Establishing (or Enhancing) PMO Effectiveness Nicolle Goldman, PMP March 28, 2007

© 2007 Delegata Corporation§ 2 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§ 3 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

© 2007 Delegata Corporation§ 4 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)

© 2007 Delegata Corporation§ 5 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

© 2007 Delegata Corporation§ 6 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

© 2007 Delegata Corporation§ 7 Generic Work Pattern Work Pattern  This is the most abstract pattern for work accomplishment in any situation  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 Person Role AssetsSupply Activity Constraints Results Respects Fills Performs UsesConsumes Produces

© 2007 Delegata Corporation§ 8 Work Pattern Approach to PMO Follow process to establish architectural assumptions for the programs  Constraints  Results  Assets  Supplies  Roles  People  Activity Person Role AssetsSupply Activity Constraints Results Respects Fills Performs UsesConsumes Produces “To Be” systems are constructed in this order

© 2007 Delegata Corporation§ 9 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

© 2007 Delegata Corporation§ 10 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?

© 2007 Delegata Corporation§ 11 PMO Maturity – One (of Many Possible) Models ENTERPRISE & STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT BUSINESS MATURITY PROCESS IMPROVEMENT PROCESS CONTROL PROJECT FOCUS Level 3 Integrated PMO Establish capability and infrastructure to support and govern a benefit-driven project environment  Select the right projects based on enterprise value  Build projects and estimates based on performance knowledge  Mentor, train and engage to pull all stakeholders to success  Establish standards across all organizations Level 2 Initial Program Office Provide a standard and repeatable PM methodology for use across all projects  Roll up project reporting  Coaching  Planning support  Project standards  Quality assurance  Project audit  Competency assessment  Methodology institutionalization  Initial tools Level 1 Project Office Achieve project deliverables and objectives for cost, schedule and resource utilization  Exists to support the project  Skills to meet project needs  Focused on project planning, execution and control  Fulfills project charter Level 4 Value-Driven PMO Manage a portfolio of projects to achieve business objectives  Drive reviews to demonstrate goal achievement not just project progress  Establish criteria for continuation or cancellation  Implement and use investment management process  Ensure organizational change is integrated on projects  Measure and improve processes for value delivery  Align PMO with enterprise strategic plan Level 5 Optimizing PMO Manage to optimize value delivered by projects achieving strategic goals  Manage resource allocations to value priorities  Improve capacity to deliver value  Use PMO project alternatives to build the strategic plan  QA enterprise processes to ensure value is being built into each initiative  Leverage knowledge and business intelligence to drive project alternatives

© 2007 Delegata Corporation§ 12 INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT RESOURCE INTEGRATIONTECHNICAL SUPPORTBUSINESS ALIGNMENT  PROJECT MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGY  PROJECT TOOLS  STANDARDS & METRICS  KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT  PROJECT GOVERNANCE  ASSESSMENT & INTERVENTION  ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE  FACILITIES & EQUIPMENT  RESOURCE MANAGEMENT  TRAINING AND EDUCATION  CAREER DEVELOPMENT  TEAM DEVELOPMENT  PROJECT MENTORING  PROJECT PLANNING  PROJECT AUDITING  PROJECT RECOVERY  PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT  CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS  VENDOR RELATIONSHIPS  BUSINESS PERFORMANCE PMO Practices – One (of Many Possible) Models PRACTICE MANAGEMENT

© 2007 Delegata Corporation§ 13 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

© 2007 Delegata Corporation§ 14 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

© 2007 Delegata Corporation§ 15 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

© 2007 Delegata Corporation§ 16 Questions & Answers ?