Fake Experts Are A Problem, But They’re Not THE Problem

 

As December’s theme of Human Resources transitions to January’s of Project Management Offices (PMOs), I thought I’d blog about their point of intersection: as you align the personnel who are to populate your PMO and, by extension, feed your PMO the data it needs to perform portfolio-wide analysis, what are your biggest barriers to success? If you answered “acquiring the talent I need, and placing it where it can do the most good,” then go to … the back of the class. Well, the back might be a bit far, but talent acquisisiton isn’t your biggest problem. It’s a problem, and I’ll address it – it’s just not your biggest.

Can We All Agree On One Thing?

I’ve always been fascinated by the phenomena captured by Hatfield’s Incontrovertible Rule of Project Management #14: you can put 50 PM experts in a room, and they will not agree on the color of an orange. It follows, then, that if there is such a disparity of opinion about what makes up the optimal approach to performing project management, there will also be little agreement about what sort of talent is required for the successful implementation of a PMO. So, all these so-called experts will invariably disagree about the makeup, approach, and performance parameters of the PMO. How can the fakes be distinguished from the legitimately helpful experts? Here’s a quick list. If the howling debaters exhibit any of the following, suspect them immediately.

• They insist on a robust risk management program, prior to any other information stream,
• They are wedded to a specific piece of software as THE answer, and insist all PMO participants work with that platform,
• They insist on using the PMBOK Guide® as a PMO implementation guide (don’t get me wrong – I’m a PMP® myself. It’s just that using the PMBOK Guide® as a PMO implementation guide is like using the Encyclopedia Britannica as the main source for a school science project),
• They keep referring to how things were done in their previous (famous, of course) organization, regardless if that organization is well-known for its PMO efficacy, or the circumstances that led the person to leave that organization in the first place.
• They don’t defend their position using evidence or logic, but on the alleged strength of their resume.

Who’s Left?

Let’s return to that room of 50 PM experts. If half of them disagree with the (right) half on the previous points, there will be no more than two at the end of the evaluation (rounding up). To specifically identify the true talent among those two (or to winnow down the field in one fell swoop), ask them if a “bottoms-up” estimate at completion (EAC) is preferable to a calculated one. If they answer in the negative, that’s the person you want setting the technical direction of the PMO.

Next Up: THE Problem

Now, on to the main barrier to PMO implementation success. As I discuss in my first book, your biggest problem isn’t selecting the optimal critical path scheduling software, or cost processor, or setting up an adequate training program, or establishing relations with stakeholders, or any of the other commonly-held “musts” involved in doing a PMO. No, your biggest problem is obtaining the level of participation your information systems need to generate value. Any true portfolio management information system will require timely and accurate data input from each of the participating projects. If any of the projects you are counting on for participation elect to opt out of the system, your PMO is doomed.  In order to maximize your PMO’s chances for success, you absolutely, without fail, must…

Look at that! I’m out of space for this week. I’ll cover the tactics that will amp-up your PMO’s chances of success next week. If you can’t wait until then, click on the hyperlink and order your own copy of Things Your PMO Is Doing Wrong (PMI Publishing, 2008).