PMO Strategy & Planning Roundtable notes

PMO Strategy & Planning © Polarisoft Ltd. Published February 2014

The PMO Roundtable Every month we gather together experts within the world of the Project Management Office (PMO) to discuss a headline topic as part of our PMO Roundtable group on LinkedIn. We summarise the discussions into the notes you can see below.

PMO FunctionThe definition of a PMO and the function it serves should be driven by the needs of the organisation. Often the motivation for the PMO creation drives its function i.e. cost saving and this can lead to the PMO being perceived as ‘the boot boys’ or ‘Project Police’. To create the right perception (from the introduction of the PMO through to its day to day operational life) having the CEO/top person being the sponsor was seen as very important. Given the companywide exposure and involvement of the PMO they are often the best informed group within a business – another reason for the CEO to hold them close.

PMO TasksCommon PMO tasks were seen as:

Create a sustainable and transparent reporting framework Creating and sustaining portfolio governance that aligns activities to strategic goals Independent challenging of the bias/optimism of project owners Create/improve information transparency – strategic goal alignment Ensure information becomes insights becomes actions Hub for best practice process, training and tools Measure benefits realisation i.e. post project assessments – benefits tracking Build relationships that create trust and honesty Does the person at the top feel better informed? Centralised administration tasks I.e. timesheets

PMO ValueCreating clear and tangible PMO value was seen as a crucial step in avoiding the typical 2-4 year lifespan of a PMO:

Establish and track benefits realisation KPI’s are driven by the need that created the PMO in the first place ‘People are prepared to pay for our PMO services – that demonstrates value’ PMO value? Isn’t a better question – ‘What is the value of becoming more mature as an organisation?’ Cost savings Speed to market/delivery Quality ‘At the start it’s often only the Sponsor who sees the value in the PMO’

PMO Challenges. Public and Private. Public. The government dictates activities with the PMO having no say in priority setting Private. Activities driven by the strategic goals of the organisation with the PMO ensuring priorities setting Public. Can’t choose to stop the delivery of services (i.e. social housing) as a need still exists Private. Can stop activities that do not deliver a profit Public. Funding typically only agreed for a year and so multi-year plans are never a certainty due to changing

political influence. Private. Multi-year projects are planned and budgeted accordingly Public. Resources are typically retrained existing resources i.e. Police Officers and the PM role is seen as a

career stepping stone Private. Resources are typically qualified PM’s Public. Information access can be restrictive. Can take FOI requests! Private. Information transparency can often be a legal imperative

PMO Challenges. Other. Change fatigue – avoiding overloading the same people time and time again ‘Green like Sherwood forest’ reporting Ensuring Senior input into RAG tolerances and removing subjectivity of risk definition Controlling the volume/duplication of reporting requests PM’s fear of ‘being caught out’ can encourage falsehoods (AKA lies) Ensuring RAG creates the right reaction and not just panic or head nodding Benefits Management when organisational tracking is still immature Visibility of PM resource Avoiding the PMO becoming an extension of PM team – an issue for less mature organisations Creating trust and usage of relevant PMO tools – often the transparency they bring is feared Maintaining the organisational and individuals skills in chosen tools IT – not the bad guys but often a constraint Ensuring process is in place before tools are introduced Raising the ability of the individuals and the organisation

PMO Ambitions for 2014: Deliver the right projects Deliver the right benefits Deliver the right improvements Get the right info in front of the right people Improving the information gathering process Simplify

The PMO Roundtable group on LinkedInhttp://www.linkedin.com/groups/PMO-Roundtable-5096857?trk=my_groups-b-grp-v

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