The AtekPC Project Management Office Case Study Analysis

The AtekPC Project Management Office Case Study was assigned for this class to provide
an overview of the challenges faced by management in the development and deployment of
a PMO in an existing company. Based on the case study, respond to the questions below
incorporating not only the course reading materials, but any outside research that may be
relevant. Be sure to cite the authority for any research included in your response.

1.
What were the changes in AtekPC's business environment that caused the company
to introduce a PMO? Based on your assigned readings and research do these appear to be
appropriate reasons for developing a PMO? Why or why not? Limit your response to one
page.
2.
Draft a program charter for AtekPC utilizing your reading assignments, outside
research, and the guidelines and model charter linked to this week's lecture and attached
below). Limit your responses to 3 pages, not including end notes, supporting documentation
and refererences.
Submit the completed document using the Attachments tool on this page. Please be sure to
include your own name in the filename, last name first then first initial (for
example:doej_assignX.doc) and in the text of the document, so your instructor/facilitator
always knows whose submission he/she is reading.

RUNNING HEADER: THE ATEKPC PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE CASE

The AtekPC Project

Management
Office
Case Study Analysis

Lecture Two: Managing Change Structuring

and Functioning PMO

Timecca Warren-Cordero
Professor Virginia A. Greiman, B.S., M.Ed., J.D., LL.M.
March 25, 2012

Assignment two for week two of the AD646 Program Management and Planning online
course, conducted at Boston University is to answer specific questions as well as
develop a project charter related to The AtekPC Project Management Office Case
Study. Through the assignment I will be enhancing my knowledge of PMO as well as
incorporating course reading materials and academic resources.
Table of Contents:
Question One: Challenges of AtekPC Page 2
Question Two: Project Charter ...Page 3
References ..Page 6

AtekPC Project Management Office Case Study Analysis

The changes in AtekPCs business environment that cause the company to introduce a Project
Management Office was to address the following issues: []aligning strategic business
directions with IT resources[], []cost pressure [], a period of consolidation, [] new
markets for growth opportunities, [] transition from a growth industry to that of a maturing
industry, [] manage projects more efficiently and effectively [], [] the quality of the
work that we did on projects could be improved, [] handle multiple projects at one time,
[]cross-functional integration, and to []provide standardization in managing these projects
and gain improvements in planning and performance of initiatives (McFarlean, Keil, & Hupp,
2007).
Based on my assigned readings and research these do appear to be appropriate reasons for
developing a PMO. A project management office (PMO) is an organizational unit used to
centralized and coordinate the management of projects. A PMO oversees the management of
projects, programs, or a combination of both. (Kanabar & Warburton, 2008, p. 15). The PMO
has various functions in which supports project managers that are detailed in PMBOK, p11, these
functions are aligned with the reasons in which AtekPC has developed a PMO. In sum, PMOs
are [] dedicated to improving the practice and results of project management (Kendal &
Rollins, 2003, p. 7) While the PMO may indeed help towards the goals and objects of the
organization the implementing of the PMO can be challenging. Unfortunately, there is little
shared understanding of the challenges of implementing a PMO. Therefore, managers and their
organizations have inadequate guidance to help them identify and overcome the obstacles they
are
likely
to
encounter (Greiman,
B.S.,
M.Ed.,
J.D.,
LL.M,
2012).

AtekPC Headquarters, Information Technology Department Program Charter

1. Program Name and Sponsorship:
Program Name: AtekPC headquarters, Information Technology; Program Sponsor: CEO, CIO,
DAD, DPMSG
2. Contact and Historical Information: CEO(not mentioned in case study), Senior Vice
President; Chief Information Officer, John Strider; Director Application Development, Richard
Steinberg; Director Project Management Support Group, Larry Field
Historical Information: Exhibit 1 AtekPC Information Technology Organizational Chart

