30. November 2009 by Carol Glover.

You have a desire to implement a PMO in your organization.  Being a responsible executive, you decide to do some research.  There are many articles and even more solutions to be found.  It is easy to be overcome by information and options.  You will find many tools on the market, free and not-so-free that claim to be “the” solution. Suddenly you don’t know what to do anymore – information overload. 

Let’s get back to basics.   Think about what you want your PMO to achieve. 

• Provision of templates for project charter, financial analysis, procurement documents etc.
• Central archive for project documents
• Documented project methodology
• Provide project guidance and training
• Provide specialized resources to projects
• Align projects with business goals and strategies
• All of the above, some of the above or something completely different. 

The next step is to consider your current project maturity. Do you already have efficient templates and successful & consistent project practices or are you starting from square one? Square one can be defined as inconsistent application of project management processes, lack of templates and discipline.  The answer to this question will guide you in determining the complexity you are able to tolerate in your new PMO.   

Here are some more questions you must ask yourself before deciding on a PMO solution:

1. Can you afford the full time resources that are typical of a PMO?
2. How many projects typically run concurrently?
3. How complex are our projects – do they span days, weeks or months? How many business units are involved in each project?
4. What is the corporate culture and appetite for structure? 

Once you assess your needs closely and as objectively as possible, you can get back to researching the solutions.  Ask your Project Managers for guidance or approach a professional to guide you through the process.  Aim small to start; focus on quick wins and plan for a gradual and orderly progression in project and PMO maturity.  

The next blog(s) will build on this process. Bookmark this site and come back often for help with building your PMO. Feel free to leave comments / questions if you have specific questions about choosing your PMO structure.

Posted in PMO Set-up | No Comments »

26. November 2009 by Carol Glover.

PMO and the Triple Constraint If you are reading this BLOG, you probably know about the triple constraint in project management.  Scope, time and cost are the three elements of the triple constraint; you cannot change one without affecting the others.   I was going to add some statistics here to show how PMO has proven its ability to improve project success but I wasn’t able to find any I could really hang my hat on.  I can only guess that this is because if you don’t have a PMO, you probably don’t keep track of your successes, shortcomings and outright failures.  Doesn’t this alone prove my point?  Should I just stop the blog here?  Of course not! 

PMO and Scope Management:  The PMO provides processes and templates to capture project goals and scope as well as any related assumptions, constraints, dependencies and risks. Using these templates and standards results in a consistent processes setting a project baseline to which scope changes are managed.  The outcome and benefit is a predictable scope management practice that all levels of the organization or project team can count on and informed decisions are based on.  The PMO regularly reviews the scope management process and adjust it as the organization’s project maturity evolves.   

PMO and Time Management:  The use of repeatable processes and reusable tools saves time during all project phases.  Time is most noticeably saved during the initiation and planning phases of a project because you don’t have to reinvent the entire process from scratch.  You establish a familiar thought process that you know works; you don’t have to think about “how”, you can get into productive mode right away.   The PMO also contributes to effective time management through centralized resource management and access to historical data. PMO provides the necessary information and processes to produce better estimates in the planning phase. The PMO can aid in more effective resource selection and distribution through consultation or provision of skilled team members.    

PMO and Cost Management:  Tools, processes and templates provided by the PMO clearly contribute to cost savings. The PMO is in place to streamline the project lifecycle, affect rework as well as to remove redundancy and roadblocks.  The relationship to cost savings should be obvious: Time = Money.  The PMO, as warehouse for historical information contributes to cost management by enabling more accurate cost estimates during the initiation and planning phases.  Tracking tools provided by the PMO make sure that costs are tracked and controlled over the course of the project.   In summary, the PMO helps manage the triple constraint by providing a communication highway. Establishing a predictable flow of communication gives the entire organization a sense of confidence in the project process.  Stakeholders are more comfortable with backing a project when they know what they can expect along the way.  Relationships are easier to maintain when everyone understands their role, responsibilities and reporting structure.   

The PMO delivers consistent management of the triple constraint through the provision of quality data, tools and processes. This nearly guarantees repeatable, successful project delivery.  

