From Gartner. In this session from the June 2005 PPM Summit, Jim Duggan, Research Vice President for Gartner, looks at the elements of governance, assessment and operational processes that successful implementations have exploited.
What will project management look like in the future? One writer summons his smarts as he comes up with some dramatic predictions about governance, PMOs and the accountable PM. Is he a genius or a goofball? You be the judge...
In the history of organizations trying to implement and get some value from project management, there has been a string of buzzwords that have captured the hearts, minds and budget approvals of senior executives. Why doesn't the hype of portfolio management seem to measure up in real life?
Just what is governnance, and how will you know you’re not getting it? In fulfilling the project governance role, there are a number of key activities that any project sponsor and steering committee member should be addressing, regardless of the underlying paradigm being adopted and the overall philosophy of the project manager.
Which governance/compliance model is right for you? Like so many things in project management, there is no one-solution approach to governance. Here we discuss two models.
Contrary to a recent report, PMO longevity doesn't lead to greater success; PMO success leads to longevity. And PMOs that thrive share fundamental commonalities of alignment, from culture to customer, that they start getting right early in their existence. Here are six ways your PMO needs to be aligned.
This template is designed to assist with developing a communication plan and specific messages when new governance standards are being implemented throughout the IT organization. This template does not include training, which is also a part of standards deployment, but focuses on the “marketing effort” that is weak in many deployments.
Project workers must be active participants in any governance program in order for it to be effective. But how do you enliven the “boring” topic of governance? Here are some ideas that will help the project workforce feel more responsible for governance in your project.
While good governance rarely happens naturally, it does and can happen. But rather than waiting for the right bowl of porridge to appear before us (because that really does only happen in fairy tales), we need to make the porridge we want. As with any good meal, it helps if we start with a recipe.
Governance is the buzzword of the last few years, but is it being done properly? Our writer builds on a few experiences he's had with governance and considers some ways that we can improve things by bringing consistency to the process.
Why relate governance to a fairy tale? The more cynical among us might say that’s because the idea of effective governance and the actual practice really aren’t that far removed from fantasy. The astute reader also won’t require much effort or imagination to figure out where we’re going: some project managers suffer from too much, while others not enough; only an elusive few, however, can say that their governance is “just right”.
Stop the insanity! These three tactics are designed to help you solve today’s leadership problems and distinguish yourself as an effective leader--just when your workforce needs as many as it can get.
Groups who do not follow a governance process have many reasons for not doing it. But only the accurate determination of the rationale will result in the correct intervention. Here are six common reasons and effective responses.
In most organizations, projects compete against one another for financial and human resources as well as the attention of management. This competition, mixed with sudden lurches in organizational direction, can often have a devastating impact on a given project's budget, scope and schedule and, in some cases, it's very existence. How can the portfolio support projects and ensure they have the opportunity to realize their benefits? What are the steps the portfolio can take to ensure projects have the required supports, that expectations are being managed and that governance and oversight is being applied? Join us for this month's Portfolio HEADWAY webinar when we examine portfolio governance and oversight.
As technology becomes ever more critical to business success, changes are coming in IT governance that tighten its relationship to strategic objectives. Here, analysts discuss the business basis for the shift.
We seem to be moving from the “every PMO is different” model to the “PMOs fit into one of several types” model. However, since the heady days of Y2K the world has changed a lot--and created a lot of opportunities for PMOs to reinvent themselves and create a new model. This writer may be a power-crazed egomaniac, but he thinks PMOs can run the organization (if not the world).
Economic challenges have made the idea of Cloud Computing almost irresistable to cash-strapped CIOs, but what is the real cost of doing business in the Cloud, and what does that mean for IT Governance and standards?
When you’re out there breaking your back to help support systems, service and personnel meet the needs of your tasks and goals, do you have a firm idea as to who has your back and is ready to help you make decisions and take charge?
Greg Balestrero will promote awareness of “corporate consciousness” and advise the project management training provider on the development of new programs that focus on leadership and accountability .
Picking the right IT governance framework can be confusing. Here we take a look at many of the emerging flavors in the increasingly clustered mix.
All organizations face significant challenges in planning for and managing their IT portfolios. These challenges can be addressed, in part, by the use of systematic processes for selecting and evaluating IT investments. Based on a framework created for federal agencies, here are some key components to consider including in your project portfolio-scoring model.
How many people on your projects understand the specific roles and responsibilities that are assigned to them? A huge challenge in many organizations is that they fail to define a governance structure that includes the necessary measures to be practical. An effective structure needs to have well-defined roles and responsibilities that are understood and adopted. Without it, governance is a hollow shell.
There are many who try to embellish the formula for success, but to have true governance really requires directional leadership that has a razor-sharp focus.
Decisions on IT Governance are easy when your company has ample resources and infrastructure to implement and support it. As companies get smaller, however, those decisions get much more difficult. Here are some guidelines to help you evaluate and prioritize your needs to build a strategy for getting the maximum benefit while staying within your means.
