Rationalising a Large Government Technology Portfolio

A central government technology authority had accumulated 122 concurrent technology projects spanning infrastructure, cybersecurity, enterprise applications, and digital services. Budget governance was fragmented across fourteen separate line agencies, benefit realisation was unmeasured, and there was no unified view of delivery risk or resource contention. An independent review had found that 40 per cent of active projects were at risk of struggling to deliver their stated benefits. The Secretary required a Programme Director to consolidate governance, eliminate duplication, and create a transparent portfolio view that could be presented to Treasury and the Cabinet Implementation Committee within ninety days.

Precision Consulting established a Portfolio Management Office with direct accountability to the Secretary within the first two weeks of engagement. A structured portfolio diagnostic assessed each of the 122 projects against a consistent framework covering strategic alignment, delivery confidence, benefit clarity, and resource adequacy. Within thirty days, a rationalisation recommendation was presented to the Executive: 18 projects recommended for immediate pause, 24 for consolidation into six programme groupings, and 80 confirmed to continue with revised governance. This reduced reporting overhead by 35 per cent while increasing leadership visibility of the most material risks. A single integrated portfolio dashboard was implemented, giving the Secretary and fourteen agency heads a real-time view of delivery status, budget consumption, and emerging risks. Precision Consulting trained 60 internal project managers in the revised governance framework, building durable capability that persisted beyond the engagement.