Client Case Study

Enhancing Portfolio Productivity in Mature Engine Programmes

Discover how Project4 Learning Lab and our client improved productivity through implementing Collaboration Cadence.

In late 2024, a prominent leader in military air and naval power solutions engaged our services to address significant delivery performance issues within its Mature Programmes teams. Following a major reorganisation earlier that year, the UK-based programmes and operational teams were struggling to achieve business outcomes and financial targets. This situation impacted over 400 project management and engineering personnel working to deliver 4 significant customer delivery programmes.

A brief diagnostic revealed critical gaps in strategic alignment, work visualisation, and collaborative practices. These issues hindered the effective use of limited engineering resources on the most valuable business objectives. We proposed implementing an integrated Operating Model focused initially on aligning strategy with action, enhancing visualisation through digital tools (specifically BusinessMap), and fostering collaboration via a sprint methodology. The goal was to establish a framework approach to improve productivity and pace of delivery across the portfolio.

Proposed Programme

Collaboration Cadence

Identification of the team structure at all relevant levels in the organisation and defining a set of regular interactions and standard calendar to enhance collaboration (encouraging “individuals & interactions”)

Challenges Identified

Problem Percolation

Problems are known by teams but they are not addressed quickly enough, often because they aren't well described or routed to the right people.

Rhythm & Blues

Teams planning at different rhythms and different times, leading to significant management overhead and an inability to commit to plans when teams used shared resources.

Flow Fog

A lack of clarity over how work is flowing or status of work (can lead to storytelling, lack of data driven decisions, incorrect focus, which can lead to being predictably late).

Stagnation / Slow Moving WIP

Activities that have been ongoing forever and may or may not be valuable now but consume energy and attention.

Priority Pinball

Continually shifting priorities (can lead to multi-tasking / context switching).

Our 4 Step Process

Release Valve ®

1Finding Flow

Finding Flow

The initial "Finding Flow" stage involved understanding the core challenges hindering the teams' performance. Key issues identified included:

Stagnation / Slow Moving WIP: Difficulty connecting daily tasks to overarching business goals.
Flow Fog: Inadequate visibility of workflow, progress, and impediments.
Rhythm & Blues: Siloed working practices and inconsistent communication and governance methods.
Problem Percolation & Priority Pinball: Challenges in deploying limited engineering resources effectively against competing priorities.

To address these, we focused on mapping the existing processes and identifying specific interventions. This involved workshops and diagnostic sessions with various programme teams to document their current state and pinpoint bottlenecks and areas of waste. A foundational step was establishing a clearer link between strategic objectives and planned team activities, creating the basis for improved prioritisation and resource deployment.

2Taming Turbulence

Taming Turbulence

In the "Taming Turbulence" phase, the focus shifted to implementing initial changes to stabilise the workflow and remove immediate obstacles. Key interventions included:

Strategic Alignment Framework: Introducing system mechanisms to ensure programme activities directly supported defined business objectives. This helped teams understand the "why" behind their work and begin to prioritise tasks accordingly.
Digital Visual Management: Maturing the use of BusinessMap to provide real-time visibility of project status, dependencies, and roadblocks. This replaced disparate tracking methods and created a single source of truth, improving transparency for both teams and leadership.
Standardised Collaboration: Defining and deploying standard communication and meeting cadences (like daily stand-ups and reviews) to improve information flow and coordination between teams. This aimed to break down silos and enable faster issue resolution and problem-solving.

These initial steps aimed to create a more predictable and transparent working environment, reducing the "turbulence" caused by unclear priorities, hidden work, and inconsistent processes.

3Accelerating Flow

Accelerating Flow

With foundational stability achieved, the "Accelerating Flow" phase aimed to embed the new, standardised ways of working and transfer ownership to the client teams. This involved:

Sprint Methodology Deployment: Implementing a sprint-based approach for planning and executing work. This involved engaging each programme team in cycles of planning, delivery, and review, fostering iterative progress and rapid feedback loops. Teams learned to break down work, commit to deliverables within a defined timeframe, and manage dependencies more proactively.
Capability Building: Coaching teams and leaders on utilising the visual management system effectively for high cadence management, problem identification, and performance tracking. This included running effective sprint planning sessions, daily stand-ups, and retrospectives.
Cross-Programme Integration: Initial coordination across the different programmes using the shared visual management platform and collaborative routines. This improved alignment and helped manage shared resource constraints.

The focus was on enabling the teams to operate the new system effectively, driving faster cycle times and improving throughput by applying the principles of flow and collaboration consistently.

4Keeping Pace

Keeping Pace

The final "Keeping Pace" phase focused on ensuring the sustainability of the improvements and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. Activities included:

Embedding Practices: Supporting the client in integrating the new operating model and visual management standards into their standard business processes through a Go-Look-See approach.
Leadership Coaching: Working with leaders to reinforce the new behaviours, use the visual management system for performance dialogues, and actively support their teams in continuous improvement efforts.
Performance Monitoring: Establishing key metrics and dashboards (leveraging BusinessMap data) to track productivity, operational delivery, and alignment, enabling ongoing monitoring and data-driven adjustments.

The goal was to ensure the changes stuck, the benefits were sustained, and the organisation had the internal capability to continue adapting and improving its portfolio management practices long after the direct engagement ended.

Results

The implementation of the integrated Operating Model across approximately 350 staff yielded significant estimated annual benefits totalling nearly £1 million. These gains stemmed from:

Boosting Productivity

Improved focus and reduced non-value-added work, estimated at £700k annually based on a

10% Productivity Gain

Quality Improvement & Efficient Communication

Reduction in errors due to real-time performance data access, valued at £52k annually. This, in addition to future time saved through transparent workflows and standard collaboration estimated at £225k annually, leads to further savings of

£277k Annually

Beyond the quantifiable financial benefits, the introduction of the Digital Visual Management system fostered a culture of transparency, accountability, and collaboration. It provided a foundation for ongoing transformation and demonstrated a clear link between operational activities and strategic business alignment. Further maturity and extension into wider operational resource groups from this model also provides significant opportunity to secure additional benefits as the scope and pace of delivery increases.

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