1. Project Management Office (PMO) Implementation
Background: earlier this year I was a Program Manager for a large global mission critical IT project in a financial services company; and the IT Director asked me to prepare a proposal for creating a PMO within the IT function. This presentation is my deliverable, and the PMO was successfully established.
February 7, 2011

2. Overview What is a PMO Starting a PMO Types of PMO’s
PMO Roles and Responsibilities
Executive Buy-In
PMO Best Practices
Sources and Suggested Reading
Reference Material
1. I will move though the charts fairly quickly and the details can be used by you as reference in your current job. I want the presentation to be interactive but I do want to not talk too long on one chart and not cover all the material.
2) Most of my sources are from the PMI.org library and many of the authors contribute to the PMI Network magazine. Some of the charts are wordy, but they can be used for reference on your job.

3. What Is a PMO?
59% of respondents said PMO means ‘project management office’; 12% said it means ‘program management office’.
Study by Brian Hobbs PMP and Monique Aubry
“An organizational unit to centralize and coordinate the management of projects under its domain. A PMO oversees the management of projects, programs or a combination of both.”
A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® guide), Third Edition © 2004, p. 17
This is the textbook and PMBOK definition for you.
Are these definitions still viable today?
In each organization, the definition of a PMO may vary in name and by function, but it essentially centralizes, coordinates and oversees the management of projects and programs.
Article by Bud Baker, Ph.D. PMI Network, June 2007

4. Project Management Office (PMO)
A centralized organization dedicated to improving the practice and results of project management.
Other initiatives involve huge infrastructure, with rigid centralized planning, control and methodology.
These are PMO definitions from several PM consultants and writers. There are specific examples of how a PMO can deliver the services and how a PMO is organized.
QUESTION: Are PMO’s more common in IT functions or to certain industries?
An organizational entity created to assist project managers in achieving project goals.
A group of people with a mission to support project managers in the successful launch, implementation, and completion of projects.
Provides an opportunity for project managers to develop professionally more quickly than most could ever hope, if they were working isolated from one another.

5. PMO Responsibilities
Not all of these responsibilities are provided by all PMO’s.
I can highlight some of the basic responsibilities a PMO should provide to give minimal benefit to the PM’s.
You may see other services which your PMO provides or which you think are most important to a PM.

6. Benefits a PMO Will Offer
If a PMO is not used…
With several projects under way, project managers are probably not learning from one another
PM’s are probably not sharing best practices
PM’s are not challenged to continuously improve their skills
Project managers can be overtly influenced by line managers
Project managers scattered across an organization with no common bond are significantly handicapped
PMO’s are/can…
Provide qualified project managers (resource pool)
Provide support personnel to assist project managers
Allow project managers to pool their skills and knowledge
Help project managers to develop professionally
Recommended for organizations with many project managers
Provide consulting-type services and products to its constituency
Anybody have an issue with the 1st statement about a PMO?
It is always true that the problems on the right occur if there is no PMO in place?
Can an organization mitigate some of these problems without a formal PMO? Why or why not?

7. Starting a PMO
FACTS
Executives must deliver in two key areas; ongoing operational results and improvement efforts.
Functional managers are evaluated by senior management, peers, and subordinates for their ability to make things happen quickly.
Many projects involve multiple departments and functional areas.
Each organizational unit has its own language, its own standards, its own project management techniques or lack thereof.
Many central project management coordination units have sprung up in the last few years.
Today, there is estimated to be over 50,000 such organizations in the U.S. alone.
The first four realities seem are true today regardless of technology and type of organization looking to start a PMO.
Are there any other basic facts which need to be considered by those who want to start a PMO?

8. Starting a PMO PMO Requirements:
PMO value must be measurable to become sustainable.
If you cannot measure, you cannot control and if you cannot control, you cannot manage.
The PMO must be aligned with the interests and goals of the organization to sustain itself.
These “requirements” are things that a PMO needs to be able to produce and prior to proposing a PMO to management.
You should have a concrete, documented plan on how you will do this.
PMO focus is on portfolio management of:
Project investments
Resources
Strategic objectives
PMO has responsibility for educating the organization it serves; focus is on project benefits
PMO must use metrics to illustrate contributions
PMO should survey its customers routinely to verify it is adding value

9. The Next Generation PMO
This table is a comparison of the characteristics of earlier PMO models and the new generation of PMO’s
We can spend some time looking at the key differences based on my PM experience and my background in IT and business process reengineering at JPMorgan and my clients

10. What Does a PMO Look Like?
PMO Project Starter Services…
Provide well-trained and competent project managers to run key projects.
Provide project management consulting.
Review contract proposals from vendors.
Sponsor project management education.
Develop, document, and maintain project management best practices.
Conduct project culture training.
Perform project reviews.
Perform post-project reviews.
Ensure that new projects apply lessons learned.
Describe the basic design of the PMO.
Review some of the starter services and ask the group how/where they get these services in their current job as a PM.
Do they need these services from their company and can they get them without a PMO?
Typical starting point for a PMO can be three project managers, a team leader, and five team members (also called PMO support personnel).

