Three ways we engage
Every engagement is one of these three, or a combination. Most start the same way: a short, independent read of where the program actually stands.
Program & project delivery
One accountable senior owner for a significant technology program, from the day it is mobilized to the day operations run it without you thinking about it. It applies when the initiative is too large, too cross-functional or too consequential to sit with a project manager who also has a day job, and when the sponsor wants one person who holds the whole sequence.
You get the plan, the governance, the vendor management and reporting an executive can read in ninety seconds. Cutover is planned from the first week, and handover is a deliverable: operations staffed, documented and able to run the result.
What we take on
- Mobilization and governance setup
- Vendor and workstream management
- Schedule, budget and scope control
- Risk and dependency management
- Cutover planning and execution
- Transition to operations
Where this experience comes from
-
Infrastructure and cloud
Data centre, network, endpoint and cloud migration with hard cutover windows.
-
Cybersecurity
Identity, Zero Trust and compliance run as programs with audit evidence.
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Healthcare technology
Clinical and corporate change sequenced around 24/7 operations and regulated data.
Engagement shape Usually several months, full or near-full time, scoped in writing before anything starts.
Program recovery
A program is late. The reporting says one thing and the team says another, and every week that passes makes the decision more expensive.
Recovery starts with an independent read, not a rescue plan. A short assessment with the plan, the budget, the contracts and the people doing the work says where the program actually stands. The plan is then rebuilt with the team that has to deliver it, and weekly governance holds it there. We run it, or hand it back to you.
How a recovery runs
- 01
Independent read
Typically a week or two with the plan, the budget, the vendors and the team.
- 02
Written assessment
Including what nobody has put in writing.
- 03
Re-baselined plan
Agreed with the delivery team, not imposed on it.
- 04
Governance to hold it
With us running it, or handing it back to you.
Essential Project Review
A short, independent read on one project before you commit more time or money. A fixed scope agreed in writing up front, typically about two weeks depending on the size of the project, and a written assessment with a recommendation you can take to a steering committee.
It suits a project the board keeps asking about, a vendor engagement you are about to extend, or a business case that has been revised twice. The recommendation is one of three: continue, re-baseline or stop. If the answer is that the project is fine, you get that in writing too.
Engagement shape Review: fixed scope, typically about two weeks. Full recovery: scoped after the assessment, usually several months.
Fractional PMO & advisory
The PMO function you need, at the level of effort you actually need it, and only for as long as it is useful.
Most organizations with a portfolio of active projects need the discipline of a PMO and cannot justify the department. A fractional PMO gives you the portfolio view, the standards and the executive reporting on a cadence of a few days a month, run by someone who has built the function before. The project managers stay yours. The framework stays with you when the engagement ends.
What you get
- Portfolio visibility across every active project
- Delivery standards and templates people will actually use
- Executive reporting on one page
- Coaching for the project managers you already have
- Governance that survives after the engagement ends
Full-time hire or fractional
| Consideration | Full-time PMO hire | Fractional PMO |
|---|---|---|
| Time to productive | Months of recruiting and onboarding | Days |
| Cost structure | Salary, benefits, recruitment and ramp | Only the days you use |
| Seniority available | What the approved band buys | 17 years of enterprise delivery |
| Scaling down | A difficult conversation | Change the cadence |
Engagement shape Typically a few days a month, ongoing, reviewed quarterly.
Questions we get asked
How do engagements usually start?
With a short call, then a short read of the program: typically a week or two with the plan, the budget, the vendors and the people doing the work. You get a written assessment at the end of it. Only then do we propose an engagement, and only if the assessment says one is needed.
Do I work with you, or with someone you assign?
With the principal. Forward Project Consulting is a one-principal practice. There is no bench, no associate model and no handoff after the proposal. The person on the discovery call is the person who runs your program, writes your reporting and sits in your steering committee.
Are you a staffing agency?
No. We do not place contractors, we do not supply bodies to fill a seat, and we do not take a margin on other people’s time. If what you need is three project coordinators for a year, a staffing firm will serve you better and we will say so on the call.
Do you resell software or take vendor referral fees?
No. We have no software to sell, no implementation partnership and no referral arrangement with any vendor. When we recommend a tool or a supplier, it is because it is the right one for your program, and you can check that the recommendation has nothing behind it.
Do you work outside British Columbia?
Yes. The practice is based in Abbotsford and works remotely across Canada. Programs in Manitoba and across AMER, EMEA and APAC have been run this way. On-site time is easy in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley and is arranged elsewhere when a cutover or a steering committee needs it.
Can you work alongside our existing project managers?
That is the usual arrangement. Your project managers keep their projects. We take the program, the portfolio view or the recovery, set the standards and the reporting, and coach where it is wanted. The aim is that your team runs the framework after we leave, not that they depend on us.
What kinds of work do you turn down?
Pure staff augmentation. Programs where the sponsor is not prepared to hear an honest assessment. Anything outside enterprise technology delivery, such as software development, marketing or organizational strategy. If the call shows you do not need us, that is what you will hear.
Tell us about the program.
A short conversation, no deck. Describe the program and where it stands, and you will get a straight read on whether we can help — including if the answer is that you do not need us.