How Micro Bird is optimizing the governance of strategic initiatives with Triskell
In the dynamic world of manufacturing and strategic project management, standing out isn’t just about performance — it’s about visibility. And when it comes to visibility, Micro Bird’s iconic yellow buses are hard to miss. But behind the scenes, the company faced a critical juncture as it embarked on two major strategic initiatives:
- Deploying manufacturing operations at a newly acquired site.
- Increasing production rates at their main factory to support rapid market growth.
Recognizing the limitations of its legacy project management tools, Micro Bird sought a centralized, agile platform capable of managing a complex and expanding portfolio.
Company overview
Founded in 1966, Micro Bird is a prominent manufacturer specializing in commercial buses and vehicles, including school buses, shuttle buses, and specialty vehicles.
With decades of experience in the automotive sector, the company has positioned itself as a leader in the North American market, serving customers in both the public and private sectors. Micro Bird is recognized for its dedication to safety, quality, and environmental sustainability, continually integrating advanced engineering practices to enhance vehicle performance and passenger comfort.
As the company experienced rapid growth and expanded its manufacturing capabilities, the need for a robust project portfolio management system became evident, prompting the adoption of Triskell Software.
Context
Micro Bird was undertaking 2 major strategic initiatives:
- Deploying manufacturing operations at a newly acquired site alongside a new ERP.
- Increasing production rates at their main factory to support rapid market growth.
As Michel Levesque, Transformation Director at Micro Bird, explains, they quickly recognized the need for a centralized and agile platform to manage a complex and expanding portfolio.
Our legacy tools and processes lacked the flexibility to align projects with evolving priorities and provided limited visibility across interdependent workstreams, making it challenging to coordinate milestones, manage risks, and ensure accountability at scale
Why Triskell?
The decisive factor in selecting Triskell was its high degree of adaptability and configurability. Micro Bird needed a platform that could be tailored to the organization’s structure, processes, and project governance needs. And thanks to its no-code adaptability, Triskell delivered exactly that. “Its flexibility allowed us to design a solution aligned with our methodology rather than forcing us to conform to a predefined model”.
Triskell was deployed as Micro Bird´s Project Portfolio Management tool to oversee all strategic initiatives across the organization, ensuring consistency, visibility, and alignment from the executive level down to individual workstreams.
During the evaluation process, several different tools were considered. But, as Michel Levesque says, “Triskell stood out for its configurability, its portfolio-level governance features, and its intuitive user experience”. And he adds:
We valued Triskell’s strong support for portfolio-level visibility, stage-gate frameworks, and customizable workflows. These capabilities were essential in structuring our transformation roadmap
Additionally, Triskell’s collaborative and responsive approach during the evaluation process further reinforced Micro Bird’s confidence in the platform.
Implementation process
Triskell was deployed in parallel with the launch of Micro Bird’s strategic projects, which required a pragmatic and agile implementation strategy. An MVP approach was followed with a tailored development roadmap, allowing to align platform configuration with project timelines and evolving needs. This flexibility was essential to ensure relevance and adoption from day one.
The initial focus was on portfolio structure, governance workflows, and milestone tracking, Subsequently, additional modules such as project budgeting, resource management, and timesheets were progressively activated — expanding Triskell’s value step by step. As Michael Levesque explains, “the flexibility of the platform combined with Triskell’s support enabled us to configure a solution aligned with Micro Bird’s internal governance model within a reasonable timeframe”. And he adds:
The support from the Triskell team was excellent—responsive, knowledgeable, and solution-oriented. They understood our context and constraints, and provided valuable guidance throughout the implementation journey
Current situation
Today, Triskell serves as the cornerstone of Micro Bird’s strategic project governance framework, providing centralized visibility across all key initiatives, including ERP deployment, plant expansion, and production ramp-up. Key benefits include:
- Improved portfolio visibility across all projects and workstreams, enabling executive teams to make informed, aligned decisions.
- Structured delivery planning through integrated roadmaps, milestones, and dependencies, increasing our confidence in project timelines.
- Enhanced accountability via clearly defined roles, responsibilities, and progress tracking.
- Standardized processes and best practice implementation through shared workflows and templates, ensuring consistency across projects.
- Time savings on reporting and coordination, thanks to real-time dashboards and centralized information.
Moving forward with Triskell
Micro Bird plans to expand its use of Triskell by integrating the platform with ERP and HRIS systems, aiming to streamline data synchronization, improve resource management, and enhance financial forecasting. Additionally, as Michael Michael Levesque states:
We also plan to leverage advanced modules—such as timesheet tracking, resource planning, and financial forecasting—to reinforce portfolio-level capacity management and improve project cost visibility
As Micro Bird continues to evolve its project management capabilities, Triskell remains a critical enabler, supporting strategic execution and driving alignment across the organization.
Company Overview
Industry
Automotive and Transportation Manufacturing
Type
Private
Established
1966
Region
North America
Solution
Project Portfolio Management
Strategic Portfolio Management
New Product Development
Highlights
Business challenges
Lack of flexibility in legacy project management tools.
Limited visibility across interdependent workstreams.
Challenges in coordinating complex projects.
Difficulty managing risks and ensuring accountability.
Inefficient coordination of milestones.
Benefits
Improved portfolio visibility.
Structured delivery planning.
Enhanced accountability.
Standardized processes and best practices.
Time savings in reporting and coordination.
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