Project Management Portfolio · Open to work

Jordan Ellis
plans that get built.

Early in a project-management career, targeting project coordinator and project officer roles. I turn ambiguous briefs into scheduled, costed, de-risked plans, then present them so decision-makers actually follow them: interactive timelines, risk heat-maps and visual roadmaps in place of dense reports.

📍 Melbourne, Australia Full Australian work rights until March 2029 🎓 MIS, Project Management specialisation (Kingsford, 2026)
CSWN program planSep 2024 to Nov 2025 · 310 days
Planning133d
Procure30d
Install & Integrate80d
Train30d
Handover37d
Go-live

Hover, tap or arrow-key through the phases to explore each one.

Highlighted tasks are on the critical path (zero slack)
Flagship project · by the numbers

Council Smart Sensor & Wi-Fi Network: a $1.8M program plan

M
Program budget
days
End-to-end schedule
Sensor & Wi-Fi units
Council sites
Delivery zones
The project

Council Smart Sensor & Wi-Fi Network (CSWN)

A full delivery plan for a Victorian Government program to install 120 smart sensor and public Wi-Fi units across 57 council sites, part of the broader Connected Communities Victoria initiative. Built as a Master's capstone (Kingsford University) and graded High Distinction. Below, the project-management work it took to plan it. Hover any card for detail.

Mandate hover ›

Connected public facilities

Ready 26 councils to run and maintain a smart sensor and Wi-Fi network, lift public digital services and open useful facility data.

Delivered across four geographic zones: Western/South-Western, Eastern/South-Eastern, Central/Northern Victoria, and Metropolitan Melbourne. Success meant councils able to operate and maintain the network, local job creation, and alignment to the state's digital-inclusion and smart-city strategy, with interim coverage targets of 28 to 33% by 2025.
Structure hover ›

Balanced matrix, 4 zones

A Director of Project Management over four zones, with zonal PMs sharing authority with functional directors.

Dual reporting across Engineering, IT, Operations, Compliance, Finance and HR. Matrix conflict was managed up front with defined roles and escalation paths; the Director of Project Management held cohesion and consistent standards across all zones and 57 sites.
Approach hover ›

Plan · cost · de-risk

Feasibility, a Level-3 WBS, an MS Project schedule, phase-wise budgeting, and a phased risk register.

SWOT and PESTLE feasibility, a Statement of Work with AS/NZS acceptance criteria, a WBS to Level 3, an MS Project schedule with critical path and slack, a phase-wise budget to $1,800,155, and an 18-risk register using a four-quadrant response framework (Avoidance / Mitigation / Transfer / Acceptance).
What I did

The project-management work, discipline by discipline

Across the capstone I worked through the full project-management lifecycle, from feasibility to handover.

Initiation

Feasibility scan

SWOT and PESTLE analysis (funding, hardware-cost falls, AS/NZS standards, digital-inclusion targets) to test whether the program was viable and worth taking on.

Planning

Organisation design

A balanced-matrix structure over four zones, with an urban and rural outsourcing and recruitment plan to staff dispersed sites.

Scope

Work breakdown

A Statement of Work with AS/NZS acceptance criteria, plus a Level-3 WBS across five phases and their tasks.

Schedule

MS Project schedule

The 310-day plan with dependencies, the critical path and slack analysis. See it below ↓

Cost

Cost & resources

Phase-wise budget to $1.8M (labour ~77% of cost) using grassroots estimates and learning-curve assumptions.

Control

Risk & governance

An 18-risk register with a four-quadrant response, plus KPIs, 360° appraisals and a conflict-resolution matrix.

The schedule, in MS Project

310 days, five phases, one critical path

The program was scheduled in Microsoft Project: summary phases, task dependencies, and a critical path running Project Initiation, Regulatory Approvals, Contractor Engagement, Integration, System Testing and Handover. Toggle the highlight to see which tasks carry no slack.

P CSWN_Project_Plan.mpp · Project Professional
FileTaskResourceReportProjectViewFormat
▸ Gantt Chart|Timescale: Months|Start 09/09/24 · Finish 07/11/25 Highlight critical path
IDTask NameDur.
0CSWN Project Plan310 d
1Planning & Site Selection133 d
2Project Initiation20 d
3Site Assessments70 d
4Regulatory Approvals43 d
5Procurement & Contractor Eng.30 d
6Procurement25 d
7Contractor Engagement30 d
8Installation & Integration80 d
9Installation52 d
10Integration80 d
11Training & Testing30 d
12Staff Training30 d
13System Testing30 d
14Completion & Handover37 d
15Final Quality Assurance23 d
16Handover14 d
Task Critical path Summary phase Durations in working days

Click any task, row or bar, to inspect its dates, predecessor and float.

