Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council (SMBC) serves approximately 216,000 residents and is part of the Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care System. SMBC operates in 17 wards, represented by 51 council members, and collaborates with partners and the community to ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to be healthier, happier, safer, and more prosperous through inclusive growth. The Business Intelligence and Improvement Division, led by Sarah Barnes, supports the council’s priorities in line with this vision.

Sarah oversees the development and assurance of the council’s corporate business and change capabilities and manages the Business Improvement Team, which provides corporate project support across the Council, including through Project Support Officer Jack Holland. The council is undertaking various transformation initiatives across different Directorates, including the Adult Social Care Transformation Program led by Hayley Boswell-Perks (Interim Transformation Program Manager) and her team.

The council had been looking for a new project management platform to replace its outdated system, with the contract set to expire in June 2024. SMBC sought a solution that would enhance dashboards, templates, and reports, be user-friendly for all stakeholders, and have the capacity to scale to more users over time. After evaluating different systems and suppliers, Wellingtone was chosen as the partner to configure and deploy Planner Premium with Accelerator+, completing the implementation in just two months, as explained by the council’s team.

Overview

Customer

Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council

Products and Services

Microsoft Planner Premium

Wellingtone Accelerator+

Power BI training

Industry

Local Government

Key Highlights

• A rapid, time-critical deployment was completed in just two months.
• Enhancing project management functionality with improved dashboards, tabs, and templates.
• Improving portfolio visibility with customised Power BI reporting packs.
• Power BI author training to embed value-adding skills in-house.
• Fully adopted within Adult Social Care, with a recommendation to extend to the Corporate Transformation Program.

Before choosing Planner Premium, we considered several options,” says Sarah. “The council had invested in Microsoft 365 as an organization-wide capability, so it made sense to look at compatible solutions. Our account manager at Microsoft introduced us to Planner Premium and recommended several potential implementation partners. When we spoke with Wellingtone, they seemed flexible and adaptable, offering significant program and portfolio management expertise in addition to their technical skills. The numbers also looked good since we could adopt the solution cost-effectively within our existing Microsoft licensing model. It was clear that Accelerator+ offered a significant upgrade over Planner Premium’s out-of-the-box functionality. Overall, it was a great fit for our needs, and we were confident that Wellingtone’s team could deliver what we required.”

From Hayley’s perspective, Accelerator+ offered opportunities for quick wins and improvements. “While the main priority was to replace the legacy system and ensure continuity of service, we also saw the chance to implement some improvements to our project processes and reporting capabilities,” she explains. “The requirement-gathering process went very smoothly. Wellingtone’s consultant ensured that our expectations were well managed, guided us through the documentation and system capabilities professionally, and made sure all follow-up actions were clearly documented and addressed in a timely and efficient manner.”

Jack agrees, noting that “We didn’t need anything extravagant in terms of implementation, but Wellingtone worked with us to identify several improvements to functionality, templates, and reports, which they implemented quickly and effectively. Both our dedicated consultant and the entire Wellingtone team were very responsive. I was confident they would answer queries and resolve issues promptly. Given that we only had two months to configure, train, and go live before our legacy contract expired, their ability to work at that speed was crucial for us.”

Regarding functionality, Wellingtone implemented several improvements to support users in their work, according to Hayley. “A key feature for us is the Tasks tab, which allows us to easily input and assign tasks associated with project delivery. The Status Report tab is also essential, as it allows project leads to update the status of their projects and raise any early issues so that remedial action can be taken before they escalate into significant problems. Anecdotally, all of our project leads have commented on how much simpler the solution is to use compared to our previous system. And for our dedicated PMO staff in Adult Social Care who do the bulk of inputting project plans, that ease of use saves significant labor on tasks that were previously very time-consuming.

Enhancing Portfolio Visibility and Value with Power BI Reports and Author Training

From a portfolio management and business intelligence standpoint, Wellingtone collaborated with SMBC’s team to create two customized report packs using Power BI. This effort was supported by specific Power BI author training to further develop the PMO’s reporting capabilities. “The training was extremely beneficial,” Jack confirms. “From both a portfolio delivery and cost efficiency perspective, we wanted to develop in-house skills to fully utilize the system’s potential and enhance its impact. The training introduced us to additional Power BI features that even I, as a regular user, was not previously aware of. It gave us a solid understanding of how to link Planner Premium’s data into Power BI and extract that data into reports that add visibility and value for our sponsors and leadership teams.”

As a sponsor, Sarah appreciates the impact of the reporting enhancements generated by Power BI. “Currently, the PMO primarily uses these outputs to report to the Transformation Board responsible for Adult Social Care. It is still fairly early, but there is certainly an appreciation among sponsors and leaders for the intelligence the reports provide. It enhances our ability to govern effectively and steer the direction of travel. We have also started using Accelerator+ and the associated Power BI reports for some corporate projects. I will soon recommend adopting the solution across our entire Corporate Transformation Program. What impressed me about Wellingtone is the extent to which their expertise is rooted in project, program, and portfolio management – not just ICT. As a result, they have not only delivered the technology we needed but also enhanced our approach to managing our programs and portfolios. We have had a very positive experience with them. I wouldn’t hesitate to encourage anyone in a similar position to engage with them and explore what is possible.”