1984 ATekPC founded,10/2006, 3/3/2007 update new PMO

3. Introduction: In the past IT projects were handled internally by the current staff members
carrying project management responsibilities. The benefit for a program management has been
recognized as changes and new challenges within the IT industry forced AtekPC to focus on IT
improvements, efficiency, resource utilization, cost management , consulting, mentoring, and
training.
4. Program Organization and Governance:
Executive sponsor: Senior Vice President- weekly or bi-weekly project reviews
Program Sponsor: Larry Field, Director of the Project Management Support Group; Richard
Steinberg, Director of Application Development; Steven Gardner, Manufacturing Systems
Manager support the PMO in providing necessary resources
Project Management Office Owner: John Strider, Chief Information Office
Program Management Office Program Manager: Mark Nelson, PMO Director project
management coaching, training, and mentoring
Program Management Office Team Member: Linda Star, Lead Analyst use consistent PM
methods across IT.
*PMO roles and responsibilities (Kendal and Rollins, 2003 p.295-300)
5. Program Scope: To provide formal program management office, which incorporates PMO value
driven mythologies, while being mindful of the current culture of AtekPC. Keep coordination
and effective standards of programs performed across functional units in order for AtekPC to
meet its revenue, expense, investments and ROI goals (Kendal & Rollins, 2003, p. 157).
6. Program Goal: []the PMO must help executives to directly link their strategic planning
process to project management across the organization (Kendal & Rollins, 2003, p. 53). To
provide IT improvements in project performance, efficiency, and resource utilization to
enterprise improvements in cost management and corporate capability to launch
products (McFarlean, Keil, & Hupp, 2007). To receive the support of all senior executives
through authority of the value of the PMO services.
7. Program Objectives: - managing shared resources across all projects administered by the
PMO; Identifying and developing project management methodology, best practices, and
standards; Coaching, mentoring, training, and oversight; Monitoring compliance with project

management standards, policies, procedures, and templates, via project audits; Developing and
managing project policies, procedures, templates, and other shared documentation
(organizational process assets) [schedule base]; and Coordinating communication across
projects. (PMI, 2008 p.11)
8. Program Boundaries, Constraints and Assumptions: The PMO will need to prove itself in
order to earn the resources they want, implementing the right form of PMO, PMO not receiving
the support of all senior management at AtekPC, lack of authority of the PMO, different
expectations of the PMO responsibilities across the organization. Cultural resistance to PMO, no
standardization, coordination with senior management.
9. Deliverables: PMO charter, [] compile and publish its findings and recommendations to all
function units (Kendal & Rollins, 2003)
10. Stakeholder expectations: To provide standardization in managing large complex projects and
to gain improvements in planning and performance of initiatives. For the PMO to prove its value.
11. Milestones (not specified within case study) however to be done with IT projects at a shorter
time then without an implemented PMO;
12. Finance and High level budgets: 2006 sales of $1.9 billion, []should be able to return to the
sponsoring organization a minimum of 10% of the total fiscal year project portfolio budget in the
first year [] (Kendal & Rollins, 2003, p. 29)
13. Assumptions: implied authority, no changes in the project scope, all needed information is
within the project charter, project priorities are infrequent (Kendal & Rollins, 2003).
14. Program risks: PMO responsibilities were not clear, expanding the scope of PMO
responsibilities, minimal acceptance of the PMO, shortage of PMO expert resources, unforeseen
value/savings, lack of authority, reducing the capabilities of someone elses work for the
advancement of the PMO; PMO resources were acquired at the expense of other operational
teams, no clear purpose

PMO Challenges
Posted by erictse2 on February 11, 2012

The AtekPC Project Management Office Case Study was assigned for this class to provide an overview of the
challenges faced by management in the development and deployment of a PMO in an existing company. Based on

the case study respond to the questions below incorporating not only the course reading materials, but any outside
research that may be relevant. Be sure to cite the authority for any research included in your response.
What were the changes in AtekPCs business environment that caused the company to introduce a PMO? Based on
your assigned readings and research, do these appear to be appropriate reasons for developing a PMO? Why or why
not?
One might be cost reduction. Another motivation to get better on projects would be that we have to get more creative,
adaptive, and agile in launching new products. [1]
The PC industry was changing, and AtekPC was engaged in dealing with dramatic pressure from larger competitors
such as HP, Dell, and Lenovo. To compete in a changing industry in which consolidation was occurring, AtekPC had
implemented a corporate Planning Office. Recognizing the
role that IT would likely play in enabling AtekPC to respond to the industry pressures, the senior vice-president had
supported the creation of a PMO within IT. [1]
Somewhat true but not sufficient
Here are some other reasons of why we should have PMO. (of course it cannot represent everything)
In mature organizations, the PMO is the focal point for improvement and enhancement in project management
through the implementation of the enterprise-oriented functions. Enterprise-oriented functions are intended to bolster
the overall capability of the organization for long-range benefits.
The enterprise functions will provide the long-term stability and backbone for the project management success. This
mission is met by establishing, and maintaining, a project historical database, by developing and disseminating
project management best practices, by providing training in all project management knowledge areas, and by
providing visibility for the value of project management to the organization. [2]
Distinguish between project-focused and enterprise-oriented duties of a PMO?
The specific duties of a PMO were typically divided into two categories: project-focused and enterprise-oriented.
Project focused responsibilities such as consulting, mentoring, and training were services that enabled the success of
individual projects. On the other hand, enterprise responsibilities addressed services that might improve all projects
such as portfolio management, PM standards, methods, and tools, and project performance archives. [1]
PMOs are more effective and can better impact the bottom line, when they are operating at the corporate enterprisewide strategic level, rather than at the departmental level. Departmentally based Project Management offices are
successful in their own silos but not accepted outside their span of influence, and therefore, are unable to influence
the organization as a whole. This is because many project management offices started off from a grass roots
approach. [3]

A PMO that is organizationally based versus departmentally based is more likely to get executive support. After all,
project management should not be a departmental strategy; it should be an organizational strategy. The Enterprise
PMO will oversee the management of all strategically aligned projects. [3]
Describe the primary issues faced by AteKPC management under the two organizational modelsthat were under
consideration for the PMO. Explain the limitations of each of these models.