11. PMO Models
Early on in PMO history, the Gartner Group identified three PMO models as flourishing:
"Project Repository Model”
"Project Coach Model"
"Enterprise PMO Model"
Now I will briefly describe the four models of PMO’s and some of their benefits. Think about your company and which, if any, of these PMO models is in place. Do you have a hybrid of these models or none at all? Which model would work best for your organization?
There is a fourth model, called the "Deliver Value Now Model," that should not be ignored.

12. PROJECT REPOSITORY MODEL
BENEFITS
PMO serves as a source of information on project methodology and standards.
Assumes the enterprise has embraced a cohesive set of tools for project design, management, and reporting.
Occurs most often in organizations that empower distributed, business-centric project ownership or with weak central-governance.
Data gap identification
Incremental risk management control as projects initiate and mature in the development cycle
Bottleneck identification for all projects
"Raising the bar" for quality
NOTE: This model is a decentralized model for a PMO in a mature organization with an established methodology in place for managing projects.

13. PROJECT COACHING MODEL
BENEFITS
Assumes a willingness to share some project management practices across functions and uses the PMO to coordinate the communication.
Best practices are documented and shared and project performance is monitored actively.
Results are used to raise enterprise performance and train inefficient or new project managers.
Acts as trainer
Consultant or mentor
Source of information on project processes
Often helps in project setup and post-project reviews
This model offers PMO services on a ala carte basis and less formal and more consultative in providing the services.

14. ENTERPRISE PMO MODEL ENTERPRISE PMO MODEL BENEFITS
The most permanent, consolidated, organizational model and concentrates project management within the PMO.
The mission of the EPMO implies direct management or oversight of projects.
All project managers are staffed within the shared service and consigned to projects as needed.
The EPMO acts as a contracted project manager, assessing scope, allocating resources and verifying time, budget, risk, and impact assumptions.
Many firms have since learned that a consultative approach aimed at increasing project throughput and reducing project durations requires teamwork between the EPMO and the project teams.
The idea of a PMO owning the project managers has some significant potential negative effects.
The project management expertise and standards may not filter through to functional areas.
When significant portions of the projects are part of one functional area, that functional area may not feel as committed.
This model is the most formal structure for a PMO and is often found in larger organizations with many projects across several functional areas. This type of PMO is very centralized and needs ongoing effort to make the PMO a vital part of the org. rather than think tank of PM process experts.

15. "DELIVER VALUE NOW" MODEL
BENEFITS
Puts organization goals first.
Improvements in PM methodology are viewed as a means to an end, and not the end in itself.
A holistic approach, embracing methods, skills and strategy that views project management as one piece of a bigger puzzle.
Enables consistent motivation for the entire organization to seek out accelerated project deliveries.
A stronger, more balanced project portfolio and better project performance.
A strong, well-balanced project portfolio that identifies up-to-date project workload, sponsorship, tactical progress, health status and current data gaps.
A monthly "plan and forecast" that identifies portfolio opportunities and threats, top issues and risks, projects over/under budget summary.
A project prioritization model for all portfolio projects based on ability to form a Governance Board to direct model creation.
Governance Board setup and/or modification enables the force-ranking of the portfolio of projects.
Project management training, coaching, and mentoring based on need.
This model was used with good success at a client I worked with; they successfully used a project-based portfolio management approach for investing IT dollars. An IT Investment Review Board comprised of Directors/VPs from each business function approved IT projects. IT avoided projects with more than 12 month payback period for enhancements, infrastructure. IT capital assets…

16. DETERMINING THE PMO MODEL FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION
Questions you should ask… 1. Who will initially be the main customers of the PMO? 2. What is the maturity level of the project management community? 3. How well does the Executive Team work together for the good of the enterprise? 4. Where is the greatest pain? 5. Will the PMO be able to deal with the intensity of missed delivery expectations from the executives and all of its implications? 6. Will the PMO be able to rescue troubled projects critical to the business? What if it cannot? 7. Will the PMO be funded sufficiently and supported by the executives to meet the value opportunities and threats?
1) These are excellent questions to ask yourself when proposing a PMO for any size organization especially for smaller, growing companies without a formal use of PM methodology.
2) This may result in the answer: we do not need a PMO at this time.

