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Make IT So
Make IT So · STRATEGIC PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT

Strategic programme management.

Several partners and no internal project lead with enough time or expertise. We take the wheel, see the project through to a good end, and then hand it back. Without imposing ourselves for good.

Sectors
Industry, manufacturing, retail, healthcare
Average duration
3 to 12 months
First conversation
30 min, no obligation
01 · Sound familiar?

The project is running, but nobody has the wheel.

Three of the four moments when companies call us. If one of them sounds familiar, you're in the right place.

A

Three suppliers pointing at each other.

ERPEén systeem dat je kernprocessen zoals voorraad, boekhouding en orders samenbrengt., custom development, hosting. Each supplier works on their own piece, but nobody feels responsible for the whole. We become the central point of contact and push the project through to delivery.

B

The project is taking longer than planned, and nobody knows its real status.

Quotes waiting for 6 months, scope shifted three times, the original business caseDe onderbouwing waarom een investering de moeite en het geld waard is. has become unreadable. We create one overview, say what needs to happen and send a report in plain language every Friday.

C

We want to digitalise but don't know where to start.

Plenty of ideas, unknown priorities, no plan of action. We turn ambitions into a plan your team understands, your suppliers respect and the bank approves. Then we take on the delivery.

D

The internal project lead is overloaded.

Your IT manager or CTO is doing 100 things at once. We step in temporarily as external lead, without claiming a permanent role. We only leave after consultation, once there's more focus and the right rhythm, and your team runs it themselves.

Call us for half an hour and find out where the solution lies.

02 · How we work

Four phases. No big bang.

Listen first. Then structure. Then steer. Then hand back. Every step ends with a deliverable result. No open ending.

Weeks 1–3

Intake & scoping

We talk to your team, your partners and, where possible, your customers. We read contracts, quotes and old project reports. We deliver one page with the scope, the risks and the first three priorities. No judgement, just understanding.

Weeks 3–6

Setting up governance

One schedule across all partners. A weekly reporting rhythm. An escalation path for blocking issues. RACI clarity where things were foggy. Your partners know again what to expect from whom.

Months 2–12

Run & adjust

We keep an eye on scope and budget, steer partners, make the technical calls when no partner can, and send a report in plain language every Friday. Honest about what is and isn't working, including about ourselves.

Handover

Handover to your team

We only leave once your team has things back under control, including documentation that is actually correct. An honest evaluation of what went well and what didn't. Sometimes a coaching role carries on for another three months. Often that's no longer needed.

03 · Roles

What we take on, and what you keep doing.

No need to worry that we'll replace your team or push your partners aside. We fill the one role that's usually missing: someone who makes sure the whole works.

What we take on

The things you don't have the time or appetite for, and shouldn't have to.

  • Coordination between partnersOne point of contact for you. We call them, we keep them focused.
  • Guarding scopeEvery change request goes through us first. Nobody quietly adds anything.
  • Weekly reportingOne page with what worked, what didn't, and what needs to happen next week. You read it in 5 minutes.
  • Making the technical callsWhen partners can't agree on the substance, we help decide. Neutrally, and with no hidden agenda.
  • Change managementAdoption stands or falls with people. We support key users, write the communication and organise training: from kick-off to after go-live.

What you keep doing

The work only you can do. Except you no longer have to squeeze it in between other things.

  • Making choices about your businessWe advise, you decide. Always in that order.
  • Being visible at critical momentsYou're the sponsor. Kick-off, go-live, tough choices: that's where you need to be, not us.
  • Your team's availabilityWe ask internal people for time for interviews and validation. You make sure they get it.
Walter Swaenepoel
Walter · on the Friday report

I write the Friday report myself. Not because I like writing reports, but because it forces me to think clearly. If I can't explain it in two paragraphs, I haven't worked it out yet myself.

04 · What that looks like

Design process cut from 9 to 4 months at SPG Dry Cooling.

Industrial designer SPG Dry Cooling worked in silos with manual designs. We brought the partners together and guided the move to a central cloudSoftware en opslag die je via internet afneemt in plaats van op eigen servers. platform with parametric design. Three years later, design time has more than halved.

IndustryParametric design3-year project
“With Make IT So's guidance, we brought our suppliers and internal teams together around one platform. Designs that used to take 9 months now take 4. And we keep automating further.”
SPG Dry Cooling
Engineering team
The SPG Dry Cooling design platform
9→4
Months of design time
Numbers we stand behind

What we've done so far.

38
Years of experience

Combined experience of Jan and Walter in CxO and PMO roles, in large and small organisations.

66M €
In projects managed

Total budget of the projects we have helped steer in recent years, from a few tens of thousands to multi-million euros.

10–40
Typical team size

How many people typically work on a project. Enough expertise, small enough to stay agile.

05 · Frequently asked questions

What clients most often ask us.

Five questions that keep coming up in a first conversation. Missing one? Call or email. We answer without a sales pitch.

Another question? Call us for half an hour

When do you bring in Make IT So?

Usually when one of the four situations above sounds familiar: several partners without a lead, a project that drags on, no internal PM with time, or at the start of a big programme. Sometimes also when your IT manager is temporarily unavailable and you need someone to keep things on course.

What makes you independent?

We don't build ERP systems, don't write software and don't host anything. So we have no agenda to push you towards a particular partner or technology. Our only brief is your interest as the client, not a supplier's.

Which tools do you use?

We work with what you or your partners already use. Usually Jira, Confluence, Microsoft DevOps, sometimes Miro. We have our own lightweight tool for hours and costs, but tools are secondary: the difference is in human alignment, not in which dashboard you open.

Do you work agile or waterfall?

It depends on what your partners can handle and what the scope requires. Often hybrid: a long-term plan with agile sprints within each phase. We don't force a rigid straitjacket on a team that isn't ready for it. That's counterproductive.

What if we decide to stop halfway?

No lock-in. Our contracts usually run in phases of 3-6 months. If you stop after a phase, you get a clean handover to your team or a successor. No black box. We don't hang around where we're no longer needed.

Call us for half an hour. You tell us where it pinches, we tell you honestly whether we're the right fit.