COMS Portfolio Reporting Dashboard

Overview

COMS required a scalable and structured reporting solution to improve visibility across project delivery, contract performance, resource forecasting, and operational oversight across multiple Functional Areas.

The organisation was managing project information through separate spreadsheets and disconnected reporting processes, making it difficult to maintain consistency, consolidate portfolio data, and provide leadership with a reliable view of overall performance.

To address this, we designed and delivered a tiered Power BI dashboard supported by a standardised data model and SharePoint integration, creating a single reporting framework across the organisation.

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The Challenge

The key challenge was not only the creation of the dashboard itself, but the need to establish a data architecture and reporting structure that could work consistently across multiple Functional Areas while remaining flexible enough to support different operational needs.

At the start of the engagement:

Reporting structures varied significantly between teams
Project tracking and resource information were maintained in separate formats
There was no single source of truth for portfolio reporting
Leadership visibility across projects was limited
Data consistency issues created challenges for consolidated reporting
Resource forecasting was largely reactive rather than forward-looking

In addition, the solution needed to remain practical for operational teams to maintain on a monthly basis without introducing unnecessary complexity.

Our Approach

We adopted a structured delivery approach focused on scalability, usability, and long-term maintainability. The first step was to design a standardised reporting framework that could be used consistently across all Functional Areas.

This included:

Defining common reporting structures
Establishing standardised project identifiers
Designing validation and lookup rules
Creating governance controls to protect data quality

We then developed a centralised Power BI model capable of consolidating data from multiple Functional Areas into a single reporting layer.

Alongside the technical delivery, significant attention was given to user experience and dashboard design to ensure the final product was intuitive, visually consistent, and aligned with the organisation’s reporting needs.

The Solution

The final solution consisted of:

A structured reporting framework for each Functional Area

SharePoint-hosted data sources feeding Power BI

A consolidated Power BI data model

Interactive dashboards with drill-through capability

The reporting structure included five core datasets:

Contract Register

Delivery Tracker

Milestone Tracker

Risk Register

Resource Profile

The solution was designed so that all Functional Areas could maintain their own data while contributing to a single consolidated portfolio view.

Dashboard Design

The dashboard was designed to provide both strategic oversight and an intuitive user experience, supporting adoption across a wide range of stakeholders.

Portfolio Overview

Provided leadership with a high-level view of:

PO value
Spend to date
Delivery progress
CPI indicators
Risks and milestone status

PO Tracker

Enabled users to:

Filter projects by Functional Area, client, and status
Review key contract metrics
Drill through to detailed project views

Project in a Page

Delivered a consolidated a view of:

Financial performance
Delivery progress
Milestones
Risks and actions

Resource Forecast

Introduced forward-looking workforce planning capability through:

Monthly FTE demand forecasting
Resource trend analysis
Portfolio resource distribution visuals

The dashboard also incorporated:

Interactive filtering and drill-through
Standardised navigation
Consistent UI/UX design
Validation-driven data structures to improve reliability

The Impact

The solution provided COMS with:

A single source of truth for portfolio reporting

Improved visibility across projects and Functional Areas

Faster and more reliable reporting processes

Reduced manual consolidation effort

Improved consistency in project tracking

Better visibility of future workforce demand

The introduction of the Resource Profile also shifted reporting from purely retrospective analysis towards more proactive resource planning and decision-making.

Importantly, the solution established a scalable reporting foundation capable of supporting future enhancements without requiring redesign of the underlying model.

- Steve Hill,Operation & Maintenance Lead (Operating Units)

“You have been a tremendous help.”

- Martyn Fisher, Technical Lead

“Your presentation and demonstration of the system was 1st class.”