17. PMO Roles and Responsibilities
PROJECT MANAGEMENT MENTOR
PROJECT MANAGEMENT TOOL MENTOR
As you can understand not every PMO has all these roles or need these roles. However, you may need these roles at different times during your organization’s use of formal PM methodology.
In the reference section is a complete description of each role and the career path for the role in the PMO. Due to time limits I will not go through each role today.
RESOURCE PORTFOLIO MANAGER
PROJECT PORTFOLIO MANAGER
PMO EXECUTIVE
METHODOLOGY SPECIALIST
PROJECT MANAGEMENT TRAINER
PROGRAM MANAGER

18. PMO Services Overview
As a PMO begins to define its objectives, it needs to consider what services it will provide to meet those objectives.
It must also assess when in its implementation schedule it will provide these services.
The services that are required dictate the various roles and responsibilities.
Each service provided will require some level of staff support.

19. PMO Services
This table is a summary of the services a PMO can provide under 5 major categories. Some of these services can be offered through PM team rooms, databases and company intranet web portals or education departments.

20. Executive Buy-in of The PMO
A PMO must deliver on its promise through four major processes:
Choosing the right project mix; a new way of strategic planning
Linking the executive team's strategies to current and planned projects
Managing the project portfolio effectively
Measuring the PMO to improve project performance relative to the executives' strategic goals
A PMO must be able to help executives with execution of strategy, as determined by the project mix and flow, or the PMO will not achieve sufficient level of value to sustain itself.

21. Executives Embrace a PMO when…
PMO in instrumental in helping the executives meet the goals on which they are measured
Projects are completed on Time, on Scope and on Budget
Projects teams are Agile and project durations are shorter
The impact of the PMO is clearly felt on both the top and bottom lines of the organization
Executives and managers throughout the organization feel that they are measurable benefits of the PMO

22. Elements of An Effective PMO
Include people from the supply side and market side of the organization.
A PMO requires skills in marketing and communications.
The PMO should cover multiple disciplines.
The Right People
The Right Tools
PMOs may purchase Enterprise Project Management (EPM) tools
With low project management maturity, sophisticated tools meet heavy resistance.
PMOs without a marketing plan to gain strong buy-in on tool usage are doomed.
The Right Data
To improve, project delivery must be measureable.
This process is often accomplished with project status reports.
The PMO must diagnose system problems to help solve them.
It is good to have PM’s in the PMO from various disciplines to benefit the business.
Be careful in forcing a tool suite on PMs without a detailed and effective rollout plan (Talk about IBM BMWB, Marketing Workbench…)
Always use metrics to demonstrate hope the PMO is performing.

23. PMO Implementations fail when…
PMO did not define its value proposition.
PMO is not perceived as impacting project delivery abilities.
PMO is seen as a threat — most often too authoritative.
PMO does not have buy-in from the senior management.
PMO is too low in the management reporting.
Project Management Overhead — the bad PMO acronym.
PMO is micromanaging — trying to control every project directly.

24. Some Final Thoughts on starting a PMO…
Establishing a PMO that brings recognized value in the first six months of its existence is critical.
Recommendation to go beyond the original models.
As you plan the PMO implementation, seriously consider establishing visible value to senior management from the get-go.
Go after the low-hanging fruit that helps everyone win and the PMO will be o its way.
Avoid being perceived as sitting in the "Ivory Tower of Project Management Excellence".
Build a PMO that will "Deliver Value Now."

25. Sources and Recommended Reading
Advanced Project Portfolio Management and the PMO: Multiplying ROI at Warp Speed ~Gerald I. Kendall and Steven C. Rollins, J. Ross Publishing © 2003
The Enter Prize Organization: Organizing Software Projects for Accountability and Success ~Neal Whitten, Project Management Institute © 2000
Improving Your Project Management Skills Larry Richman, AMACOM © 2006
Building Project Management Centers of Excellence ~Dennis Bolles, AMACOM © 2002
Introduction To Project Management ~Kathy Schwalbe, Thomson Course Technology © 2006
“In Common” ~ Bud Baker, Ph.D., PM Network magazine, September 2007
“Definition Impossible” by Bud Baker, Ph.D., PM Network magazine, June 2007

26. Next Steps Overview
Executive Summary/Proposal Letter with these sections:
Business Case
Scope
Approach
Risk
Cost and Benefits
Timeline
To successfully gain executive buy-in meet functional executives to assess the current environment
Executive Presentation
The problems in managing projects
The cost of the problems
The connections between the root problem and the executive problems
Simulate one of the problems to show the executives the impact
The PMO Solution
Discussion
Conclusion

27. PMO Executive Role Responsibilities Value Required Skills When
Leads the development of the PMO value proposition
Leads the PMO strategically
Key to gaining organization-wide support.
PMO charter development and implementation
Ensuring all PMO activities are driving bottom line value
Buy-in and involvement of executives
PMO staffing
Approval of monthly forecast and work plan report
PMO staff retention
Approval authority on project mgmt. contracts
Measured by how much documented value is brought to the organization
Executive oriented
Project management professional
Has the ability to work well with all levels of the organization
Cross-functional experience with project portfolio management
Consulting background
This is the first person hired into the PMO.

