A Blueprint for Creating a Profitable and Sustainable Technology PMO (Part 1)

James Terry is New York City-based technology consultant and delivery practice leader with 20 years' experience of successfully managing large, complex business technology projects to completion. He has provided IT strategy and thought leadership to senior executives in multiple business sectors and has won awards for innovation. James has written whitepapers on strategies and best practices for a more effective and efficient project management practice. He can be reached at [email protected].

  Governance   PMO  

Twenty years ago, the rapid growth of enterprise technology solutions ushered in a new approach on how best to implement and manage projects. Unfortunately, initial implementations turned out to be far more complicated than originally planned and customer expectations were rarely met. At the time, several independent studies concluded that less than 25% of projects were completed on time or within budget.

In an effort to stem the bleeding, organizations such as the Project Management Institute (PMI) and the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) developed what are now considered de facto standards and methodologies designed to ensure the successful delivery of IT projects.

As shared in a 2013 report by the Project Management Institute, the U.S. Government wastes $148 million for every $1 billion spent on programs due to ineffective program management. Today, there is a massive amount of information on how to manage projects well: A Google search on “project management” will net 37 million results. Given this wealth of information, it would seem managing projects should not be that difficult.

Project managers are told that if they adhere to accepted principles and guidelines, all should go as planned. Projects will be completed on time and within budget and--most importantly--the expectation of the business owners and end customers will …

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