Your organisation has governance boards, status reports and a PMO. So why do delivery problems still surface too late to fix?
Many organisations invest heavily in project management offices, governance forums and reporting cycles, yet leaders still struggle to see which initiatives are really on track, where risk is building and which decisions need to be made. Beyond the PMO explains why, and shows how to build something better.
Drawing on practical experience of large-scale and highly regulated change, Essan Wray shows how governance, portfolio intelligence and delivery assurance can work together as one organisational capability. The result is governance that creates clarity rather than complexity, and a PMO that improves decisions instead of simply reporting on them.
Inside, you will learn how to:
Redesign governance around clear decisions, accountability and timely escalation
Move beyond RAG status to an evidence-based view of delivery confidence
Turn project data into portfolio intelligence that connects investment to strategy, capacity and value
Recognise when ambition exceeds delivery capacity, and when a project should stop
Use early warning indicators and proportionate assurance to see problems before they become crises
Recover projects that have lost their way
Design a PMO around organisational need and develop it into a strategic capability
A practical toolkit:
The book closes with the Beyond the PMO Toolkit: ten practical assessments, from a PMO Purpose Assessment and Governance Effectiveness Review to a Portfolio Health Check and PMO Improvement Roadmap. Each tool explains when to use it, who to involve, what to include and how to complete it. Worked examples and diagrams throughout show how the ideas apply in practice.
Who this book is for:
Executives, sponsors, portfolio and programme leaders, PMO leads, governance and assurance professionals, and project managers moving into portfolio or PMO roles, in the public or private sector.
What you receive:
The complete eBook as a PDF (263 pages), and editable toolkits ready to read on any device.
About the author:
Essan Wray is a UK-based Senior Project Manager and PMO, governance and project delivery consultant, and the founder and director of TLD Project Coaching Ltd. Her delivery experience spans defence, financial services and government. Beyond the PMO is her seventh book.