28. Project Portfolio Manager
Role
Responsibilities
Value
Required Skills
When
PMO Career Path
Leads and maintains the development of the project, resource, asset and strategic objective portfolios
Reports to the PMO executive
Financial and what-if analysis.
Analyzes the project portfolio and makes recommendations to decision makers
Balances the portfolio
Evaluates and helps to implement processes to improve project flow
Publishes the monthly forecast and work plan report
Manages the development and definition of the prioritization model
Can be backup to the PMO executive
Same measurement as PMO executive
Improvement in ROI in project portfolio.
Ability to report bad news
Ability to work well with all levels of the business
Portfolio management experience for project portfolios > $25 million.
Part of the first group of people hired into the PMO
PMO Executive

29. Project Management Mentor
Role
Responsibilities
Value
Required Skills
When
PMO Career Path
Supports project rescues
Works in the field assisting project teams
Trains project managers
Conducts project assessments
Reports to the PMO executive.
Provides coaching and mentoring services to the project management community on top portfolio-related components
Works with project sponsors and project managers to identify project delivery opportunities and threats.
Same measurement as PMO executive
Monetarily identified in overcoming project team threats and opportunities
Ability to work well with all levels of business
Consultative in nature and duties
Certified Project Management Professional (PMP)
Complete grasp of PMI PMBOK® fundamentals
Ability to work in high stress situations
Part of the first group of people hired into the PMO
PMO Executive
Project Portfolio Manager

30. Project Management Tool Mentor
Role
Responsibilities
Value
Required Skills
When
PMO Career Path
Provides technical leadership, coaching and mentoring on all PMO tool utilization
Reports to the Project Management Mentors
Ensures the integrity of all data captured through the supported PMO tools
Responsible for the competence of all project managers, resource managers and team members in PMO tools and applications
Helps with project rescues in rescheduling work loads in the scheduling tool.
Same measurement as PMO executive
Data integrity and completeness
Expert in scheduling tools
Quick learner on software packages
Ability to work well with all levels of the business
Complete grasp of PMI PMBOK® fundamentals
Ability to work in high stress situations
Part of the first group of people hired into the PMO
Project Management Trainer
Project Management Mentor

31. Resource Portfolio Manager
Role
Responsibilities
Value
Required Skills
When
PMO Career Path
Oversees resource portfolio, including strategic resources
Works with Project Portfolio Manager to help balance the portfolios
Seeks to implement resource portability
Full and correct utilization of the organization's strategic resources
Tracks resource utilization trends in alignment with portfolio objectives
Assists project management community in locating just-in-time resources.
Same measurement as PMO executive
Utilization and throughput per week of the organization's strategic resources
Primary PMO executive measurement: to reduce delays caused by unavailable non-strategic resources.
Ability to work in high stress situations with project team partners
Strong negotiation skills.
Part of the second group of people hired into the PMO
Project Portfolio Manager

32. Methodology Specialist
Role
Responsibilities
Value
Required Skills
When
PMO Career Path
Works with project teams in the application of the project management methodology
Assesses team's methodology usage for method compliance and associative risk management for all key projects
Works with Project Management Mentor to identify and overcome obstacles and resistance
Same measurement as PMO executive
Percentage of project management community claiming that methodology is worthwhile
Strong background in PMI/PMBOK® concepts and their application
Ability to teach concepts to work teams
Certified as a Project Management Professional (PMP®)
Able to work with business sponsors and their project teams in project startups.
Part of the second group of people hired into the PMO
Brought in early if the work environment has very low project management maturity
Project Management Mentor
Trainer
Resource Portfolio Manager

33. Project Management Trainer
Role
Responsibilities
Value
Required Skills
When
PMO Career Path
Works with project teams, functional units and other organizations to provide and arrange project management training
Teach project management basic and advanced concepts
Same measurement as PMO executive
Agreed upon financial impact of the training, signed off by sponsors or functional executives.
Professional training experience
Part of the second group of people hired into the PMO
Brought in earlier if the work environment has low project management maturity
Methodology Specialist
Project Management Mentor

34. Data Administrator Role Responsibilities Value Required Skills When
PMO Career Path
Constructs the monthly forecast and work plan report
Document librarian
Supports all PMO role players
Provides primary support for the portfolio manager
Ad hoc reporting; PMO data repository processing and integrity
Review of portfolio project status reports and schedules for data completion
Same measurement as PMO executive
Customer satisfaction with information (not data) provided.
Ability to work in high stress situations with project team partners
Should be part of the first group of people hired into the PMO
Help Desk Specialist
Methodology Specialist