Duration
Start
Finish
Predecessor
Slack / float

Recreated depiction for interactive purposes. This schedule view has been rebuilt for the web from the actual Microsoft Project (.mpp) schedule produced for the CSWN plan. Dates, durations, critical path and slack reflect that plan.

Phase timeline & budget weighting

Bar length is the share of the $1.8M budget. Installation and early planning carry the weight.

Planning & Site Selection09 Sep 24 to 10 Mar 25 · 133 d
$634,935 · 35.3%
Procurement & Contractor11 Mar to 18 Apr 25 · 30 d
$129,900 · 7.2%
Installation & Integration21 Apr to 06 Aug 25 · 80 d
$700,800 · 38.9%
Training & Testing07 Aug to 17 Sep 25 · 30 d
$143,920 · 8.0%
Completion & Handover18 Sep to 07 Nov 25 · 37 d
$190,600 · 10.6%
Critical path

6 tasks, zero slack

Initiation, Regulatory Approvals, Contractor Engagement, Integration, System Testing and Handover set the finish date; any slip here slips 07 Nov 25.

Float identified

Where the slack sits

Site Assessments carries 39 days of float, Installation 28 days, Procurement 5. That flexibility smooths resourcing without risking the deadline.

Estimating

Definitive + learning curves

Grassroots build-up estimates from vendor quotes, with learning-curve efficiencies across the repetitive multi-site installs.

Risk & governance

18 risks, phase by phase, a strategy for each

Highest-rated risks, at a glance

Poor scope definitionPhase 1 · scope creep, cost & schedule impact
HighAvoidance
Delays in regulatory approvalsPhase 1 · long approval processes
HighAvoidance
Inaccurate cost estimatesPhase 2 · budget overruns
HighMitigation
Technical integration issuesPhase 3 · integration with existing systems
HighMitigation
Contractor unavailabilityPhase 2 · installation delays
MediumTransfer · penalty clauses

Risk matrix · count by severity and phase (hover any cell for the risks behind it)

Severity ↓ / Phase →
P1
Planning
P2
Procure
P3
Install
P4
Train/Test
P5
Handover
High 5/5
2high
1high
4high
1high
2high
Medium 3/5
2med
2med
1med
1med
1med
Low 1/5
0
0
0
1low
0
Higher count = darker cell 10 High · 7 Medium · 1 Low · 18 total

Severity here is recreated as a 1 to 5 numeric score (High = 5, Medium = 3, Low = 1) to show one way to quantify and depict risk on a project. The original CSWN register used a qualitative High / Medium / Low rating.

Full risk register · all 18 risks

Risk eventPhaseRatingResponse strategy
Poor definition of project scopeP1HighAvoidance · clear scope documentation from the start
Delays in regulatory approvalsP1HighAvoidance · early regulatory engagement and tracking
Unavailable subject-matter expertsP1MediumMitigation · backup personnel and cross-training
Inaccurate feasibility studiesP1MediumMitigation · double-check studies and add contingencies
Inaccurate cost estimatesP2HighMitigation · detailed cost analysis and research
Vendor selection delaysP2MediumAcceptance · buffer time for selection
Contractor unavailabilityP2MediumTransfer · penalty clauses in contracts
Inadequate contractor expertiseP3HighAvoidance · select contractors with proven expertise
Material availabilityP3HighTransfer · supplier contracts with late-delivery penalties
Technical integration issuesP3HighMitigation · pre-installation compatibility testing
Regulatory compliance & safety issuesP3HighAvoidance · regular testing to ensure compliance
Site preparation delaysP3MediumAcceptance · buffer time in the schedule
System testing failuresP4HighMitigation · rigorous testing during integration
Staff availability for trainingP4MediumAcceptance · flexible schedules and multiple sessions
Training material development delaysP4LowMitigation · early development and clear deadlines
Poor quality assuranceP5HighAvoidance · consistent quality checks throughout
Unacceptable handover to stakeholdersP5HighMitigation · involve stakeholders throughout
Cash flow problemsP5MediumAcceptance · regular financial reviews and contingency funds

Rebuilt for the web from the risk register in the CSWN report. Each risk carried a qualitative rating and a four-quadrant response (Avoidance, Mitigation, Transfer, Acceptance), with governance layered on top: KPI tracking, 360° appraisals, stakeholder surveys and a common code of ethics.