Models and Characteristics

PMO-heavy

PMO-light

Full staff of project managers who

assumed
responsibility
for
the
management of all IT projects.

minimal staff of experts who worked

through internal project managers to
perform the responsibilities of the PMO

acquisition of project management

experts, either from internal or
external sources, and used these
resources to manage projects under
the direction of the PMO.

This
model
focused
on
the
development of the skills of internal
project managers who were not
formally connected with the PMO

In the extreme version of PMO-light,

all projects operated outside of the
PMO under existing

Extreme no project would operate

outside the management and direct
control of the PMO.

organizational controls, and the ownership

of projects resided within the functional area
and IT group charged with execution of the
project.

Limitations and issues For considerations

Heavy

Not enough people to move fast. Company want to move fast to be

competitive.

Light

No management want to move to the PMO. People in the department

and functions challenge the values of PMO. This depends on the
culture of the organizations

Light

the delays from this approach might compromise their ability to

provide PMO services and to demonstrate its worth to the functional
areas of the business. Hard to acquire resources and hard to find
funding for PMO resources. Now he just expenses other operation
teams.

Light

how the functional areas might perceive adding more people at this
time. He explained: What is the implication of a sponsor in Sales
trying to initiate a project that gets approval from the PMO? They
dont literally understand what the PMO is. They think its sort of a
road block and an obstacle to progressa bureaucratic thing.

how people might view the PMO was shared by Strider. The fact that
you can add them at all is a

Light

breakthrough. Do you add them in this PMO, or do you add them somewhere
else? Being too aggressive may violate the culture so much that you cause a big
red flag.

Heavy

grapevine about staff new PMO. They want a heavy PMO.

Having the business resources available is already becoming a

problem for us. With a

PMO-light we are lined up better with the business side in terms of the number
of resources,
and its a better balance.

light

Light

->

PMO-heavy as the best model for AtekPC, but he recognized that he

would not be

able to gain acceptance immediately for this approach. The demand for
resources was great
throughout AtekPC, and the PMO would need to prove itself in order to earn
the resources he
wanted. He intended to build support for the PMO-heavy model through
project successes. As the
PMO gained acceptance, he wanted to implement a PMO-heavy approach,
furnishing project
Heavy
1.

managers to the various groups.

Draft a program charter for AtekPC utilizing your reading assignments, outside research, and the guidelines
and model charter linked to this weeks lecture and attached below. [1] [4] [5][6]

Program Name and Sponsorship

Project Management Office Program Charter, Information Technology Department, AtekPC.
Sponsors:
Xxx, Vice President
Larry Field, Director of the Project Management Support Group
Steinberg, Director of Applications Development
John Strider, Chief Information Office (CIO)

Contact and Historical Information

Mark Nelson, PMO Manager, phone number, email
Document History
Version Date Author(s) Revision Notes
PMOCHTR_1.0 09/24/2007 Mark Nelson 1. Document Ready for Distribution
PMOCHTR_2.0 11/13/2007 Mark Nelson 1. Incorporated Changes Document Ready for
Distribution
PMOCHRT_3.0 11/20/2007 Mark Nelson 1. Incorporated Changes Document Ready for
Distribution
PMOCHRT_4.0 01/10/2008 Mark Nelson 1. Incorporated Changes Document Ready for
Distribution

Introduction
The PC industry was changing, and AtekPC was engaged in dealing with dramatic pressure
from larger competitors To compete in a changing industry in which consolidation was
occurring, AtekPC had implemented a corporate Planning Office. Recognizing the role that IT
would likely play in enabling AtekPC to respond to the industry pressures, the senior vicepresident had supported the creation of a PMO within IT

Program Organization and Governance

executive
sponsor

Xxx, Vice President

Larry Field, Director of the Project Management Support

Group

Steinberg, Director of Applications Development

Program
sponsor

Steven Gardner, Manufacturing Systems Manager

PMO Owner

John Strider, Chief Information Office (CIO)

PMO
Program
Manager

Mark Nelson

PMO
Member

Linda Starr, etc

Team

Program Scope

The PMO will reside within Information Technology Organization and will provide project
support for all Enterprise IT projects and its Clients across the Company.
The specific duties of a PMO were typically divided into two categories: project-focused and
enterprise-oriented. Project focused responsibilities such as consulting, mentoring, and
training were services that enabled the success of individual projects. On the other hand,
enterprise responsibilities addressed services that might improve all projects such as portfolio
management, PM standards, methods, and tools, and project performance archives

