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Case study · PMO & delivery
Building an ecommerce PMO from scratch
Projects a year on a multi-million-pound budget
Sector
Retail
Size
Multi-channel UK retailer
Duration
Built in the first year, then run ongoing
Service
The situation
A growing retailer was running a large and rising number of digital and ecommerce projects with no central view of them. Priorities were set by whoever asked loudest, projects competed for the same people, and leadership could not see what the money was buying.
Spend on change was running into millions of pounds a year, but there was no consistent way to start, track or close a project, and project managers each worked differently.
The decision that mattered
The choice was between a heavyweight PMO with full methodology and reporting, or a lightweight one focused on a few things done consistently: a single portfolio view, simple governance and honest status reporting.
The business chose the lightweight approach, adding structure only where it clearly helped decisions. That kept the PMO useful to the people running projects rather than a reporting overhead.
The DEQIO Method in action
Every project had to state the decision it supported and the outcome it was for before it was approved, and the portfolio was reviewed against those outcomes, not just against milestones.
What we did
■ Built the PMO from scratch: intake, prioritisation, governance and a single portfolio view.
■ Set up a steering rhythm with senior leadership, including the CEO, CMO and CTO.
■ Introduced simple, consistent templates and status reporting across all projects.
■ Mentored and developed the project management team so the standards stuck.
The outcome
20+
projects a year
£M+
annual change budget
1
portfolio view for leadership
The business moved from ad-hoc delivery to a managed portfolio of 20+ projects a year on a multi-million-pound budget, with leadership able to see what was running, why, and how it was going. The PMO later provided the governance backbone for the business’s largest programme, an enterprise replatform.
What it means for you
If projects feel busy but outcomes are unclear, you probably don’t need more process. You need one view of the work and a simple way to decide what comes first.
Key lesson
“A good PMO makes decisions easier, not reports longer.”
Facing something similar?
See Programme Assurance and PMO & Team Coaching.