capabilities to align with Enterprise Strategic Projects Office (SPO) standards, improve strategic alignment, and increase delivery efficiency.
Technical & Organizational Challenge
The challenge extended beyond technology implementation — it required transforming PMO practices while bringing the organization along:
Selecting and implementing an enterprise-grade Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM) tool
Redesigning project management methodologies, governance, and reporting
Integrating diverse delivery models (Agile, Hybrid, Waterfall) into one portfolio view
Implementing enterprise risk management and linking it to project delivery
Introducing Agile practices for the first time, including a pilot in a high-profile CRM project
Driving adoption across multiple stakeholder groups with different priorities and maturity levels
My Role – PMO Manager
I led the 24-month PMO Maturity Program, responsible for transforming people, processes, and technology in parallel. My responsibilities included:
Leadership & Stakeholder Engagement – Worked directly with the CIO, Director of Digital Strategy, Directors and Managers of all ITS departments, the Strategic Projects Secretariat, and the Enterprise Risk team.
People Transformation – Developed and trained PMO staff in new methodologies, governance practices, and tool usage; collaborated with the BA team to ensure alignment of requirements and delivery processes.
Process Redesign – Designed new PMO methodologies, phase gates, and governance aligned with SPO standards; standardized intake, status reporting, RAID management, and performance measurement.
Technology Enablement – Selected OnePlan as the enterprise SPM tool; directed its configuration, including portfolio structures, workflows, enterprise OKRs, and integrations to MS Project (Hybrid) and Azure DevOps (Agile).
Change Management – Created a phased rollout plan, coordinated user acceptance testing, addressed adoption resistance, and provided targeted training to project managers, business analysts, and leadership teams.
Technical Scope
OnePlan Implementation – Configured Portfolio, Program, and Project plan types; implemented workflows, reporting structures, and security model.
Integrations – Connected Azure DevOps for Agile delivery and MS Project for Hybrid projects into one consolidated enterprise portfolio.
Enterprise Reporting – Built standardized project status reports, enterprise RAID log, and risk reporting with roll-up views for executives.
Performance Management – Implemented enterprise OKRs cascading down to PMO and projects.
Demand & Capacity Planning – Established resource planning models and processes for IT resource allocation.
Agile Pilot – Introduced Agile delivery for the first time in the organization, piloted within a CRM implementation project.
Approach
Assessment & Visioning – Used findings and recommendations from the 2020 PMO audit as a foundation for assessing current state and prioritizing areas for improvement. Conducted additional stakeholder interviews with ITS leadership to validate priorities and capture new requirements.
Tool Selection & Procurement – Led a structured vendor evaluation process, selecting OnePlan for its ability to support multiple delivery methodologies and integrations.
Process Redesign – Mapped and re-engineered PMO workflows to align with enterprise standards and embed best practices.
Phased Implementation – Configured OnePlan iteratively, rolling out portfolio management, resource planning, risk management, and reporting in stages.
Training & Adoption – Delivered training to project managers, business analysts, and stakeholders; provided hands-on coaching during transition.
Pilot Agile Delivery – Supported a CRM project team in adopting Agile practices, integrating sprint planning and backlog tracking in Azure DevOps with portfolio reporting in OnePlan.
Results & Achievements
Unified PMO Platform – Replaced multiple disconnected tools with a single SPM platform, enabling portfolio-wide visibility.
Standardized Governance – Embedded phase gates, reporting, and risk management processes aligned to SPO standards.
Integrated Delivery Models – Consolidated Agile, Hybrid, and Waterfall projects into a single portfolio view for leadership.
Enterprise Resource Planning – Implemented demand and capacity planning, improving resource allocation and forecasting.
Agile Adoption – Successfully piloted Agile methodology in a CRM implementation, paving the way for wider organizational adoption.
Executive Visibility – Delivered real-time reporting via Power BI dashboards, enabling data-driven decision-making.
Organizational Alignment – Strengthened collaboration between the PMO, BA team, ITS leadership, and enterprise governance bodies.
Key Takeaways
True PMO transformation requires balancing technology enablement with process maturity and cultural change.
Early engagement with leadership and cross-functional teams accelerates adoption and reduces resistance.
Phased implementation with iterative feedback ensures the solution evolves with the organization’s needs.
Case Study 2:
SAP PCM Project Rescue
Client Profile
A global technology solutions provider and strategic SAP customer, supplying products and services from over 40 vendors. The client operates in a competitive, high-volume environment where timely, accurate product data is essential for sales and customer experience.
Business Challenge
The client engaged an SAP implementation partner to replace their bespoke enterprise PIM system with SAP Commerce Product Content Management (PCM). The goal was to create a scalable, high-performance solution capable of importing and transforming product and inventory data from multiple vendors.
The project had stalled—over budget, behind schedule, and facing severe performance bottlenecks:
Processing times for vendor product imports were orders of magnitude slower than required.
The solution failed to meet the client’s performance KPIs.
The client had lost confidence in both the implementation partner and SAP’s PCM product
Technical Challenge
The delivered solution was unable to process large-scale data imports efficiently, causing unacceptable delays. Performance and architecture issues were compounded by:
Custom code quality and maintainability concerns.
Inefficient ELT processes and data transformation logic.
Underperforming integrations to SAP ECC and dependency on a parallel C/4HANA implementation.
A rigid rules engine design that limited scalability.
Poor UX configuration in SAP Backoffice, hampering business user efficiency.
My Role – Program Manager (Project Rescue)
Brought in to lead an 18-month recovery program, I:
Negotiated a multi-million-dollar rescue contract with revised scope, budget, and delivery terms.
Managed the removal of the underperforming partner while maintaining strategic relationships.
Rebuilt customer trust through transparent governance and weekly executive-level updates.
Structured the rescue into sub-projects: issue assessment, solution prototyping, development, and testing.
Directed the creation of a new Statement of Work, staffed the project with required SAP resources, and maintained risk, issue, and decision logs.
Coordinated cross-program dependencies with the C/4HANA implementation.
Chaired weekly stakeholder and steering committee meetings.
Technical Scope
SAP PCM performance remediation and architecture redesign.
SAP Integrations to C/4HANA and ECC.
Design and build of a custom business rules engine for data processing.
UX configuration and development in SAP Backoffice and Product Cockpit.
Refactoring of backend services, interceptors, and data models.
ELT process optimization for large-scale vendor imports.
Solr search tuning and search seeding services.
Parallel processing and multi-threading strategy implementation.
Approach
Stabilization – Conducted an in-depth assessment of existing code, performance baselines, and architecture; identified 40+ critical technical issues.
Confidence Building – Delivered a working prototype demonstrating performance improvements, gaining executive buy-in to proceed.
Execution – Delivered remediation work in nine agile development sprints, integrating client feedback after each sprint.
Testing & Validation – Completed functional, integration, and performance testing; met or exceeded performance KPIs.
Deployment Readiness – Managed UAT and coordinated readiness activities before project handover to the client’s internal team.
Results & Achievements
Negotiated and executed the rescue Statement of Work with clear scope, funding, and delivery plan.
Delivered 40+ technical remediations meeting all performance KPIs.
Completed assessments, redesign, and all development sprints on time and on budget.
Improved data processing times to required benchmarks.
Restored client confidence, with multiple formal commendations from executive leadership.
Ensured smooth integration with the parallel C/4HANA program.
Key Takeaways
Early and transparent engagement with executives was essential to restoring trust.
Breaking the rescue into sub-projects created momentum and visible wins.
Deep technical remediation—paired with strong program governance—enabled delivery under challenging conditions.