Bad project management offices (PMO)s are easy to describe. You may have had to work with one at some point. Notice the words, had to work with one. People will do anything possible to minimize their interactions with a bad PMO. Poor PMOs don’t care. They have little contact with the people in the organization actually doing the work. Their focus is on compliance by force. Communication flows one way – from them to you.
Great PMOs are Good for Executives, Project Managers and You
It’s been said that all happy couples look the same. All of the best PMOs share certain characteristics which endear them to management and the project managers they support.
1. Projects Align with Organizational Goals
At some level, every project is conceived to provide some benefit to the organization. The business case, charter and scope ideally describe this in an understandable way. A good PMO ensures that all projects worked in an organization have benefits that truly align to the most important needs and objectives of the business. If the nature of the business environment changes significantly, a good PMO will decide what impact if any this will have on the active projects. Sometimes projects need to be redefined, shelved or even cancelled. If a project’s benefits are no longer benefits, it makes no sense to continue working the project.
2. Project Success Rates Increase
A good PMO ensures that all needed resources are available and allocated before the start of the project. The PMO monitors the project plan and budget throughout the lifecycle to ensure that the project remains on track, and that resources are available as needed. As large risks present themselves, the PMO may help in brokering solutions which are best for everyone involved. These activities increase the number of projects completed on time, on budget and in scope.
3. Project Management Competence Increases
Organizations with good project management offices find that the skill and competence of project management activities improve over time. PMP Certification is common. As important is the establishment of formal or informal mentoring programs for all project managers. Mentoring increases networking relationships, provides practical guidance for newer project managers, and contributes to a team culture in the organization.
4. Standards and Templates are Developed and Improved
A good PMO provides useful, practical and helpful project templates. These templates are revised as often as necessary to ensure that the right type of documentation is being created. Clear guidance is provided to ensure that the minimum number of documents are created for any particular project.
5. PMO Tone is Inviting
The PMO is considered a partner and resource rather than a bully. The compliance aspect is deemphasised. Learning and Improvement are embraced.
6. Training is Available
A good PMO offers more than one class a year. Free training is available in multiple formats and in various ways. There may be online sessions. Classroom training may be provided. An open door policy may be in effect for a few hours every day. There may be a constantly monitored IM (instant messaging) or chat account available to any PM with a question at any time.
7. Learning is Embraced
The PMO members seek out feedback and incorporate it into project management office policies and activities. Lessons learned are included in projects and in the PMO itself. The PMO looks for ways to continually increase its value up (to management) and down (to project managers).
Do you have a World Class PMO?
(This post was previously published on the Strategic IT Planning Blog as 7 Marks of a Best PMO).
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Photo credit: kool skatkat)
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7 Marks of a Great Project Management Office [link to post] How does yours measure up? #pmp #pmot
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RT @alecsatin 7 Marks of a Great Project Management Office [link to post] How does yours measure up? #pmp #pmot
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RT @mdgibson: @alecsatin: 7 Marks of a Great Project Management Office [link to post] How does yours measure up? #pmp #pmot
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RT @alecsatin: 7 Marks of a Great Project Management Office [link to post] How does yours measure up? #pmp #pmot
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These are definitely signs of a good PMO, but it’s hard to come by an office that gets all of them at once. Still, these points are good to keep on hand to measure your own office’s success!
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7 Marks of a Great Project Management Office [link to post]
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Reading: 7 Marks of a Great Project Management Office [link to post] by @alecsatin
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RT @projectmgmt: Reading: 7 Marks of a Great Project Management Office [link to post] by @alecsatin
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RT “7 Marks of a Great Project Management Office” [link to post] via @alecsatin @projectmgmt: #PMOT #projectmanagement #PMP
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RT @projectmgmt: Reading: 7 Marks of a Great Project Management Office [link to post] #pm #pmot #projectmanagement
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RT @Qtask: RT @projectmgmt: Reading: 7 Marks of a Great Project Management Office [link to post] #pm #pmot #projectmanagement
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The Lazy Project Manager – article in The Guardian today re: PMO
The PMO – Too valuable to lose
As organizations try to deal with the economic downturn, they’re taking a hard look at the ROI of just about every endeavor—including the Project Management Office (PMO).
At Siemens Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) Software, we believe our PMO for the EMEA region still continues to bring value both to the organization and our customers.
Many PMOs are being challenged on a number of fronts, including being viewed as just administrative support units, as an unnecessary overhead that slows project management work, and as not delivering business benefits.
Even in these challenging times, the PMO within Siemens PLM Software is deemed ‘fit for purpose’ and I believe it’s because we have evolved to be seen as supportive of the organization as a whole and not grown to a size that outweighs our business benefit. We are too valuable to lose but equally important; we are not too expensive to keep
A PMO is a group or department within a business, agency or enterprise that defines and maintains standards for project management within the organization. The primary goal of a PMO is to achieve benefits from standardising and following project management policies, processes, and methods, and generally assumes one of three styles, being either supportive, controlling or directive in approach.
