Agile Expertise Shared
PMO director and senior project manager share their experiences with agile project management methods. ...
Labels: agile, fun-stuff, pmo, techniques, video
PMO director and senior project manager share their experiences with agile project management methods. ...
Labels: agile, fun-stuff, pmo, techniques, video
The program management office is seen as an organizational model for transformation. In this situation, four operating teams are under the leadership of the PMO - delivery, process, visibility, and communications. This office will provide oversight of the various project teams deployed to achieve the transformation. ...
... "Higher Education Ministry has set up the programme management office (PMO) in line with its recent launch of the National Higher Education Strategic Plan ... " ...
Labels: education, models, organization, pmo, program-management, strategic-focus, team, transformation
There's a great article on Projects@Work about Harvard Pilgrim Health Care's (HPHC) PMO, examining the elements that have made it succesful. It's rare you hear about a successful PMO these days, and when you do, it's usually a result of the factors listed here.
HPHC has two formal PMOs; one at the enterprise level, the other within the IT Division, managed by outside vendor Perot Systems. The two units have co-existed since 1999 and have no trouble defining their roles and relationships in support of business plan delivery. According to Ron Hill, Perot Systems Client Executive to HPHC, the pathway for success is “born from the teamwork of the EPMO and the IT PMO.” Hill believes the strength of the relationship between the two units is visible through the communication between the EPMO, the IT PMO, and the business users. “Everyone must use the same methodology, vernacular, and project tools to reduce the risk of miscommunication.”And here's the full article...
Labels: integration, pmo, program-management, project-management-office
Is a project management office a center of excellence?
... "The fact is, Centers of Excellence are most often unique to the organization or business unit that creates them. However, here are some common elements ... " ...
Labels: center-of-excellence, excellence, innovation, pmo, project-management-office
In my upcoming book, Managing the Gray Areas, there's a chapter on the need for both structure and flexibility----order and disorder. I've been exchanging some emails on the subject with Garry Booker of Project Frontier, who I'm happy to say is our newest PMThink blogger.
Labels: leadership, leadership-alignment, organization, pmo
Time and time again, I've seen organizations spend months devising the perfect project management methodology, sometimes even building it into their EPM tools, only to find people complain that it slows them down and doesn't add much value.
Labels: agile, flexibility, methodology, pmo, project-management-office
For those interested, I'll be delivering the keynote on day two (July 26th) at this year's National Summit on Project Excellence for Government, hosted by The Performance Institute, a private, nonpartisan think tank for excellence in government.
Labels: events, napoleon, performance, pmo
Based on Benjamin Disraeli's well-known statement about the three types of lies, "lies, damned lies, and statistics," Jeannette Cabanis-Brewin wrote an interesting article in Developer.com about the many faulty assumptions people make based on so-called statistics about PMOs.
- There are many interpretations on what constitutes a PMO, so many statistics on PMOs are skewed from the start.
- Some reports indicated high project failure rates in organizations with PMOs. That's likely due to the fact that organizations without PMOs don't tend to measure project success. Without measures, there are no failures.
- Many surveys are poorly designed and miss crucial clarifying questions.
Labels: metrics, performance, pmo, project-management-office, project-management-success, success-measures
I recently came across an article from William Casey and Wendy Peck that originally appeared in PM Network in 2001. It's a valuable article about PMO setups, and the issues still hold true today.
Labels: pmo, program-management, project-management-office
The project management office adds value through consistent methods and discipline to increase the success rate of the project portfolio. ...
... "Board executives often approve IT projects without fully understanding them which is why organizations need to establish a Project Management Office (PMO) ... " ...
Labels: board-of-directors, discipline, it-project, methodology, pmo, project-management-office
Getting started with your PMO ... training is key to jump-starting the organization. ...
... "For an IT project, approximately 5 percent to 15 percent of the budget should be dedicated to PM functions required to carry it out. " ...
Labels: organization, pmo, project-budget, training
Yesterday, I posted a review of the book, Hard Facts, Dangerous Half Truths, & Total Nonsense: Profiting From Evidence-Based Management, by Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert I. Sutton.
Labels: execution, pmo, project-management, project-management-office, project-management-success
A common question asked of a consultant is 'what do other organisations do?'. The accurate answer - 'it all depends...' - isn't enough. It's useful to have a framework for helping the client organisation to understand why context is so important. It also helps your engagement with the organisation by helping to surface strategic implementation concerns.