Now
Business Development Manager · Northbridge Group Melbourne · Oct 2024 to Present

A multi-site operations and delivery role: I coordinate work, people and compliance across three high-volume venues, reporting to senior leadership. It is the day-to-day practice of the project-management disciplines above.

~50Staff coordinated
3Operational sites
35%Backend cost cut
Delivery & coordination hover ›

Running three sites at once

Direct ~50 staff across three sites: rostering, resource allocation, performance management and day-to-day delivery.

Balancing people and priorities across concurrent operations: allocating resource to where the load is, resolving conflicts, and keeping each venue delivering to standard. The same coordination discipline as running project workstreams in parallel.
Governance & compliance hover ›

Frameworks & CAPA tracking

Built and maintained compliance frameworks, CAPA tracking and corrective-action registers across three sites.

Operational policies, workflow documentation and governance records supporting regulatory compliance, staff-conduct standards and organisational accountability, with structured reporting to senior leadership on compliance outcomes and risk status.
Stakeholder reporting hover ›

Briefings that drive decisions

Structured written briefings to senior leadership on compliance status, operational risk, project performance and financial outcomes.

Translating multi-site operational data into concise decision-ready briefings: the reporting cadence leadership relies on to steer resourcing, spend and risk across the group.
Process improvement hover ›

35% lower backend cost

Identified and implemented improvements cutting backend operating costs by over 35% through evidence-based consolidation.

Systematic analysis of where cost and effort were being lost, then consolidation of processes and vendors: a measurable efficiency gain delivered without disrupting front-line operations across the three venues.
Toolkit

Methods & tools, with where I've used them

Hover any tile for a real example.

Microsoft Project hover ›

Scheduling & Gantt

Task breakdown, dependencies and timeline management.

Used on CSWN: scheduled the 310-day program across five phases with dependencies, the critical path, and slack analysis feeding delivery decisions.
WBS hover ›

Work Breakdown Structure

Decomposing scope into deliverable, trackable tasks.

Used on CSWN: built a Level-3 WBS breaking the program into five phases and their component tasks, tied to the Statement of Work.
Critical Path & Slack hover ›

CPM / float analysis

Finding the tasks that actually move the deadline.

Used on CSWN: identified the 6-task zero-slack path fixing the 07 Nov 25 finish, and 39 days of float on Site Assessments to smooth resourcing.
Risk Register hover ›

Risk identification & response

Rating risks and assigning owned response strategies.

Used on CSWN: an 18-risk, phase-by-phase register with a four-quadrant response framework (Avoidance / Mitigation / Transfer / Acceptance) and a rating for each risk.
Cost & Budget hover ›

Estimation & control

Phase budgeting and estimate methods.

Used on CSWN: phase-wise budget to $1,800,155 using grassroots definitive estimates plus learning-curve assumptions for repetitive installs.
Governance & Compliance hover ›

Standards & procurement

Keeping delivery aligned to requirements and standards.

Used at Northbridge: built compliance frameworks, CAPA tracking and corrective-action registers across three sites, reporting outcomes to senior leadership.
Stakeholder Reporting hover ›

Briefings & governance docs

Decision-ready reporting to senior leadership.

Used at Northbridge: structured briefings on compliance status, operational risk, project performance and financial outcomes across three sites.
Resource Coordination hover ›

People & scheduling

Allocating effort across concurrent workstreams.

Used at Northbridge: coordinate ~50 staff across three high-volume sites: rostering, performance management and day-to-day resource allocation.
Process Improvement hover ›

Efficiency & consolidation

Evidence-based redesign of how work flows.

Used at Northbridge: cut backend operating costs by over 35% through systematic analysis and evidence-based consolidation.
Also fluent in Monday.comAsanaTrelloNotion ExcelPowerPointProcess mappingSWOT · PESTLE
Qualifications

Education

Master of Information Systems, Project Management specialisationKingsford University, Melbourne, Victoria
Distinction (Project Management unit) · Capstone: High Distinction
2026
Integrated B.Com. LL.B, five-year Law & Commerce degreeWexford Institute of Law, Melbourne
Best Advocate · Best Moot Team · President, Student Bar Association (800+ members) · 2 peer-reviewed international publications
2023