Program Goal
1. Deliver successful IT projects
2. Build Project Management maturity at the organizational level
3. Keep Management and Project Community informed
4. Serve as the organizations authority on IT Project Management practices

Program Objectives
Deliver successful IT projects
The PMO collaborates with ICT and stakeholders / clients to manage the IT Projects portfolio:
1. Work with Clients / Data Custodians / Prioritization Committee to make the IT projectselection process successful
2. Maintain and publish a master IT projects schedule
3. Assist Organization and Clients with project resource management
4. Identify IT projects at risk and provide recommendations

Build Project Management maturity at the organizational level

1.Mentorproject teams
2. Assist project teams in all phases of their projects from project initiation to
project closure
3. Train organizational Project Managers in a full range of Project Management
topics if necessary or requested Serve as honest broker on all issues brought forward to the
PMO by Project Managers
Keep Management and Project Community informed

1. Report to CIO and UNO DC / Prioritization Committee on:

a. AtekPC IT projects monthly

b. Metrics that measure PMO effectiveness annually
c. Issues and opportunities as they arise
2. Maintain and publish a Lessons Learned archive
3. Maintain the PMO Web site

Serve as the organizations authority on IT Project Management

Practices
1. Set the IT Project Management standard
a. PMO works with an advisory group of Project Managers to update and maintain this
standard
b. Standards are posted on the PMO Web site
2. Be the resident advocate for good Project Management practices in the organization
3. Provide Project Management tools for organization-wide use
4. Serve as the official source of project templates and other project aids

Program Boundaries, Constraints and Assumptions

The EMPO does not provide project managers or project management services, except on an
as required basis by the CIO
If the PMO is to be successful, there are several key issues that must be assumed. The success
of projects, in general, all rely on the following factors being implemented: the integration of
client, implementer, and software vendor goals and plans, constant management of the
projects scope, and finally a method for gaining visibility into project health at all levels
throughout the life of the project.
Moving from a single project perspective to a more holistic perspective, the following factors
will be absolutely critical to the success of the PMO.
1. Executive Support
2. Effective Data Custodian Committee / Prioritization Committee
3. Compelling Business Case
4. Agreement to Requirements and Scope
5. User Involvement & Collaboration
6. Resource Alignment Reflective of Current Need
7. Management of Expectations
8. Strong Project Management Infrastructure
a. Minimal Scope Creep
b. Strong Change Control Process
c. Standardized Project Management Methodology
9. Ability to Measure and Report
Constraints
Adoption by Leadership The adoption and adaption of

practices is driven by executive leadership, which if delayed could

erode the value and result in significant impacts to project results
and benefits to the State.
Financial Accountability The company currently does not
consistently practice full project accountability which reduces the
ability to track and measure results.
Workforce Utilization The company currently does not practice time
tracking of staff efforts which reduces the ability to track and
measure performance.

Integration Management The company currently does not practice

governance approaches that allow for inter/intra-organizational
deployments, which limits the effectiveness and increases the risk and effort for
Enterpriseinitiatives

Deliverables
1. Gain agreement on the PMO Charter from the Office of the CIO and
additional stakeholders outside of ICT
2. Gain CIO approval for the PMO Business Case consisting of:
a. PMO Requirements (high level)
b. Implementation Strategies and Schedule
c. Project Plan
d. PMO Handbook
3. Perform a Project Management Maturity Assessment and take steps to
remedy
4. Refine and agree upon PMO performance targets
5. Establish PMO review process and performance metrics

Stakeholder Expectations
Metrics should measure those aspects of PMO performance that are directly related to its
Goals and support its Vision andMission. On that basis, the following areas of focus can be
used to assess PMO value to the organization.

Internal Review & Assessment

The PMO staff will develop or acquire the appropriate tools in which to measure
PMO effectiveness. The PMO Executive Sponsor will approve such tools before
they are used.
Assessments will include:
1. Improvements in project successes over time can be measured through:
a. Decreases in schedule and budget overruns
b. Client / project participant responses
2. The Project Management approach can be measured by:
a. Quality and timeliness of project planning documents
b. Accuracy of time and cost estimates
c. Effectiveness at mentoring and coaching project teams
The PMO, with input from Clients, will be responsible for the gathering of
performance metrics.

Milestones

Finance and High-level Budgets

The PMO is a function of AtekPC which provides funding for the EPMO operations as part of
its IT Governance responsibilities to AtekPC. As such, it is an overhead function which

requires an allocation method for funding. In order to estimate the overall costs for the
allocation, the following guidelines are provided: 0.5-1% of project portfolio being managed,
depending on the level of overall maturity in the AtekPC. The current project portfolio is
estimated as $367 as of Oct. 2007, which estimates an PMO budget of $1.8 3.7m.

