A Kepa Software Case Study
APO in State Government
APO was originally tasked with prioritising 460 transformation initiatives within a State Government client. More serious problems were identified and corrected as a result of the implementation process.
How the Client Started
The client’s 2 key challenges
A large state government agency with 27,000 employees, $33B AUD in assets, $9B AUD annual revenue, and a $600M AUD yearly transformation budget was struggling to manage 460 concurrent initiatives – many lacking rigorous business cases.
CHALLENGE #1
Poor Task Management
There was limited management oversight of the transformation pipeline, with misaligned priorities and a poor understanding of delivery requirements. This caused slow progress.
CHALLENGE #2
Poor Internal Processes
Inefficient planning and weak governance processes left teams overrun with workloads. Confusion and unrealistic expectations spread among stakeholders, undermining delivery.
How APO Solved the Problems
From Overload to Order
APO transformed a complex and overloaded portfolio into a clear pipeline of prioritised initiatives, supported by stronger governance, defensible business cases, and structured decision-making.
Embedded Strategic Drivers
Strategic drivers and scorecard measures were structured in APO as a hierarchy of value.
Gathered Stakeholder Input
Stakeholders were surveyed to rate the relative importance of each value measure.
Analysed Differences of Opinion
Business case reviews exposed weak governance and non-existent cases in many initiatives.
Entered Business Cases
Existing cases were added into APO, with supplementary data for those lacking rigour.
Strengthened Governance
Governance and gating standards were revised to enforce rigorous business case development.
Built Initial Prioritisation
Business case data was analysed against stakeholder input to create a prioritised view.
Flagged Low-Value Initiatives
Initiatives of least value were identified as candidates to stop or defer, freeing resources.
Advanced the Pipeline
The transformation pipeline moved forward in line with APO’s prioritisation guidance.
Secured Portfolio Approval
Final recommendations for the portfolio and pipeline were approved by governance.
What our state government client directly experienced through APO
65%
Reduction in initiatives — cut from 460 to 160 for a sharper portfolio.
$60M
Saved each year by reducing the annual transformation budget.
100%
Initiatives prioritised in business value order and prepared for execution.
200
Initiatives shelved pending stronger business case support and validation.
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