IT governance is a relatively new concept that is still evolving...and good IT governance practices share many fundamental principles with enterprise governance.
For governance to work, the system must have credibility. If you don’t build credibility early, it’s too late to recapture it later.
The head of the PMO has a significant responsibility to the project managers to act as career coaches and mentors. Are you taking that role seriously?
As we enter 2011, it's time for a refresher--it's the perfect time to explore the cross section of views and perspectives about PMOs. It's the perfect time to see what others are thinking regarding the state of PMOs, and this article will focus on starting a PMO, avoiding PMO failure, trends and the future of the PMO.
One of the most established standards organizations (and their pronouncements) is often missing from the IT governance conversation: the International Organization for Standardization. Did you know that the ISO has been very active in the governance and compliance space? Here is an update on the standards that you might find useful.
For anyone thinking about or faced with implementing a PPM tool, here are some tips to keep in mind to help you wade through the sometimes problematic process.
Many large work initiatives run as projects would be more successful managed as programs. Such misdiagnosed projects include dimensions of size, complexity and duration that challenge the project perspective and lead to a higher likelihood of failure. A different methodology is called for, one that recognizes the difference between a program and a project and adopts the right set of skills to the task.
A case study on the benefits that governance can bring to a project proves that if you haven't done so yet, it's time to consider a formal governance function for your projects.
Our yearly look at the state of IT, collected from various industry surveys. We'll take a look at everything from outsourcing and budgets to IT's move toward something greener.
The implementation of portfolio management solutions has become increasingly popular in organizations. Why portfolio management is implemented, and the solutions that are sought, varies considerably. We see the implementation of portfolio management to complement organizational governance or compensate for its absence. Which reason is prevalent will have an impact on our role as project managers.
The purpose of this document is to assess whether a project proposal meets an acceptable standard. Does your project proposal measure up in terms of scope, cost, timeframe and governance?
Project managers usually tend to focus on the methodology for executing the technical part of the project. However, a good understanding of a practical SOA landscape and its associated challenges can help a technical PM make the SOA adoption on technology projects run even smoother.
Project management in practice struggles to evolve, and we consistently fail to take the actions we know we should. Human inertia is too strong an influence to ignore if we want the future of PM to be that much different than it is today. If it were to be different, however, where might it go? There are two overall directions that appear to be emerging, and each has advocates and detractors. Whether (or indeed if) one attains dominance will depend upon the intersection of many forces.
What constitutes a successful project? Should it be defined by budget and schedule, or by the extent to which the outcome adds real business value? Until the project management profession and its standards evolve to a more balanced “art and science” approach, success criteria will be misaligned with real business needs.
Many project managers are expanding the scope of their skills into program management, which offers career advancement and new opportunities in a competitive job market. Here, a certified PMP explains how he has benefited from a U.K.-based program management credential, and why he chose it instead of the PgMP certification offered by PMI.
Use this extensive assessment template to see how you're keeping up as a world-class CIO. This Excel spreadsheet evaluates CIO performance and attitude on 37 different levels for a complete overview.
The PMBOK Guide and other best-practice frameworks provide considerable detail on schedule, budget and risk management techniques, but much less guidance on how to manage the people-related challenges that threaten the execution of these plans, and are the most commonly cited reasons for the failure of complex change initiatives.
Cloud computing offers cost savings, flexibility and speed of deployment that can be very tempting to all kinds of IT organizations, but don't forget about the risks inherent in turning over control of your data in the age of IT Governance and SOX compliance.
Much of the ScrumMaster's role has been focused on the individual effort of leading a single team through the successful completion of a Scrum project. At some point, a person who has successfully established themselves in an organization will be looked on to take on more responsibilities. What would these responsibilities be? What kind of career roadmap would be best suited for a person who is an established ScrumMaster?
CollabNet updates its TeamForge platform and ScrumWorks project management application, focusing on scaling agile to the enterprise through flexible reporting, ease of use and other enhancements.
For many organizations, governance is still seen as an outside factor. But governance shouldn’t be imposed on your project--it should be planned in.
Vilified or blamed for inefficiencies by the majority of its constituents, project governance rarely gets the appreciation that it deserves. Why do so many people have such contempt for it, and how do those responsible for governance get out of this state? The answer might be revealed by understanding one of the fundamental laws of economics.
This webinar offers practical insights, techniques, and case examples for how to set up and manage a successful, business driven, PMO. Developed in response to member feedback from project organizations of all shapes and sizes throughout the Middle East.
In many organizations, process comes before people, and function over feasibility. No wonder people resist. And all the change management in the world won’t help if the stakeholder community lacks the skills to execute a new process. Here is guidance on putting people at the forefront of your process design efforts.
Operating with leaner workforces, organizations are adopting new approaches to professional development initiatives that align to the individual’s workflow and the translate into tangible, measurable business impact.
Nothing takes the place of solid work experience. So one PM decided to reach out to her colleagues and gather their everyday thoughts and insights into what they have learned over the years in working with different leadership styles.