Posted in Challenges, Uncategorized | No Comments »

24. November 2009 by Carol Glover.

Yesterday I was reading about Project Management Maturity Models. While there are many versions of the maturity model, they generally show a progression from unstructured project work > standardizing language and process > managing and measuring processes > sustaining and optimizing the project framework. 

As I read I began to wonder how a Project Management Office contributes to the maturity model and vice versa.  I decided to ask my associate, Sasha Lomas for some clarification on this since she has extensive experience in this area. The biggest question on my mind: what comes first, the PMO or maturity? Sasha guided me toward the following answers.   

One of the main reasons for establishing a PMO is to guide the maturity process.  Once the business has a fair understanding of how they currently manage projects and has a genuine desire to improve project performance, the PMO can be introduced.  There is no prerequisite for a company to have existing standard processes, only the desire to have them is required.  

The PMO becomes the catalyst for standardizing project processes and administration. During the setup phase, the PMO group works closely with management and other business levels to devise the processes and templates.  From there the PMO guides the execution of projects and enhances the system with the goal of optimizing project performance.   

Sasha sums it up best. “PM Maturity starts by standardizing the project management processes and then monitoring, tracking and ensuring compliance to the defined processes. Supporting PMO would be the first step towards achieving PM Maturity since someone needs to ensure that the processes are followed, that people understand what they are and how to apply them in a timely fashion.”   

Establishing a PMO provides a centralized location for project related data. This then leads to informed decision making for upper management. It raises the awareness of project health and monitors the effectiveness of established processes.  Consistently applied processes and controlled change management increase project success rates and directly impact customer satisfaction.    

The establishment of a PMO can accelerate the maturation of project methodologies but the desire to improve your project framework must come first.    

Posted in PMO Set-up | No Comments »

20. November 2009 by Carol Glover.

Many organizations believe in the concept of the Project Management Office but find it difficult to imagine in their situation.  Offshore resourcing, telecommuting and budget restrictions have sparked the creation of Virtual Teams. The term PMO brings to mind a central location; how can that be possible in a virtual world? The original PMO was organized as a largely administrative function. Small and medium sized businesses likely don’t have the project volume or complexity to warrant full time resource dedication to “project administration”.  Large companies can also be faced with this notion depending on which stage of operation they are in (growth or maintenance). 

First, we need to rethink the function of the Project Management Office.  Originally it was simply a repository for documentation and a facilitator for analytical functions.  The PMO has evolved into a business strategy, resource management and knowledge distribution centre.  Today, the PMO has strong connections to the finance department and corporate executive; it supports and defends corporate goals and principles.  

If you consider the new PMO model it is easier to imagine how it can work in any modern organization. Here’s how:  

• Requires smaller staff for administration and operations
• Leverages existing cross-functional and virtual teams
• Develops and reviews project standards, tools and templates
• Supports project startup process and is able to expand as needed to support major projects.
• Centralizes tracking and reporting functions, ensures information gets to the right people with the right level of detail in a consistent format.
• Has visibility at project, program and portfolio levels to ensure the right work is done – at the right time.
• Oversight allows for faster issue, risk and redundancy identification.  

To make the Virtual PMO concept work you must start with the following 3 things:

1. Executive support and Management involvement – words are not enough, all levels of the organization must see this in practice consistently.
2. Structural Support - Regular communication keeps the group engaged. Goals and policies must be published and regularly communicated to ensure the virtual group remains focused. Meetings must be structured and effective to ward of complacency and to maintain authority/respect.
3. Technical Support - Invest in collaboration tools to facilitate information gathering and sharing. Use social media and collaborative communications (online meetings) for fast, effective communication.  

A PMO, virtual or actual, can now be leveraged by any company to make projects more efficient and far less painful.  Cost efficiencies from a Virtual PMO setup are quickly realized through reduced project cycle time, reduced resource overhead and increased ability to provide more accurate project estimates. Who doesn’t need that?  

Posted in Virtual PMO | 1 Comment »

18. November 2009 by Sasha Lomas.

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »