Aqera Advisory
Strategic Portfolio, PMO and Value Management
A portfolio that can say no, a PMO that makes decisions possible, and a value management office that is still measuring benefits after the project team has gone home.
The problem
Portfolio functions track work, but few of them govern it. Investment proposals are approved on optimistic forecasts, gates become status meetings, and nothing is ever stopped. Governance packs report progress but ask for no decision. Benefits are owned by IT and forgotten at transition. Where a value management office exists at all, it runs on spreadsheets and goodwill.
What we deliver
| Capability | Scope |
|---|---|
| Portfolio operating model | Portfolio structure, investment categories, demand and pipeline management, prioritisation method, funding envelopes and the link from strategy objectives to investments. |
| Investment governance | Stage-gate design with explicit decision rights and criteria, scale-or-kill thresholds, change control and baselines. Governance packs that each carry a decision request. |
| Enterprise PMO design and uplift | PMO mandate and service catalogue, methodology tailored to delivery model (staged, agile, hybrid), templates, registers and reporting, capability uplift and PMO maturity assessment. |
| Value management office | Benefit definition standard, ownership model, benefit profiles and dependency maps, dis-benefits, an optimism-bias challenge at the gate, a register linked to approved cases, value reviews, post-implementation reviews and realisation reporting. |
| Portfolio reporting | Executive and committee reporting framework, measures, data definitions and the reporting cadence. |
Engagement options
| Offer | Duration | Outputs |
|---|---|---|
| Portfolio and PMO diagnostic | 2–4 weeks | Current-state assessment, maturity heat map, top constraints, prioritised improvement roadmap. |
| Governance blueprint | 4–8 weeks | Gate model, decision rights, criteria, thresholds, pack templates and terms of reference, tested on live investments. |
| Value management office establishment | 6–12 weeks | Benefit standard, ownership model, register populated for the current portfolio, review cadence and first realisation report. |
| PMO uplift program | Milestone-based | Staged implementation of the blueprint, with capability uplift for portfolio and project staff. |
| Interim PMO or portfolio lead | Time and materials | Senior leadership of a PMO or portfolio function while a permanent appointment is made. |
Deliverables
Portfolio diagnostic report · Portfolio operating model · Prioritisation framework · Gate model and decision-rights matrix · Governance pack templates · Benefits management standard · Benefit register and measurement plans · Value review and post-implementation review schedules · Portfolio reporting framework · Implementation roadmap.
Outcomes buyers can measure
- Share of the portfolio traced to an approved strategy objective.
- Investments stopped or reshaped at a gate on evidence.
- Benefits with a named owner outside delivery and a measure agreed before funding.
- Post-implementation reviews completed on schedule.
- Realisation reported to the executive, favourable or not.
Platform option
Every engagement can be delivered tool-agnostically, using your existing tools. Where a client wants the governance enforced rather than documented, the same design is configured in Aqera Strategy, Aqera Portfolio and Aqera Value.
Who it is for
Enterprise PMO and portfolio office heads, CIOs and CDOs, investment committees, CFOs, and executives accountable for the benefits of major programs.
Relevant experience
The principal led the NSW Electoral Commission's Enterprise PMO as Senior Manager (2019–2025), with responsibility for the organisation's project management practice. He teaches project and portfolio management at the University of Sydney.
Talk to us about your program.
Tell us what you are trying to change and we will say how we would help.