PMO & Portfolio Governance
Building Decision-Ready PMO Governance for Riyadh Season
Establishing repeatable governance, connected performance reporting and controlled financial workflows across multiple high-profile projects operating under compressed delivery conditions.
- Role
- PMO Manager / Senior PMO Manager
- Program
- Riyadh Season
- Concurrent governance
- Approx. 5 projects at one time
- Financial workflow
- SAR 2B+ in reviewed invoices
The Context
At the beginning of 2022, the PMO environment was still developing. Responsibilities, reporting quality, schedules, decision pathways and payment controls required greater consistency. I worked with other PMO members to introduce stronger practices, policies and procedures.
The Challenge
Approximately five concurrent projects required a dependable way to connect objectives, plans, actual performance, cost, procurement, logistics, risk, contractor performance and executive escalation. International IP projects added another layer: global rights-holder expectations, imported components, local suppliers and delivery obligations to the General Entertainment Authority all had to remain aligned.
Before the governance work, responsibilities were not always clear, reporting was inconsistent, schedules were weak in places, decisions were delayed and payment risk was harder to see early.
My Responsibility
Establish and operate PMO governance gates, monitor project and supplier performance, maintain executive visibility, raise concerns, coordinate escalation and act as a trusted performance-reporting interface between project teams, senior management and public-sector clients.
The Approach
- Clarified project and program objectives, converted delivery concepts into structured plans in Smartsheet and connected that information to Power BI.
- Established a Wednesday weekly reporting cutoff so leadership received a consistent, current view of performance.
- Designed straightforward management gauges and exception-led reporting focused on the areas requiring attention rather than excessive operational detail.
- Monitored baseline and actual schedule performance, cost status, procurement milestones, logistics dependencies, risk and contractor commitments through agreed KPIs and earned value principles where appropriate.
- Introduced governance gates to create clearer approval, accountability, escalation and decision pathways.
- Supported international IP delivery by aligning global requirements and rights-holder supervision with local suppliers, Sela delivery teams, imported components and General Entertainment Authority expectations.
Information Flow
Project and program objectives were translated into a structured plan, the plan was maintained in Smartsheet, and Smartsheet data was connected to Power BI so leadership saw the same numbers each week. The Wednesday cutoff kept the cycle predictable, and the executive views stayed deliberately simple: clear gauges for status and a short set of concerns needing a decision.
Invoice Governance Workflow
Because of the volume and value of invoices, Sela engaged a cost consultant to initiate and review invoices with vendors. The service recipient then confirmed delivery, after which the workflow moved through PMO governance, cost and finance controls. PMO provided the final governance approval before the invoice progressed through the remaining authorized financial process. ASITE was used to manage and document the workflow.
This documented workflow covered more than SAR 2B in invoices. It was one part of broader PMO governance rather than the whole of the role, and PMO governance approval is distinct from cost, finance and delegated financial authority.
- Vendor submission and cost-consultant initiation and review
- Confirmation by the business or project team that received the service
- PMO governance review
- Cost and finance controls
- PMO final governance approval within the defined workflow
Outcome
- Established a consistent Wednesday performance cycle across approximately five concurrent projects.
- Connected Smartsheet planning data to Power BI for clearer executive visibility and exception-led decision support.
- Applied a documented, multi-party governance workflow to more than SAR 2B in invoices using ASITE.
- Supported delivery of international IP projects under overseas procurement, rights-holder and local execution constraints.
- Strengthened the PMO as a trusted reporting interface with senior leadership and the General Entertainment Authority.
What This Demonstrates
- PMO design and operationalization
- Multi-project governance
- Executive performance reporting
- Smartsheet-to-Power BI information architecture
- Earned value and exception-led monitoring
- Invoice and approval governance at scale
- International IP and stakeholder alignment