01Independent PMO and transformation advisory
Most PMO and transformation functions weren’t designed to be heavy
Orama PM helps CTOs, COOs, CFOs and transformation leaders make their change functions leaner, more proportionate and ready for what comes next, so effort goes into delivery rather than feeding the process.
The Scorecard is free, takes about four minutes and has nothing to sign up for.
What we bring
Proportionate governance
Governance that earns its place: oversight matched to risk, decision rights delegated, and the PMO repositioned from controller to enabler.
Capacity released
Less admin, simpler reporting, and automation and AI designed into the tools you already own.
People ready for the shift
Teams who lead the change in their roles, rather than end up on the receiving end of it.
Led by Jo Dourou Schrader, with more than 15 years leading enterprise PMOs and transformation offices across retail, media, technology and financial services.
02What changes
One report, one control, one steering group at a time
That’s how PMO and transformation functions get heavy, until they slow the very work they were built to protect. Every addition was reasonable on the day it arrived. Almost nothing is ever retired, so the weight only goes one way, and the people paying for it are the delivery teams the function exists to support.
| Today | With Orama |
|---|---|
| The pack takes weeks to assemble, and the same figures are produced three times for three audiences. | Each figure produced once, by the people closest to it |
| A small change carries the same gates as a major programme. | Oversight matched to risk |
| Routine calls wait for a steering group, and delivery waits with them. | Decision rights delegated |
| Nobody can say with confidence which initiatives delivered the benefits they promised. | The PMO measured by value delivered rather than tasks completed |
| New operating models and AI are changing what PMO and transformation roles look like. | Teams who lead that change rather than be on the receiving end of it |
- are dissatisfied with how mature their PMO is
- 44%
- expect their PMO’s scope to grow. Only 40% expect its headcount to
- 67%
03Before you talk to anyone
Find out how much your governance is carrying
The Scorecard is ten questions on how your PMO and transformation governance actually runs, read through the Orama Governance Lenses. Your score, a lens-by-lens profile and the hotspots worth discussing build as you answer, free and with nothing to sign up for. If they’re worth a conversation, a free introductory call is one click from your results.
10 questions · nine lenses · about four minutes
04What we do
Leaner, more proportionate, ready for what comes next
Three parts of one job. Redesigning governance on its own just moves the weight around. Automation on its own is an IT project. And neither lasts if the people running the function aren’t ready for what it’s becoming.
Proportionate governance
We test every governance activity against the Orama Governance Lenses, our diagnostic for what still earns its place and what’s missing. Then we redesign it.
- 01
Full Scorecard Review
Every report, control and forum tested through six governance lenses: archaic, disproportionate, duplicated or misplaced, required but heavy, too slow, and missing. Where a paid engagement starts.
- 02
Governance redesign
The Review’s findings turned into a working model: which forums, reports and controls stay, merge or go, who decides what at each level of risk, and what the PMO is measured on.
Capacity released
We remove low-value, high-effort admin, simplify reporting, and design automation and AI into the tools you already own, wherever they add real value.
- 03
Reporting that runs itself
Reporting rebuilt around one source and one owner for every figure, so the pack assembles from the data instead of a fortnight of collation.
- 04
Automation and AI, where they earn it
Built into the portfolio management (PPM) and reporting tools you already own, without a rip-and-replace programme. We have nothing to sell you instead of them. See working examples in The Forge.
People ready for the shift
New operating models and AI are changing what PMO and transformation roles look like. We help your teams lead that change rather than be on the receiving end of it.
- 05
Executive coaching
For PMO and transformation leaders whose role is changing with the function. Jo is a certified executive coach.
- 06
Upskilling, reskilling and incentives
What your PMO team does once the admin has gone, the skills to get there, and tangible incentives for the people who adopt the new way of working first.
05How we work
Who this is for, and who it isn’t
We’re independent and vendor-neutral, with no reseller margins and no software partnerships, so nothing is attached to the advice. If we’re not the right fit for your problem, we’ll tell you upfront. This is how to tell before the first call.
Worth a conversation
- You run a PMO or transformation office that has grown heavier than the risk it manages, and delivery teams have started to treat it as a tax. Or you’re the CIO, CTO, COO or CFO paying for it, and you can’t see what it’s buying you.
- You own a PPM platform you’ve half-adopted, and the question is what to automate inside it rather than what to buy next.
- Your operating model is changing, through a merger, a separation, a regulatory deadline or AI, and your PMO and transformation roles need to change with it.
Not us
- You need people in seats, or someone to run the delivery. We don’t supply resource, and we set the guide rails rather than drive between them.
- You want a tool recommendation with an implementation partner attached. We can’t be hired to justify a decision already made.
- You want governance cut for its own sake. Proportionate sometimes means adding the control that’s missing, and we’ll say so when it does.
- You need a name the board already recognises, or a firm on a preferred-supplier list. We’re two people. There are rooms where that counts for more than the work does, and we’d rather say so now than at the end of a procurement.
Not sure which side you’re on? Ten questions will tell you.
06Track record
Jo Dourou Schrader
Co-founder and Principal Consultant
Jo has spent more than 15 years leading enterprise PMOs and transformation offices at Tesco, the Financial Times, Micro Focus, Ocado and Cynergy Bank.
Her work spans multi-country portfolios, M&A separation and integration, and global operating model change across retail, media, technology and financial services. Jo is also a certified executive coach, so the people side of change is built in from day one.
- Portfolio value managed
- £100M+
- Annual savings delivered
- 5–15%
- Project management professionals coached and developed globally
- 100+
- 01
M&A, both directions
Governance through acquisitions, separations and integrations
- 02
Automation at scale
Digitalised and automated PMO process across multiple organisations
- 03
Award-winning
Recognised internationally for PMO leadership, and a judge of others
07In their words
People who have run portfolios alongside her
“Jo’s ability to juggle multiple projects was unlike any I’ve seen before, and it made a dramatic difference to the productivity of the PMO team she led.”
“Jo has that perfect combination of vast experience, in-depth technical knowledge and superb people skills. With such a deep knowledge and practical application of project management methodologies, her attention to detail has been unparalleled in my experience.”
“Jo’s vibrant personality and focus on the big picture were the first traits that made our partnership effortless. Her projects were driven by timelines, eye for detail, resilience and high levels of empathy.”
Put the effort back into delivery
A 30-minute introductory call costs nothing. Bring the one report, control or steering group you’d switch off tomorrow if you could.
Not ready to talk? Take the Scorecard first.