Program Risks
In addition to the items listed above, the following barriers have been identified as
opportunities to address when considering the implementation of a PMO as they often lead to
difficulty and resistance in acceptance.
1. Unclear purpose not well defined or communicated
2. No executive buy-in
3. PMO is seen as an overhead or marketing function
4. Unrealistic expectations that the PMO is a silver bullet; giving a quick fix
to core business-level problems
5. PMO is seen as too authoritative, or perceived as a threat
6. Politics and power struggles
7. Hard to prove value

Where a companys efforts to a project management organization, or PMO, and the challenges they faced
to implement it. Issues brought into the case, the definition of the PMO purpose and mission, the structure
and management of the PMO, and how to successfully implement in what appears to be a robust culture.
John Strider, AtekPC Chief Information Officer (CIO), had strong beliefs that the PMO-light model was the
way to go. He had held back on hiring employees filling Read more
Where a companys efforts to a project management organization, or PMO, and the challenges they faced
to implement it. Issues brought into the case, the definition of the PMO purpose and mission, the structure
and management of the PMO, and how to successfully implement in what appears to be a robust culture.
John Strider, AtekPC Chief Information Officer (CIO), had strong beliefs that the PMO-light model was the
way to go. He had held back on hiring employees for filling the PMO and was moving very slowly and

carefully, so as not to offend AtekPC culture. He was also concerned about the many problems that had
already raised the PMO implementation. Were small steps, building on small successes go to get the job
done fast enough? With the ever increasing challenge of successfully managing information technology
(IT) organizations are recognizing the need for more discipline in the management of IT projects. For
many companies, this has meant ratcheting project management, processes and governance structures
within the organization through the implementation of a Project Management Office (PMO). Unfortunately,
there is little common understanding of the challenges of implementing a PMO. Therefore, key executives
and their organizations need to help poor leadership to identify and overcome the obstacles they are likely
to encounter.
AtekPC Project Management Office Case Study
Part One. What were the changes in AtekPCs business environment that caused the
company to introduce a PMO? Based on your assigned readings and research do these
appear to be appropriate reasons for developing a PMO? Why or why not? Limit your
response to one page.
The AtekPC Project Management Office Case Study presents a business entity faced with
decreased sales and profitability due to a maturing Personal Computer market. AtekPC, once
profitable and an industry leader, found itself behind the curve in areas of new technology
such as mobile phones, PDAs, and web-based applications. Costs were up, resources were
becoming limited, and competition among pc manufacturers grew fierce. Harold Kerzner
points out in his book, Using the Project Management Maturity Model: Strategic Planning for
Project Management, that to be to be truly successful, management must have a
repeatable process in place: As economic conditions deteriorate, change occurs more and
more quickly in business organizations, but still not fast enough to keep up with the
economy. To make matters worse, windows of opportunity are missed because no project
management methodology is in place (Kerzner, 2005). Atek realized it was necessary to
begin
strategically
placing
itself
for
the
future.
The environment that AtekPC has found itself in has accelerated the companys maturity
level, therefore making the development of a PMO a viable option. As J. Kent Crawford points
out in his book, The Strategic Project Office, a PMO should be considered a suitable
solution for a struggling company in AtekPCs environment because, they allow companies
to make the most of slim resources: streamlining the portfolio, accurately forecasting
resource availability, and allowing changes in strategic focus necessitated by economic
factors to be seamlessly carried out because the project portfolio management processes
add nimbleness to the organization (Crawford, 2011).
References
for
Part
One:
Crawford,
J.
K.
(2011).
The
strategic
project
office.
CRC
Press.
Kerzner, H. (2005). Using the project management maturity model: Strategic planning for
project management . (2 ed., p. 11). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Part Two. Draft a program charter for AtekPC utilizing your reading assignments, outside
research, and the guidelines and model charter linked to this weeks lecture and attached
below). Limit your responses to 3 pages, not including end notes, supporting documentation
and refererences.

Program
Charter
Document
AtekPC
________________________________________
Program
Sponsors
Organization
Role
Contact
Information
Xxxx
Xxxxx
CEO
(xxx)
xxx-xxxx
Xxxx
Xxxxx
Senior
Vice
President
(xxx)
xxx-xxxx
Mark
Nelson
PMO
Manager
(xxx)
xxx-xxxx
John
Strider
CIO
(xxx)
xxx-xxxx
Richard
Steinberg
Dir.
Of
Application
Development
(xxx)
xxx-xxxx
Steve
Gardner
Manuf.
Systems
Manager
(xxx)
xxx-xxxx
Larry Field Dir. PM Support Group (xxx) xxx-xxxx
Program
Charter
History
Version
Date
Author
Change
Description
x.xx
xxxx
John
Strider
Created
3/3/2007
x.xx
xxxx
Mark
Nelson

