Portfolio Management Maturity
and Benefits Realisation
Client Context
British Heart Foundation is the biggest independent funder of research into cardiovascular disease in the UK. They fund more than £100m of lifesaving research each year, provide free heart health information and raise awareness at community and national levels. Much of this work is supported by a large retail operation of more than 670 stores. To manage change effectively across this complex organisation, BHF established an Enterprise Portfolio Management Office (EPMO). Working with the team, we were commissioned to evaluate and enhance the organisation’s maturity at portfolio management, maximising the return on investment from projects and successfully delivering the organisation’s strategic objectives.
Our Approach
We delivered the client’s requirements using a three-phase approach:
Phase 1.
We undertook a portfolio maturity assessment using our maturity framework, tailored to the client’s specific ambitions.
We engaged with the EPMO and teams in directorates to produce a gap analysis, setting out individual directorate maturity along with an overall assessment to provide a view across the whole organisation.
Phase 2.
We co-produced an end-to-end benefits management framework, designed to improve the realisation of benefits from programmes and projects from start to finish.
We supported the client to put this into practice through the creation of a comprehensive benefits toolkit.
Phase 3.
We developed a change roadmap to guide the implementation and adoption of priority improvements, particularly in strategic alignment, benefits management and the supporting tools and processes.
Outputs and Outcomes
Enhanced maturity: Strengthened BHF’s ability to achieve its strategic objectives through a more mature and insight-led approach to portfolio, programme and project management.
Leadership confidence: Empowered leaders and portfolio managers to identify capability gaps, prioritise improvements and track progress, resulting in increased confidence.
Benefits realisation: Equipped teams with tools and frameworks to identify, define, track and realise benefits from the start of projects, ensuring clear and measurable value from the outset.
Strategic alignment: Decisions and resources aligned with organisational priorities, reducing inefficiency and wasted effort.
Sustainable adoption: Embedded sustainable ways of working across directorates, making change happen and making it stick.
Capability building: Boosted staff skills and confidence through the provision of over 30 co-created tools, templates and guidance scripts.
Client Feedback
“Human Engine were a pleasure to work with. They were responsive and adaptable to our needs, taking time to understand what we wanted and going above and beyond the original scope of work to create something that would give us value in introducing more robust benefits management at our organisation.”
Enterprise PMO Team
About Us
Human Engine is a leading management consultancy with specialisms in strategy, transformation, digital, commercial, procurement and projects.
Founded in 2018, we have partnered with more than 50 local authorities, central government, NHS organisations and national charities to help transform their strategies, operations and cultures.
Our mission is to help individuals and organisations to do the best work of their lives. We do this by blending first-hand, practical experience of the problems we help our clients solve with award-winning consulting expertise and an approach based on trust, collaboration and partnership.