Editor’s Note: This blog post launches a new series on software implementation. We’re sharing these insights – gleaned from years of working alongside Planview customers on hundreds of unique implementations – to support leaders and teams in finding lasting software success. Today, we hear from Amichai Faran, Director, Planview Evolve Advisory Services.
I see it almost every week.
An organization drops a massive budget on a top-tier Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM) or Project Portfolio Management (PPM) platform. They go through the implementation motions, flip the switch, and wait for the magic to happen. They expect the technology to inherently align their strategy, fix their capacity issues, and bring order to the chaos.
Six months later, the initial excitement settles, and the organization hits a plateau. The PMO is executing, but the executives are asking: “How do we unlock the massive, strategic transformation we know this platform is capable of?”
When an organization hits this plateau, the instinct is often to look for another technical switch to flip – a new feature, a different dashboard, or another integration. But the technology is only one piece of the puzzle. To break through that ceiling and achieve true portfolio agility, you have to look beyond the tech stack.
In this post, you’ll learn why organizational foundation matters to the success of your technology and the two roles you need to optimize for if you find a foundation gap.
Read Next: Explore the 3 stages of software implementation
Technology Needs the Right Foundation
When the Evolve Advisory team sits down to assess an organization’s readiness for adoption, the very first thing we look at is what we call The Foundation: Executive Sponsorship and Practice Ownership.
Why do we look at the “human side” when we’re assessing software? Because technology is an amplifier.
If you have a well-defined process and strong leadership, the software will amplify your success. But if your organizational foundation is still evolving, the software alone cannot bridge the gap.
To achieve the massive ROI and visibility that those new dashboards offer, you need the right leadership structure in place to guide the technology.
Read Next: Don’t Let Your Structure Keep Fighting Your Talent
“Budgetary” Sponsorship Isn’t Enough
Often, when we ask who the executive sponsor is, we get a name. But when we dig into how that sponsor engages with the practice, we uncover that their involvement is purely budgetary. They signed the check for the software, cut the ribbon, and disappeared back into the boardroom. They aren’t actively using the data to drive accountability, and they aren’t stepping in to mandate cross-functional alignment.
Without active, visible executive sponsorship, your implementation is just another project. And just another project does not change organizational behavior.
What does active sponsorship look like in practice? Above all, an active sponsor is a senior leader who backs up the practice owner, empowering them to define it and roll it out.
An effective sponsor is also a customer of the practice and a consumer of the data, continually coming back to the data as a primary decision-making aid. They sit in governance reviews – and they close the loop between what the practice produces and what the organization does next.
Read Next: Navigating Change: A Blueprint for Taming Strategic Drift
When Everyone Owns It, No One Does
The second crack in the foundation is practice ownership. Who actually owns the definition and continuous improvement of your work management practice?
If the answer is “a little bit of everyone,” then the real answer is nobody.
When ownership is distributed or treated as a part-time side hustle for a few project managers, standards erode. Teams start doing things their own way, data becomes fragmented, and the “single source of truth” you paid for turns into a dozen conflicting perspectives.
You must have a centralized mandate — a dedicated Practice Owner, Center of Excellence (CoE), or a PMO explicitly accountable for defining standards and governing the process, its rollout and its outcomes.
Read Next: Why Proactive Change Management is the Right Approach to Transformation (Part 1)
The Evolve Takeaway
Technology is the ultimate enabler, but leadership is the compass. Before you look at another feature matrix or integration roadmap, ask yourself: Do we have an active executive champion who demands the data, and do we have a dedicated owner who runs the practice?
If the answer to either question is no, don’t let that stall your transformation – use it as a catalyst. Implementing a powerful new platform is the perfect reason for rallying your leadership, encouraging healthy conversations, and establishing the governance you need to succeed.
Planview customers: You can map your true organizational readiness with the Planview Digital Capabilities Assessment, available through Evolve Advisory Services. Contact your Planview representative or Evolve Advisor to get started.