[revision.1
xx/xx/xxx]

[revision.2
xx/xx/xxx]
[revision.3 xx/xx/xxx]
Introduction
and
Background
AtekPC is a mid-sized U.S. PC manufacturer founded in 1984. 2006 sales equaled $1.9
billion. The company employed 2100 full-time employees and an additional 200 part-time
workers. By 2007, AtekPC found itself in the midst of an industry-wide decrease in sales and
profitability. PC makers in general were forced to deal with a transition from a growth
industry to that of a maturing industry by seeking out new markets for growth opportunities.
Due to this environmental change and to remain competitive, it has become necessary for
AtekPC to refocus its efforts in areas such as cost control, manufacturing efficiency, resource
allocation, and project management methodology. Historically, the latter had been
accomplished in an informal manner, with Lead Analysts acting as impromptu project
managers. Senior Management realized that a centralized, Project Management Office was
necessary to focus efforts in the areas of improvement and enhancement via project
management
and
coordinate
the
organizations
enterprise-oriented
functions.
________________________________________
Program
Organization
and
Governance
The Project Management Office will report directly to the AtekPC CEO. The Senior Vice
President will act as Executive Sponsor. Program Sponsors include Larry Field, Richard
Steinberg, and Steve Gardner. Mark Nelson will oversee the Program Management Office as
the
Program
Manager.
________________________________________
PROJECT
SCOPE
Goals
and
Objectives
Goals
Objectives
The Project Management Office will provide company-wide project management support
through consulting, mentoring, and training while promoting portfolio management and PM
standards, methods, and tools. 1. Reduce costs and more effectively utilize resources.
2. Work within the AtekPC culture in order to promote Project Management methodology and
overcome cultural resistance.

Program
Boundaries,
Constraints,
and
Assumptions
There are a number of critical factors to the success of the PMO. The PMO must gain
executive support and authority from leadership. It must also gain support across functional
lines and end-users. There are a number of Boundaries, Constraints, and Assumptions that
will
effect
the
outcome
of
these
factors:

PMO
purpose
and
responsibilities
must
be
clearly
defined

Inconsistent
executive
support
for
the
PMO
initiative

Company
culture
limitation.
The PMO has a small window of time to prove its value it cannot provide a quick fix to
immediate
problems
that
require
long-term
solutions.
Project
Deliverables
Deliverable
Obtain input on the program charter from stakeholders and sponsorship

Present
a
refined
Program
Charter

Strategic
Planning
Process
within
first
six
months
Stakeholder
Expectations
Stakeholder
Expectations
Leadership/Sponsorship Gain and maintain support for the PMO and resolve discrepancies
and conflicts, particularly in the areas of budgeting and resources. PMO initiatives will reduce
costs
and
improve
efficiencies.
Project Manager Responsible for setting the standards and policies for the various projects.
Plan
and
execute
the
work
of
the
project.
Department
Heads
Provide
staff
members
to
the
project
effort
End
User
PMO
will
not
be
a
barrier
to
doing
real
work
________________________________________
Finance
and
High
Level
Budget
According to a 2012 survey conducted by Project Management Solutions, Inc., PMOs directly
contributed to a 15% cost savings per project, or an average of US$411,000 savings per
project. Additionally, 25% more projects were delivered under budget where a PMO was
involved (The state of, 2012). With these figures in mind, the PMO must set a realistic
baseline based on the organizations current state, define goals for improvement, and
measure
results(Fister
Gale,
2011).
Project
Risks
Unable
to
meet
goals
due
to
Inadequate
Resources
Cultural
and
political
environment
not
conducive
to
PMO
success
PMO unable to prove its value in short time frame
References
for
Part
Two:
The state of the pmo 2012. In (2012). A PM SOLUTIONS RESEARCH REPORT. Project
Management Solutions, Inc.

Harvard Business School: the Atekpc

Project Management Office
By Kgbros1 | July 2013

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Cases

in

Applied

Project

Management

Individual Assignment
Identify the main purpose and mission of a PMO and what are the main challenges and
obstacles in implementing a PMO? (HBS: The AtekPC Project Management Office)
Submitted

by:

KMO

Greene

Introduction
The AtekPC Company found in 1984 has grown in size and scope to become a mid-sized
technology PC manufacturer. The company now boasts 2100 fulltime employees with an
additional 200 part time workers and revenues of $1.9 billion. AtekPC finds itself, like all other
PC manufacturers facing a changing industry, one that is transitioning from a growth market
industry to a maturing market industry and like all competitors in the marketplace, AtekPC is
experiencing tremendous cost pressure and demands from management to adapt. In order for
the company to survive must less thrive, company CIO John Strider believes a PMO
implementation is very necessary but he is conflicted about the best way to implement said
PMO office. Does he implement a PMOheavy or PMO-light model? Can the PMO
implementation change the organizational culture for the better and deal with the pressure
AtekPC is facing or would the PMO implementation be disruptive to the organizational culture
and as such become more of a problem than a solution. Questions about the main purpose and
mission of the PMO and the main challenges and obstacles in implementing the PMO are
questions that John will struggle with and questions that this assignment tries to answer.
The purpose and objectives of a Project Management Office (PMO) as defined by PMBOK is as
follows: A project management office (PMO) is a management structure that standardizes the
project-related governance processes and facilitates the sharing of resources, methodologies,
tools, and techniques. The responsibilities of a PMO can range from providing project
management support functions to actually being responsible for the direct management of one
or more projects. There are...

THE ATEKPC PROJECT MANAGEMENT

ASSIGNMENT/CASE STUDY SOLUTION

OFFICE

The AtekPC Project Management Office Assignment/Case Study Solution.

Based on the case study it can be recommended that John Strider should adopt a combination of Project
Management Office (PMO) heavy and light in bringing a positive and long term change in the organization. As stated
by Langlois (2006) PMO heavy has the disadvantage that it forces radical changes on the employees which gain shirt
term results only. The case shows that the personnel in the organization seem to have a tendency to resist adopting
a changed structure of processes. A combination of the two approaches will enable Strider to bring long term change
on the basis of the already employed personnel who can easily establish feelings of trust and cooperation among the
workers. The new hiring will allow Strider to introduce formal pattern of control and policy implementation.
This is a sample paper. If you like to order your own paper, please Click Here
Case Study: The AtekPC Project Management Office
What is your recommendation to the CIO, John Strider, for the PMO organization model? Is it PMO-heavy?
PMO-light? or something in between? Be specific.
Based on the case study it can be recommended that John Strider should adopt a combination of Project
Management Office (PMO) heavy and light in bringing a positive and long term change in the organization. As stated
by Langlois (2006) PMO heavy has the disadvantage that it forces radical changes on the employees which gain shirt
term results only. The case shows that the personnel in the organization seem to have a tendency to resist adopting
a changed structure of processes. A combination of the two approaches will enable Strider to bring long term change
on the basis of the already employed personnel who can easily establish feelings of trust and cooperation among the
workers. The new hiring will allow Strider to introduce formal pattern of control and policy implementation.
Explain how your recommendation would handle the following:
Cultural issues:
AptekPC seems to have an informal pattern of communication, which cant be radically changed within a short time.
However a gradual shift can be brought through the use of PMO light by focusing on the strengths of the process and
allowing the employees to understand, accept and adapt to the changed procedures.
Staffing issues
A combination of the two approaches will require the company to hire an individual for PMO implementation. Along
with that the current managers can be trained for the PMO implementation to make it effective without hiring new staff
as the company has limited resources available.
Enterprise-oriented responsibilities for the PMO

The PMO will be focusing on creating an effective alliance between the various departments of the organization and
achieving the company objectives in a specified time frame with support from the employees. The project related
activities, reporting and maintaining of different organizational processes will also be developed by the PMO.
Governance
The performance of the PMO can be measured by the CIO to evaluate if the PMO has been successful in achieving
the objectives. The evaluation even though based on subjective observation can be done to see if the PMO initiative
has been able to make the structure of the processes formal or not. The formal structure and centralized chain of
command will reflect the initial success of PMO. After that the success of business processes and ability to compete
in the market can be used as criteria of success for the PMO.
What are your recommendations to John Strider on how to sell the PMO office? Include your thoughts on
his bottom-up versus top-down approach. If your recommendation includes the need for more staff, how
would you sell that?
Strider needs to support the idea of hiring the new manager for PMO application with the past experiences that they
had and the lack of formal communication and project management practices that they faced. On the basis of the
past failures, Strider can logically support the hiring if new PMO manager. Along with that he also needs to ensure
that the current managers get appropriate training to manage the processes more effectively. A combination of the
efforts of new hiring and trained staff can be quite beneficial for the company as it can provide long term benefits to
the organization.

What company do you think AtekPC is?

AtekPC seems to be a PC manufacturing company as the case study shows. The company has experiences rapid
growth when the PC industry was booming, and was negatively affected when new forms of technology such as
PDAs and mobile phones declined the number of PC users.