Labels: critical-success-factors, CSF, Failure, pmo, Sponsor
Derry Simmel, who runs a compelling blog site called About PMOs (and is on the board of PMI's PMO SIG), has an interesting post about heroes and soldiers.
Labels: balance, change-management, it-project, people, pmo, principles, project-roles, project-teams
As reported in PM Forum, the Center for Business Practices (CBP) is sponsoring a "PMO of the Year" award. The deadline for entries is September 30, 2006.
Labels: business-results, pmo, results
There's another interesting article at Projects@Work on PMO design.
Labels: change-management, it-project, leadership, pmo, project-planning
I've read two pieces of information lately that couldn't be more different, and yet they both got me thinking about the benefits of what I call a "distributed PMO."
Labels: action, customer, customer-experience, customer-service, decisions, it-project, leadership, pmo, principles, project-manager, project-schedule, project-teams, service-orientation
Last month, I mentioned a four-part series on Projects@Work about establishing PMOs. The first installment was on defining the role of your PMO up front.
Labels: business-case, business-process, knowledge-management, lifecycles, methodology, pmo, portfolio-managment, project-planning, project-roles, training
There's an excellent article in CIO Magazine this month showing how A.G. Edwards reinvented its PMO to bring their projects to an 88% success rate (from about 50% originally).
Some key lessons:
These are all powerful and valid ways to make a PMO successful, and are philosophically aligned with the Service Oriented-Project Management (SOPM) model I've been developing. In this case, these changes collectively served to boost IT's credibility at A.G Edwards significantly.
Here's the full article. Don't miss the sidebar "8 Steps for Improving Project Management."
When Failure Is Not an Option - Editorial - CIO
Labels: business-case, cio-perspective, collaboration, customer, it-project, leadership, methodology, pmo, project-failure, project-manager, project-planning, project-schedule, satisfaction, sopm, success-story, training, value, value-management
There's a great new series in Projects@Work about establishing PMOs. The first installment talks about the importance of defining the role of the PMO right up front.
"The scope of a PMO's activities can range from a set of limited support roles all the way to decision-making about project priorities, financing, and other governance functions. Defining those roles is the necessary first step in the creation of a PMO that will carry out its mission smoothly and deliver its full value to the business."
Labels: governance, it-governance, it-project, pmo, project-roles, value
There's an excellent editorial on PM Forum about the increasing view of PMOs as "unnecessary bureaucracy" by many senior managers. Unfortunately, many PMOs have created this situation for themselves.
Labels: business-results, it-project, people, pmo, project-manager, project-teams, results
As reported in Computerworld, the FBI has hired Lockheed Martin to lead an effort to create a $425 million case management system called "Sentinel." Their current case management processes are antiquated and mostly manual.
"According to a 91-page report released last week by the U.S. Department of Justice's inspector general, the Virtual Case File effort failed partly because the FBI's IT project management office seemed to have a revolving door. Virtual Case File had "15 different key IT managers over the course of its life," the report said. "
Labels: action, course, it-project, pmo, project-management-office, project-manager
An interesting view of the PMO: an environment for IT and business collaboration where contribution is proven. ...
... "The project management office (PMO) was used in a number of cases to provide a collaborative environment for IT staff and business representatives. This environment provided contribution proof, mainly along the lines of time, cost and quality. " ...

Labels: career, collaboration, it-project, pmo, project-cost, project-management-office
Jerry's post about PMO success and failure experiences reinforces the point that it's essential to have a clear plan for what a PMO is intended to achieve. With that goes the requirement for all the usual requirements for a successful project - one to set up the PMO. What is it for, how will it be funded (from 5 to 15% of an enterprise project resources), where it will fit in the organisation. The charter for a PMO needs to be comprehensive.
Labels: it-project, plan, pmo, project-failure, project-plan
Having trouble getting consensus in your organization on the value and structure of your PMO? If so, you're not alone.
Labels: business-results, culture, it-project, pmo, portfolio-managment, project-teams, results, value, value-management
There's a new addition to the blogosphere, and it's a good one for anyone implementing a PMO.
