Establishing (or Enhancing) PMO

Effectiveness
Nicolle Goldman, PMP
March 28, 2007
 Agenda

 Project Management Office (PMO) – Definition

 What the Business Needs From a PMO

 Types of PMOs

 How PMOs Evolve

 Building PMO Maturity

 Management Impact on PMO

 Conclusion – Getting the most from your PMO

© 2007 Delegata Corporation  2

 Project Management Office (PMO)

 Definition
 An organizational program that is used to add consistency to the
implementation of project management practices and to enhance the
performance of the project management discipline in a way that
contributes to business effectiveness

 Principle
 Management will only invest in initiatives when they prove their ability
to deliver benefit under controlled situations; the PMO must facilitate
improved business performance while providing management greater
control of that achievement

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 What the Business Needs From a PMO

 Define PMO Results Required by the Organization

 Prevent surprises
 Improve data accuracy
 Compare performance on an equal basis
 Place management in control
 Increase competency and capacity
 Increase estimate accuracy
 Guarantee service levels
 Achieve business goals and objectives (return for investment)
 Provide a complete new chain of command for projects
 Sample PMO Objectives (handout)

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 Types of PMOs

 Weather Station
 Roll up performance of many projects
 Standard Bearer
 Provide the project management processes, standards, guidelines, templates,
tools, etc.
 Command Center
 Strong oversight and direction
 Run governance forums
 Resource Pool
 Provide the resources for PM discipline
 Service Center
 Provide support services to project teams from the Business Areas
 Program Office Partner
 “General Contractor” for the business program

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 How Project Offices Evolve

 Weather Station
 Managers get surprised by project failures and want more visibility
 Standard Bearer
 Management cannot compare project results since everyone has different ways
of performing and reporting
 Command Center
 Managers get frustrated with project decisions and enforce greater control
through reviews, gates and permissions; PMO analysis is critical at this level
 Resource Pool
 Managers have few qualified PMs and establish a discipline to build competencies
in these skills
 Service Center
 Projects or project managers never seem to have the bandwidth to practice all
the PM process areas effectively, so management provides a service and support
office to help each project do some of the things they need them to do
 Program Office Partner
 Managers realize that excellence only matters if business performance is better

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 Generic Work Pattern

 Work Pattern
 This is the most abstract pattern for work accomplishment in any
situation

Constraints

Respects Performs Produces

Role Activity Results
Fills
Person Uses Consumes

Assets Supply

 It is composed of vital elements of a performing system; each piece will

still have to fit as “architected” for the system to function appropriately

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 Work Pattern Approach to PMO

 Follow process to establish architectural assumptions for the

programs
 Constraints
 Results Constraints 1
 Assets
 Supplies 7
Respects Performs Produces
 Roles Role Activity Results 2
 People Fills 5
 Activity 6 Person Uses Consumes

3 Assets Supply 4

“To Be” systems are constructed in this order.

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 Building PMO Maturity

 Utilize available maturity models for your business

 Think project lifecycles but differentiate project from PMO
 Start with beginning phases and work one or more projects through the
lifecycle
 Empower planning with any of the PMO types
 Establish appropriate initiation under any of the PMO types
 Continue through execution, control and closure
 Remember the order of establishing a “to be” model
 Constraints; Results; Assets; Supplies; Roles; People; Activity (yes activity
is last)
 Ensure that every activity implemented is traced to required results and is
staffed appropriately

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 PMO Maturity

 Differentiate the PMO from the PM

 The project office has a different role than the Project Manager
• The Project Manager must make the project successful
• The PMO must help management be successful
 PMO should be more than pass-through (“roll up”) reporting
• Management sees the problems better, but still may have no capacity to
correct the situation
 PMO value is in analysis and methods to correct performance
• Determine where the problems lie
• Have methods that can help management take appropriate action
• Prevent management from contributing to failures
 Example
• One project has 25 risks and another 5 which is in more trouble?
• How can management be in better control in either of these situations?

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 PMO Maturity
– One (of Many Possible) Models

ENTERPRISE & STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT

BUSINESS MATURITY Level 5

Optimizing PMO
PROCESS IMPROVEMENT Level 4
Manage to optimize
Value-Driven PMO
PROCESS CONTROL Level 3 value delivered by
Manage a portfolio of
Integrated PMO projects to achieve projects achieving
Level 2 business objectives strategic goals
PROJECT FOCUS
Initial Program Office Establish capability
and infrastructure to  Drive reviews to  Manage resource
Level 1 Provide a standard support and govern a demonstrate goal
Project Office and repeatable PM allocations to value
benefit-driven project achievement not just priorities
Achieve project methodology for use environment project progress
deliverables and across all projects  Establish criteria for  Improve capacity to
objectives for cost,  Select the right deliver value
 Roll up project projects based on continuation or
schedule and reporting enterprise value cancellation  Use PMO project
resource utilization  Coaching  Implement and use alternatives to build the
 Exists to support  Build projects and investment
 Planning support estimates based on strategic plan
the project management process
 Project standards performance  QA enterprise
 Skills to meet knowledge  Ensure organizational
project needs  Quality assurance change is integrated on processes to ensure
 Project audit  Mentor, train and projects value is being built into
 Focused on engage to pull all each initiative
project planning,  Competency  Measure and improve
assessment stakeholders to processes for value  Leverage knowledge
execution and success delivery
control  Methodology and business
institutionalization  Establish standards  Align PMO with intelligence to drive
 Fulfills project across all enterprise strategic
charter  Initial tools organizations plan project alternatives
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 PMO Practices
– One (of Many Possible) Models

PRACTICE INFRASTRUCTURE RESOURCE INTEGRATION TECHNICAL SUPPORT BUSINESS ALIGNMENT

MANAGEMENT MANAGEMENT

 PROJECT MANAGEMENT  PROJECT GOVERNANCE  RESOURCE  PROJECT MENTORING  PORTFOLIO

METHODOLOGY MANAGEMENT MANAGEMENT
 ASSESSMENT &  PROJECT PLANNING
 PROJECT TOOLS INTERVENTION  TRAINING AND  CUSTOMER
EDUCATION  PROJECT AUDITING RELATIONSHIPS
 STANDARDS & METRICS
 ORGANIZATION AND
 KNOWLEDGE STRUCTURE  CAREER DEVELOPMENT  PROJECT RECOVERY  VENDOR
MANAGEMENT RELATIONSHIPS
 FACILITIES & EQUIPMENT  TEAM DEVELOPMENT
 BUSINESS
PERFORMANCE

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 Management Impact on PMO

 PMO Maturity is Heavily Dependent Upon Management Maturity

 No Project Manager can correct for out of control management
 No PMO can overcome the impacts for projects where management is
out of control

 PMO cannot just look inward and force PMs to put change
management and other disciplined practices in place and expect to
succeed; it must focus outside the PMO and facilitate the ability for
management to see how their actions drive failure

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 Management Impact on PMO, cont’d

 PMO can help management form the habits for success

 Look to milestone gates that have to prove ability to succeed prior to
continuing with next phase investment
 Demonstrate how much pressure management is placing on the project
with unplanned effort
 Provide ways to operate more contractually to build strengths and
prepare for worst cases
 Review causes for failures with managers and plan to avoid them

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 Conclusions

 PMO is not just about Project Management (PM)

 There are many flavors of PMO; all will fail if management is not
placed in control
 Know what results your PMO needs to achieve
 Plan to differentiate the PMO from the project
 Provide methods to correct situations, don’t just report them
 Help management change for their own benefit; work to their
bosses’ agenda

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 Questions & Answers

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