Ireland’s largest fuel supplier, Certa, a business with a proud legacy in the energy sector – servicing commercial, industrial, residential and mobility sectors with fuel, lubricants and renewable energy for over 40 years – has significantly improved its project and portfolio management processes through the implementation of Project Portfolio Office’s project portfolio management solution, PPO.
By centralising its approach, Certa has been able to boost collaboration, streamline communication and gain real-time access to vital project portfolio information, ensuring that both project management office (PMO) team members and project stakeholders are informed and aligned.
From challenges to solutions
According to Certa’s Director of People & Change, Mairead Golding, Certa went through a period of significant change involving several acquisitions and culminating in a rebrand in September 2022. This led to a need to transform its internal operations.
“At this point, Certa was still operating internally as separate businesses, with a number of different systems, structures and processes, as well as several ways of doing things. We realised that a reorganisation of the entire business was required from within. We needed to find the ‘Certa way’ of doing things. This triggered multiple change projects.
“The management of these change projects was scattered across different platforms and systems, resulting in a lack of cohesive project oversight, particularly in terms of project interdependencies and the impact of change. We’re a very action-orientated business and get things done, however, this can reduce the space and time for planning. It was becoming increasingly difficult to manage change and deliver multiple projects in parallel, and so a project portfolio management framework had become essential.”
The Certa PMO was established in March 2023, kicking off the creation of a Certa project framework. An important part of this initiative was the aligning of project portfolio management-related processes, as well as the categorisation of project information, including at strategic, divisional and business unit level, and prioritisation.
To support this journey, Certa decided to implement a project portfolio management tool that could reinforce the adoption of these updated processes.
Selecting PPO for centralisation and flexibility
According to Mairead, as project management was a new concept at Certa, the organisation needed a project portfolio management tool that was user-friendly, yet able to grow with the business as its project management capabilities developed. PPO was selected, with the assistance of IT professional services firm, Saros Consulting, for its adaptability to Certa’s evolving needs.
“PPO’s user-friendly interface and its ability to scale made it an ideal fit,” she explains. “This was of particular importance as responsibility for leading projects sits with our line managers. They are not full-time certified project managers; they have busy day jobs and handle projects as part of their broader roles.
“We needed a project portfolio management tool that could grow with us, as our competencies gain momentum, and allow us to add additional controls in parallel. If your project portfolio management tool is over-tailored, it becomes too cumbersome and complicated for internal teams to use effectively. Starting with the basics has helped our line managers to build confidence in their use of PPO.
“We started with agreeing on our project management framework – the governance that is required and how projects were to be categorised. We then launched PPO to support the implementation, rolling out a comprehensive training programme, and set to work on running projects through PPO.
In fact, says Fiona MacCormac, who was appointed as Certa’s PMO Lead in October 2023, the PMO has seen a marked increase of PPO adoption by managers in the past six months, driven by a greater focus on accountability. “PPO has become a part of our DNA now; the use of the project portfolio management tool has become truly embedded in our project managers’ way of working.
“We’ve been on a maturity-building journey and PPO’s adaptability has proven to be key here. The biggest benefit is that we now have a holistic view of our projects.
“As a fast-paced business, Certa’s PMO has been able to remain mindful of our project managers’ journeys, ensuring that PPO assists in expediting their project work, while helping to reduce the challenges of this part of their roles,” she adds.
Success in streamlining and centralising
Currently, Certa has 47 registered users on the PPO tool, running anything between 57 to 89 projects concurrently. The Certa project portfolio is made up of strategic, divisional and business unit projects, and the PMO is responsible for delivering projects for all business units across the company. These can vary from building new sites, installing new pumps into existing sites, implementing fleet management systems and more – essentially any project involving multiple stakeholders.
Since implementing PPO, the PMO has also gained visibility of the project portfolio management pipeline, with all projects managed via PPO’s demand management capability. Centralised data management has also become a key advantage for the PMO, as the project portfolio management solution provides a single source of truth for all project-related information.
Says Guy Jelley, CEO and co-founder of Project Portfolio Office: ”One of Certa’s primary requirements for a project portfolio management tool was that it could transform how the PMO handles project registration and pipeline management. PPO’s automated workflow for project approvals has streamlined this process, giving the PMO and executive team clear insights into project status, interdependencies and potential risks.”
“Information was previously siloed due to the different businesses coming together, making access and oversight unwieldly,” comments Mairead. “Now, all project documentation is easily accessible, reducing duplication and improving transparency across the business.
“Having said that, one of the most significant changes for us has been the improvement in project reporting, which is one of the organisation’s biggest drivers. The PPO project portfolio management solution has allowed the Certa PMO to standardise and simplify project reporting, vital for both daily management and executive oversight. Reports are now automated and delivered regularly, providing a comprehensive overview of the entire project portfolio. Compliance with project governance has also improved, ensuring that all projects adhere to established processes.”
And there is not only a high-level, 30,000-foot view on projects, but also on project resources. “Getting a better handle on our PMO resources was critical, as we run very lean as a business. Certa’s PMO is now able to quickly and easily see demands on our resource capacity – the heat map is much clearer now in terms of bottlenecks and pain points, and it’s possible for us to proactively plan where resources are used.”
Furthermore, PPO has enabled project teams across Certa to adopt more collaborative project portfolio management practices. Stakeholders from different business units can now engage with one another within the tool itself, tagging teammates and sharing updates without relying on separate communication channels.
Interestingly, Guy continues, Certa project managers have been using PPO not only to manage their project work, but also their broader business as usual to-do lists.
“PPO’s lifecycle capability, which visualises project portfolio management processes, has allowed PPO to become a ‘one-stop shop’ for Certa, also used for general business processes. Our consultative approach has also helped to add value to the business, providing best practice guidelines and supporting Certa’s growth,” he concludes.
