#pmchat

It’s Valentine’s Day. I have an opportunity this evening to be out celebrating romance.

An intimate and highly indulgent evening with my loved one. Easy to picture, Valentine’s Dinner for two, a totally unique evening designed for the truly romantic on…

A guest blog post I did for pmchat.net on 10/5/11.

So, you want to start a PMO?

©2011 Steve Carter

If you are reading this, you either have an interest in starting a PMO, or helping someone else start a PMO…or are just trying to figure out what a PMO is and does! Whatever the reason, I’m glad you are here, and I will do my best in a short blog entry to give you some useful information.

First of all, let’s clarify what a PMO is. For different companies, the P in PMO can stand for Project, Program, Portfolio, or any combination of those…and the MO stands for Management Office. Most companies use their PMO to oversee a group of projects and resources, which can be for a program or for your entire portfolio of projects. (Some will create a PMO specifically for a major complex project, but not keep it as an ongoing entity.)

There are three traditional primary functions or roles for the PMO. Most PMOs in existence are designed to cover one or more of these roles for the organization:

Resource pool – the PMO can be the home of a centralized or shared set of trained and talented project managers and other project professionals. Often it is more efficient to centralize those resources and apply them to the various prioritized projects rather than have every team staff their own PM resources.

Methodology/Governance stewards – the PMO can define and maintain the project methodology, tools, templates, and processes that all projects are expected to use, and can track and report on adherence to the methodology. The PMO as part of this role can also own/coordinate PM education and training to ensure all resources are capable of following the company project guidelines.

Back-office support – the PMO maintains the project registration, prioritization, and ongoing tracking/reporting processes in support of the organization.

Some mature PMOs handle all three roles for the organization, and are the hub for all project-related activity, including the interface with key partner groups like risk management, finance, procurement, etc. It is much easier for the PMO to work with these groups on standard templates, process steps, compliance guidelines, etc. than to have the partner groups try to resolve that with PMs scattered about the organization.

Many organizations only have a PMO set up in their IT function, which is where most of their projects are sponsored or managed. I am a strong believer in business PMOs to address the broader organizational change and process work that surrounds most IT projects.

The most exciting change in PMO models these days is to add a fourth focus to the three mentioned above, and that is a focus on aligning the project portfolio to the overall business strategy. Mature PMOs can move beyond a narrow focus on consistent application of the methodology to the defined list of projects, and instead can play a real role in ensuring each project is aligned with and supporting the strategic goals of the company. PMI member and author Mark Price Perry has written a great book entitled “Business Driven PMO Setup” that goes into great detail about the expanded role the modern PMO can play.

If you are thinking of starting a PMO, I urge you to make sure you are clear on what your organizational need is, and don’t do it because you hear that other people have one…you need to know what void or need it can fill.

Here are my recommended 5 key steps to create a PMO:

1) Clearly define the business need. Identify the gap between your current state and what leadership wants it to be, and how the way you manage projects needs to change. You need to know that before you determine that a PMO is your solution.

2) Based on the problem you are trying to solve, identify the roles your PMO will play.

a) If you are having trouble sharing PMs across functional or department lines, and you need a better way to take limited resources and apply them to prioritized projects…then you may need to  leverage the resource pool aspect of a PMO. b) If you are struggling with multiple methodologies, and not having a consistent approach that meets the needs of IT, legal, finance, etc….or if you have major differences in the breadth and depth of your PM skillset, then you may need to leverage the methodology/governance and training aspect of a PMO. c) If your leadership team or the broader organization is seeking more consistent approaches to project prioritization and initiation, and wants rolled up info on project statuses…then you may need to leverage the back-office aspect of a PMO. d) If you find there is no clear link between the projects you initiate and the strategy your company has defined, then you may need a PMO that helps facilitate the project selection process in conjunction with your strategic planning process.

3) Work with an executive level sponsor to create a charter for your PMO. The charter needs to clearly define:

a) the future state you defined b) the roles the PMO will play and the deliverables of the PMO c) the key stakeholders of the PMO and what they stand to gain (see my additional note below on this one) d) the authority the PMO will have e) the measures of success

4) Gain CEO and leadership team buy-in. This is critical. 5) Clearly define your implementation plan, including PMO staffing plans and education/communication plans for managers, PMs, business process owners, key partners in other divisions/departments.

I want to underscore two points…

First, make sure you assess what you have now and what the organization needs to be successful. Blindly implementing a PMO without a defined organizational need can lead to poor adoption and a lack of necessary support.

And second, the PMO is most successful when it views itself as an internal provider for multiple sets of customers/stakeholders…the leadership team…the project management community…and the key stakeholder groups like finance, IT, risk management, etc. If you set your PMO up to be the customer and expect all of those groups to do something for YOU, then you are missing the point. The PMO should be a servant function that seeks to enhance the effectiveness of everyone else….when you give them what they need, they are far more likely to give the PMO what it needs.

A PMO can help improve the clarity of priorities and project approvals…it can improve the level of PM skillset across the company…it can provide more effective tracking and reporting that can help organizations recognize and respond to problems faster…and it can help save money through more efficient and effective use of resources.