This year, Lorna Daly, Head of PMO & Operations, marks 15 years at Emydex. In that time, she estimates she has been involved in around 75 customer go-lives.
Lorna joined Emydex in 2011 as Support Manager. Once support was established and running well, she moved into project management. As Emydex grew into new markets and took on larger and more complex projects, her role grew with it.
Today, she leads project managers around the globe, oversees operations and is responsible for the delivery standards used by Emydex project teams.
Starting in support gave Lorna an early view of what happens after implementation and what customers need once a system becomes part of their day-to-day operation. It is experience she has carried into project delivery ever since.
Delivering on a live production floor
Food manufacturing projects come with their own pressures. Sites keep producing throughout an implementation, existing systems need to keep working and requirements can change along the way.
Food manufacturing sites do not stop, so a go live has to work on the production floor from day one,” Lorna says. “We agree scope early, test thoroughly, plan resources well ahead and tell the customer about risks as soon as we see them.”
Building the PMO and establishing common delivery standards across regions is one of the achievements she is most proud of.
Today, Emydex project managers follow the same delivery standards across regions, giving customers a consistent approach regardless of where their project is being delivered.
Honest conversations
Lorna has stayed close to customers throughout her time at Emydex.
For her, what sets the company apart is its knowledge of the food industry and the fact that the relationship continues long after go live. Many Emydex customers have worked with the company for years.
Part of Lorna’s role is supporting project managers and stepping in when an issue needs to be escalated. Sometimes that means raising risks early or telling a customer that something will not work as originally planned.
I speak plainly with customers, including when the news is not good. That honesty is a big part of why they trust us.”
David McMahon, CEO, says:
Lorna has built the delivery standards our customers rely on across our regions. When a project gets difficult, she is someone I want involved because she will always tell the customer, and us, exactly where things stand.”
James Grennan, Co Founder and Product Director, adds:
Lorna understands what it takes to deliver software into a live food processing environment. After so many years working directly with customers and project teams, she knows where the pressure points are and what needs to happen to get a project successfully over the line.”
Why she has stayed
Asked what has kept her at Emydex for 15 years, Lorna starts with the people.
Above all, the people I work with and the culture we have at Emydex. We all pull together to get things done.”
The variety has helped too.
Since joining Emydex, Lorna has moved from support into project management and then leadership. Her role has changed many times, and no two customers or go lives are exactly the same.
She also credits David as a mentor who has helped her develop throughout her career at Emydex.
Today, growing the PMO and helping the team develop are still among the things that keep the role challenging and interesting.
Fifteen years, around 75 go lives and a role that has grown alongside Emydex itself.
Congratulations, Lorna, and thank you for everything you have contributed over the past 15 years.
