Tracfone

Overview

Tracfone had programmes but no discipline holding them together. The job was to build the Programme Management Office from scratch — the governance, the reporting, the way a portfolio of work gets prioritised and stopped — and then prove it earned its place.

The proof was offshore. Introducing offshore development across multiple vendors took $9M a year out of the cost base, which is the kind of number that only holds if the delivery model behind it is real: vendor selection, handover, quality gates, and someone accountable when a build slips across three time zones.

The other half was product. The Amigo handset was launched into the Hispanic market — a segment Tracfone was built to serve — alongside the Roadside Assistance product, rolled out across 1,800 Walmart stores. Twenty years before the innovation title, this is where the operating pattern was set: build the capability first, then let the results argue for it.

Milestones

1. 2001
   Joined to build the Programme Management Office from scratch.
2. Offshore
   Multi-vendor offshore development introduced — $9M annual saving.
3. Amigo
   Handset launched into the Hispanic market.
4. Retail
   Roadside Assistance rolled out across 1,800 Walmart stores.