The term ‘PMO’, or Project Management Office, is not without its controversy. Much like putting ketchup on a hot dog there are those with strong opinions for and against having a formalized and structured organization managing the portfolio of programs and projects a business unit runs.
Many studies conclude that delivering business value through project management nearly triples their success rate and most successful organizations do have successful PMOs. Two-thirds of organizations implementing PMOs report that project success rates have improved significantly as a result – especially with a ‘directive’ PMO that assigns resources. The lesser view of PMOs is that they can be perceived as “Big Brother”, bureaucratic and too rigid beyond benefit, existing for the sole purpose of maintaining their own power.
Implementing a PMO is also a complex project in itself, subject to the same pitfalls and challenges of any project and should be charted with specific CSI’s over a given duration with a designated PM leading the effort.
Should your organization decide to implement a PMO, the success rate of your implementation (and overall organizational performance) can be improved by considering the following five steps.
Step One: Establish a Vision.
Clearly each PMOs’ goal should be full compliance with IT workflow indicators and then document individual improvement goals based on the business of the group. A properly formatted Vision Statement isn’t just a few words on a power point slide. A successful Vision Statement succinctly encapsulates a single challenging but obtainable strategic objective which can be measured and delivered to over the period of a few years. Vision statements also require real buy-in from all of your stakeholders, but specifically from your senior management.
Step Two: Consider the Culture.
The most successful PMOs reflect the culture of the larger organization in their role and placement. Even small organizations comfortable with informal collaboration and free from the complexities of communicating to and managing the roles of large, dispersed staffs may achieve measurable improvements by establishing a Project Management Office. PMOs can help develop project managers, facilitate the sharing of best practices, provide tool libraries, and encourage more experienced project managers to provide informal coaching. A ‘directive’ PMO actually staffs projects along with reporting on project health. A ‘consultative’ PMO does not manage staffing and/or project team assignments, but provides support services. These are less usually effective long term.
Step Three: Measure What Matters.
The expense (both in funds and personnel hours) involved in establishing and maintaining a PMO is small compared to the typical value of a coordinated project portfolio. Still, demonstrating that the organization derives value from the office is essential to its acceptance and continued improvement. In addition to the obligatory metrics regarding the on time, on budget health of individual projects, consider a mix of metrics that support the three areas of PMO influence: doing things right, doing the right things, and capturing value. Most project evaluations only ask two questions: What was a project trying to do, and how well was it done? Consider the advantage of a third question; was the project worth doing?
Step Four: Take the Long View.
Project funding, staffing levels, and even PMOs will come and go with changing business environments. Your goal is to embed the principles of program and project management and value capture into the organization. Favoring long term change (organizational transition change) over daily management techniques will ensure a lasting PMO but real change does takes time. Also consider your personal importance as an inverse indicator of your PMO’s success. If your PMO would fall apart one week after you left the organization, then you have probably not set up a solid functioning PMO. Obtaining the PMOC (Project Management Office Certified) may also be helpful.
Step Five: Declaring Victory
These simple steps will put you on the path to improving project success rates and creating more business value from IT project investments. As with all projects, communicate constantly with stakeholders to address concerns and clear obstacles to implementation. Pay careful attention to limiting project scope to only that required to deliver the changes you envisioned. And, obtain small victories early on to maintain the momentum.
PMO Types
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Supportive |
Facilitative |
Directive |
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Empower PM’s with the focus on supporting functions like tools, training, and administration |
Deliver consulting services like audits and ’health’ checks |
Directly responsible for projects, project managers, and often team staffing |
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Report project performance |
Oversee performance |
Directly responsible for project performance and resolution of project issues |
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Communicate PM standards |
Develop, implement, and facilitate project management standards |
Apply project management standards |
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Communicate project risks |
Facilitate the resolution of project risks |
Manage all project risks |
Jeff Hodgkinson is a 30 year employee at Intel Corp. with over 29 years of progressive Program/Project Management experience in Facilities, Construction, Product Development, & Information Technology. Over his career, Jeff has managed numerous and diverse programs/projects in varying scope, budget, and schedule.
