Operational excellence takes time and deliberate effort. It can be developed through operationalising projects into sustainable, high‑performing services and integrating them into the BAU applications portfolio. In this presentation, I share my experience as a service owner navigating the shift from project delivery to operational maturity, and the lessons learned along the way.

When a project ends, I am often handed the keys to the new house (our applications), but it is ultimately a shared home with our business stakeholders. Building operational maturity is not something built with them. It requires partnership, shared accountability, and a commitment to working together toward continuous improvement.

Throughout this session, I will reflect on how governance structures create alignment and clarity, how roadmap planning brought teams and stakeholders onto a shared path, how skills‑based development strengthened capability across the whole ecosystem, and how proactive vendor management supported more cohesive delivery. This is a candid look at what worked, what didn’t, and how collaboration transformed the way we operate.

Attendees will gain practical insights into building a mature operational environment where operational excellence becomes a shared achievement, not an individual responsibility.