Abstract
Presents one company's efforts to implement a project management organization, or PMO, and the
challenges they faced in doing so. Issues brought out in the case include defining the PMO's purpose
and mission, the structure and governance of the PMO, and how to successfully implement it in what
appears to be a resistant culture. John Strider, AtekPC's chief information officer (CIO), had strong
convictions that the PMO-light model was the way to go. He had held back on hiring fill time
employees for the PMO and was moving very slowly and cautiously so as not to violate AtekPC's
culture. He was also concerned about the many issues that the PMO implementation had already
raised. Were small steps building on small successes going to get the job done fast enough? With the
ever increasing challenge of successfully managing information technology (IT), organizations are
recognizing the need for greater discipline in managing IT projects. For many organizations, this has
meant ratcheting up project management skills, processes, and governance structures within the

organization by implementing a project management office (PMO). Unfortunately, there is little shared
understanding of the challenges of implementing a PMO. Therefore, managers and their organizations
have inadequate guidance to help them identify and overcome the obstacles they are likely to
encounter.

Atekpc
By gautama | November 2009

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Case Analysis
The AtekPC Project Management Office
Case Overview
AtekPC is a mid-sized U.S PC maker with sales of $ 1.9 billion and employed 2100 full time
employees and additional 200 part time workers. This case discusses most of the obstacles to
establishing a PMO (Project management Office) are beyond the CIO and PMO Manager's
control. We see a lot of problems faced by the CIO in implementing a PMO in the enterprise.
Regardless of the technical challenges during the implementation, the core of the problems
seems to be that the PMO is lacking organization support, from the top to the bottom. There is
not enough executive stakeholder support, there is no visibility of the program, there is a conflict
of interests within departments and employees are reluctant to change the ways they have been
doing things. Issues brought out in the case include defining the PMO's purpose and mission,
the structure and governance of the PMO, and how to successfully implement it in what appears
to be a resistant culture. Objective of PMO
PMOs objective is to provide more consistent and better practices for both business and IT
projects. Realize benefits derived from consistent project practices. Challenges faced by
AtekPC and PC industry and Need Analysis for PMO Reduction in time and cost and increase
profitability:- PC industry was going under major cost cut PMO can help in achieving it by
reducing time in implementing projects and there by reducing cost by saving resources. Slow
down in sales :- Looking at new products and new markets to maintain revenue growth and
increase profitability .Cost reduction strategies aimed at further improving the efficiency of their
supply chains, while lowering the cost of distribution. Provide Standardization; - PMO
implementation was required in order to provide standardization in managing projects and to
gain improvements in the planning and performance of initiatives.

Abstract
This paper discusses the external affairs of Project Management Offices instead of focusing on theinternals. The
article was initiated by the "AtekPC Project Management Office" [1] , Most of theobstacles to establishing a PMO
are beyond the CIO and PMO Manager's control. There are externalfactors within the enterprise that will hinder
progress of a PMO implementation.We are going to take a PMO as a black box, and focus on how the
PMO/Program Manager can manageexternal relations from diplomatic, marketing, public relations, international
relations, corporateculture and political perspectives. This involves cooperation between the PMO and other
entities in oroutside the enterprise, to facilitate a successfully organizational integration.
Introduction
By reading the case studies in the "AtekPC Project Management Office" [1], we see a lot of headachesfor the CIO
when implementation a PMO in the enterprise. Regardless of the technical challengesduring the implementation,
the core of the problems seems to be that the PMO is lacking organizationsupport, from the top to the bottom.
There is not enough executive stakeholder support; there is novisibility of the program; there is a conflict of
interests within departments; people are reluctant tochange the ways they have been doing things. This paper is
going to provide some high levelsuggestions to improve external relations for the PMO.
Problems Identification
After an in depth study in [1], we can abstract out a few root causes of PMO implementationhindrance.
The PMO vision and role is not clearly defined.
There is no complete consensus regarding itspurpose, its responsibilities, and its authority. It has slowly evolved.
Not enough executive stakeholder support.
Not all of the senior executives were equally enthusedabout the PMO concept. Authority was primarily being
developed bottom-up through the value of thePMO services. Even this was limited to those functional areas and
IT areas actively engaging the PMO.There was no current plan to enforce usage at the enterprise level.
Corporate culture limitation.
Corporate cultural change had been informal. They never treated PM,PMO, formal processes seriously. Normal
Operation Processes and function units have to change theirculture, behaviour, and even habits if they work with a
PMO.
No support from department management.
Department managers may see no value inintroducing a PMO in their projects. Also there are political conflicts as
well, with managers worryingabout the PMO getting to much authority.
Hard to prove value before the PMO can get more support.
This is a chicken and egg problem.The senior IT managers encouraged a slow, incremental strategy (baby
steps) that would allow thePMO concept to prove itself with small victories won through mentoring one project at
a time. Whileproving themselves, they may fail the challenges of addressing all the cultural limitations and
barriers.The PMO had raised issues that had proven too controversial to resolve immediately.
Strategies
y
Diplomatic perspective - How to approach and broaden Senior Executive Stakeholder support.
y
Marketing perspective - How to convince people to buy something they have never used before