Ripple Effect: Terence Upson, Cricket Communications Inc., Denver Colorado

  PM Network  

Terence Upson doesn’t waste time. In his first 18 months at upstart wireless carrier Cricket Communications Inc., he helped launch an enterprise program management office (PMO). Aware of the skepticism, he made sure the PMO delivered—tracking projects from nascent concepts to bottom-line results.

“Project management isn’t just, ‘Here’s the project, now go deliver,’” says Mr. Upson, vice president of the company’s PMO. “It begins when someone in a group says, ‘I have an idea,’ and it’s part of the whole life cycle of the project. That’s how you add value to the organization.”

What is the PMO’s role in managing projects?

We designed it to work with the business groups to facilitate and execute projects. We define the business value of the project before we talk about scope, budget and schedule. Because we have a seat at the table early on in the project decision-making process, we can make sure projects aren’t chosen arbitrarily. That puts us in the unique position of being able to guide decision-making from the outset.

And we stay with the project throughout the entire life cycle. Once a project is complete, we come back around with the business owners to measure results and determine whether it met expectations— and if not, why not and how can we …

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