Client Profile: MLC Life Insurance – End to End Review of Project Delivery & EPMO

Executive Summary

Reviewed Enterprise PMO function and overall execution capability to develop an actionable plan of recommendations, able to be implemented by MLC over 6 months
Objective was to provide recommendations to the C-suite including project plans on how to improve enterprise project delivery and increase “speed to value”
Designed a new ‘Lean’ EPMO structure, with revised service catalogue, updated tools templates and metrics, and a 6-month implementation plan for continuous improvement
Designed a new governance model to drive accountabilities for delivery timeframes, costs and benefits through role clarity and metrics
Defined a portfolio management framework to improve planning (Road-mapping) and delivery – allowing better dependency management and resource planning

The Situation

Growth drives review of PMO functions.

MLC is entering into a growth phase and required a review and development of an actionable plan to improve the Enterprise PMO functions as well as overall execution capability.

The Solution

Providing an actionable set of recommendations to the C-suite executive team.

IDEE Group performed an end-to-end review of project delivery at MLC Life in 8 weeks to provide recommendations for optimising delivery success and improve EPMO performance. The review included over 30 stakeholder interviews, 4 major workshops to deep dive on areas of challenge and opportunity, and detailed analysis of current project templates, reports, KPIs and EPMO processes. A set of prioritised recommendations and implementation roadmaps were developed for MLC Life, covering:

A new governance model, improving speed of reviews and approvals and simplifying decision-making
Optimised EPMO structure and service model, reducing cost and improving portfolio planning and delivery
A new delivery framework (waterfall, agile, persistent teams) with supporting templates, tools, and processes
Improvements in portfolio road-mapping and resource management, including options for persistent teams
A revised set of delivery metrics at portfolio, program, and project level to track delivery progress and provide lead and lag indicators
A set of training documents for improving project sponsorship, scope management and project estimation

The Outcome

Improved project delivery, minimising disruption and increasing “speed to value”.

Provided an actionable plan of recommendations to C-suite executives, with a detailed plan for improving project delivery covering the major themes of Governance, EPMO, Portfolio Management, Delivery Practices & Competency, and People & Culture.