Summarizing this then a PMO should:
• Ensure that all projects are aligned with the overall business strategy
• Highlight key project inter-dependencies and align releases across interdependent projects
• Assist in timely decision making on the overall control of projects
• Approve change requests of global relevance
• Monitor and report on projects
From its inception three years ago, our PMO focused on people and process. The original ‘pitch’ to the business, as we justified the initial investment, was to focus on the 5 ‘Ps’:
• People
• Process
• Promotion
• Performance
• PM Information System
With an immediate priority of focusing on ‘People’ and ‘Process’ the PMO completed a number of ‘baselining’ activities:
• A Maturity Assessment was completed
• A survey undertaken identifying the PMs experience and challenges
• A ‘bring out your dead’ project amnesty was promoted in order to find the true ‘health’ of all of the projects out there (or lack of health in some cases)
The survey of the project management community members identified three top issues:
• A lack of methodology or common process
• A lack of skills or training
• Resource management challenges
So the immediate focus was to improve these three critical gaps – the PMO supported the development of a global methodology and training of all PMs, PMP certification began and improvements in resource management commenced.
By developing internal programs aimed at addressing these issues, the PMO was immediately seen as a supportive organization and not merely as an administrative overhead.
Beyond the initial focus the PMO extended its purview to performance and promotion shortly after formation. The move has ensured good communication of the PMO’s benefits to management and customers. Delivering a regular newsletter, hosting knowledge-sharing sessions, showcasing project case studies, inputting updates to our methodology and never saying “no” to requests for assistance have all helped put the PMO on peoples’ radar as an organization that helps rather than hinders.
Conclusion
I strongly believe the PMO has a place in a project based organization, even in these times of restricted finances. In fact, I believe they have a place especially in these times.
On one hand, companies of all kinds face the global recession. On the other, we are part of a dynamic, resourceful and ever-evolving world that demands change as part of its survival. And change demands projects, and projects demand project managers.
Those projects that will be commissioned in the future, as well as the ones that are allowed to continue in the current climate, will be expected to deliver higher business impact, endure closer scrutiny and face far more pressure to deliver.
And who will be under the most pressure? You guessed it, the project manager.
Right now our projects, and our project managers, need the help, support and guidance of a good PMO. Just make sure that your PMO’s focus is the right one for your business.
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@juliov27612 Which of the 7 Marks of a Great Project Management Office do you like the most? [link to post] #pm #pmot
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RT @MSFTProject: @juliov27612 Which of the 7 Marks of a Great Project Management Office do you like the most? [link to post] #pm #pmot
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RT @projectmgmt: Reading: 7 Marks of a Great Project Management Office [link to post] #pm #pmot #projectmanagement (via @Qtask)
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7 Marks of a Great Project Management Office [link to post] RT @Qtask @GBlancLaine @projectmgmt #pm #pmot #projectmanagement
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Wonderful post with a great title – the seven “marks” of a good PMO. With minor editing to the statements, the word “marks” can easily be replaced with the word “metrics.”
I am constantly asked what constitutes a good set of metrics for a PMO, and I recommend a very similar list. I will actually you these “marks” to improve the list I advocate.
Even without your insightful recommendations, an PMO would be very well served to aspire to hit these marks. To their credit, most of them don’t hit these marks because they have never been chartered to do so. Give your PMO these marks as metrics of success and sanction them to install the constructs and mechanisms to do so. I believe most would rise to the occasion if they are provided adequate sponsorship and support.
Steve Romero, IT Governance Evangelist
http://community.ca.com/blogs/theitgovernanceevangelist/
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7 Marks of a Great Project Management Office [link to post] RT @Qtask @GBlancLaine @projectmgmt #pm #pmot #projectmanagement #jsb
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RT @projectmgmt: Reading: 7 Marks of a Great Project Management Office [link to post] by @alecsatin itgE: Great PMO Metrics! #itg
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RT @corneliusficht RT @shellyasullivan : 7 Marks of a Great Project Management Office [link to post]
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“7 Marks of a Great Project Management Office” I like the communication emphasis. PMO get invited instead of imposed [link to post]
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7 Marks of a Great Project Management Office: Bad project management offices (PMO)s are easy to describe. You m.. [link to post]
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Twitter: alecsatin
Steve,
What a great idea to include these metrics (or marks) as part of a PMO charter. Will seriously think about incorporating them on my next PMO establishment gig.
Thanks again for your thoughts,
Alec
Alec´s last blog ..7 Marks of a Great Project Management Office
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7 Marks of a Great Project Management Office [link to post] #projectmanagement (@alecsatin)
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