Labels: it-project, pmo, value, value-management
A contributor to eProject's eLounge mentioned this excellent article from Chief Project Officer. It's written by Tom Westcott, founder of Project Solutions Group. Several years ago, I saw him speak on scheduling techniques at the PMI Delaware Valley Chapter's Annual Workshop, and was very impressed with his dynamic style and pragmatic approach.
PMOs must deliver value to survive. Value is not templates, tools, methodology, processes, training; these are means to driving value. Value is gaining efficiencies, achieving cost savings, increasing customer satisfaction, reducing time-to-market, increasing revenue and profit, reducing deficits, or increasing competitive advantage. Too many PMOs wrap their whole mission and existence around the services they provide instead of their impact on the business. Executives buy value.
Too many PMO directors are former project managers who see their role as project management evangelists. This
leads to a myopic view, and often they are ill-prepared or unable to work strategically with executive management. PMO directors need to speak and think in business terms, financial and organizational. Nix the "project-management speak." How does this project benefit the organization and support our strategy? And how can we get it done as quickly and inexpensively as possible? That's what they care about.
Labels: alignment, business-impact, business-strategy, customer, it-project, it-strategy, methodology, pmi-project-management-institute, pmo, project-cost, project-manager, project-manager-tips, satisfaction, tools, training, value, value-management
There's another project management community on the internet, and this one's from eProject, the leading web-based "on demand" project management tool.
"We've created the premier destination site for portfolio, program and project managers who want to interact with industry peers, share knowledge, learn best practices, find out what's new, or just get up to speed quickly on the topics and issues most important to them," said Christian Smith, eProject vice president of sales and marketing. "eLounge is unmatched in the industry in terms of original content, downloads and the stature, knowledge and experience of our guest bloggers," continued Smith.
Labels: ceo, it-project, knowledge-management, pmo, portfolio-managment, program-management
Interthink Consulting and Projects@Work are conducting a comprehensive research study on current PMO practices.
All those participating in the study, which consists of 55 questions, will receive a detailed copy of the research findings on May 31st, 2006. The study covers the following areas:
To learn more about the study, to participate, or to see the results of the last study they did in 2002, read on...
Interthink Research
Labels: business-results, pmo, results, value
Just like SOX compliance, banks are wise to implement the PMO, or project management office, approach to Basel II compliance. Article explores Basel II and the approach to risk management projects ...
... "Once an approach has been chosen, the bank will need to put in place a project management office (PMO) to address the approach-specific requirements of Basel II. " ...
Labels: compliance, pmo, project-management-office, sox
It seems that everywhere you turn, someone is recommending a Project Management Office as the solution to an organisation's project management woes. This 2003 article from CIO magazine makes a familiar point and provides some statistics that still have validity. Office Discipline: Why You Need a Project Management Office
Labels: alternative-thinking, business-process, cio-perspective, it-project, pmo, project-management-office, project-planning, tools
There's a great article in Computerworld about finding the balance between having well-defined, repeatable processes and allowing businesses (and project managers) the freedom to innovate. A flexible approach is key.
Studies have shown that the consistent use of processes increases repeatability, productivity and quality while decreasing project delivery time. But these same processes can appear as a wall to the business people who are pressured to getThe article goes on to suggest ways to minimize conflict and satisfy both audiences. Read on...
their ideas to market. The project team ends up on the battle line between the program management office (PMO) enforcing the procedures and the business people seeking to retain their freedom.
Labels: balance, business-process, managing-conflict, people, pmo, program-management, project-management-office, project-teams
Whirlpool makes leadership moves to support the integration of the planned Maytag acquisition in a controlled and disciplined manner through a project management office, or PMO. Appointed execs bring strong credentials to their new leadership roles. ...
... "Whirlpool Corporation announced the appointment of Ted Dosch, currently corporate vice president and controller, to corporate vice president, finance, Project Management Office, which manages the planning and integration of the anticipated Maytag acquisition. Larry Venturelli, currently vice president, Investor Relations, will succeed Dosch as vice president and controller. These moves are effective immediately. ... In his new role, Dosch will lead the planning and integration of all financial processes and internal controls associated with the anticipated Maytag acquisition. Venturelli will assume the controller responsibilities and continue to provide leadership to the Investor Relations activities on an interim basis. A successor to Venturelli will be named at a later date. Both Dosch and Venturelli will continue reporting to Templin. " ...

Labels: accelerate, acquisition, branding, brands, global, pmo, project-management-office, project-planning, project-roles