Success Factors for a PMO is Much More Than Fire Charts

 

The Project Management Institute’s (PMI) - Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) contains a framework for the management elements for effective planning, initiating, monitoring and controlling and closing projects.   

PMBOK defines the PMO as “a management structure that standardizes the project-related governance processes and facilitates the sharing of resources, methodologies, tools and techniques.”   

PMOs support project managers by providing services that make project management processes effective and efficient.  The services include governance, knowledge transfer, work environment, training and continuing education of project professionals, and tactical and strategic products such as schedules, estimates, progress report, performance analysis, process/procedures management, records management, knowledge management, personnel administration, resources planning, backlog plans and program development for future projects.

“Project management is an added value service.”

A PMO that is solely focused on performance data and schedule may fall short of the PMI-PMBOK expectations.   The short PMO may excel at defining metrics, collecting data, measuring the data to performance goals, and on creating “Fire Charts” that must address the red, yellow and green activities extracted from the Critical Path Schedule.   While this is an important function of the PMO, it must be balanced with other project management knowledge, skills and judgment in other areas, such as integration, requirements, stakeholder management, procurement, risk, safety/security, and human resources.  

The PMO silo adds another organizational level between the project manager and the organization’s management.   A holistic and effective PMO requires organizational resources - staff, equipment, facilities, institutional knowledge, and qualified project management staff that is accountable for explaining to the PMO governance the variances and corrective actions to improve performance to metrics. 

PMI’s Agile Practice Guide states “The PMO exists to shepherd business value throughout the organization.”

Standard management practices have always included measuring performance to critical metrics for cost, schedule, quality, safety and security.   Depending on the project domain, the practices will be enhanced by the PMO for the project business case and be integrated with the business’ management organization and functional Models for processes and procedures.   A PMO is best comprised of personnel with:

• Demonstrated experience and understanding of the project scope
• Expert knowledge of the project industry domain, and the available materials, equipment and systems needed for the work
• Superior project management skills with a proven record of effective communications and validated decision making
• Prior management positions in an environment that closely resembles the framework and culture of the project recipient’s organization

“Pencils fit where hammers don’t.” 

Introducing a complex record management system and a new reporting Model with numerous charts and graphs will initially get attention to data and the need to expedite actions to better meet goals.   But it may not be the best strategy for improving long term performance of projects.

Fire Charts use colors to highlight various metrics.  Red highlights are used for performance metrics on issues or action items that are late, overspent, have missed critical dates on goals and decisions, or that indicate a negative risk event is triggered.  Yellow highlights are used for items nearing monitoring thresholds that indicate a performance problem.   Green highlights are used for issues and action items that are making progress within accepted ranges for performance.  

Ideally, Fire Charts should show less Red performance conditions for events and more Yellow and Green.   As corrective action resolves Red events, the PMO should conduct a review to determine if there is a deeper Lessons Learned.   The Lessons Learned may initiate a change in processes or procedures so the risk of the Red event can be eliminated or routinely mitigated during the current and future projects under the management of the PMO. 

“It’s just bad management.”

Conversely, Fire Charts that continue to increase Red performance conditions indicate that the Model may not reflect the environment, or that the PMO and project management tools, processes and procedures are not effective.  Like repeating positive outcomes for resolving Red events, the PMO needs to review negative outcomes and make changes that allow project managers and the PMO improve performance metrics -  less Red and more Yellow and Green highlights.

The primary services by PMOs are related to groupings of projects, and they directly impact the performance of project teams and the results delivered by the projects.   In some cases, the PMOs becomes a part of the organization’s structure and its business plan that integrates processes for maintaining and building infrastructure in-line with the core business product and its strategy for achieving business goals.

Dinsmore in Human Factors in Project Management compares project management and on-going management:

“Running projects calls for specialized managerial approaches to avoid pitfalls.  General managerial principles, while applicable to projects, must be tailored to accommodate each project’s unique traits.  The special needs of the project team, which are different from those of operations personnel, must also be fulfilled.

Ongoing ventures require long range planning and marketing, thus setting for long-range survival.  Projects are finite, complex and call for task oriented approach.”  

“They don’t know what they don’t know.”

But for projects, programs and portfolios, the distinction between project management and on-going operation management becomes increasing blurred as the extent of scope and duration of project work comes close to or surpasses the organization’s product cycle.   At this point, the function of managing projects and operations become even more aligned with requiring long range planning, marketing, financing, and execution and realization [business] plans.

Under these circumstances, the project knowledge, business skills, management competence and leadership IQ of the PMO staff must meet the highest proficiency in project management and its working knowledge of operations within the organization.   However, the quality of PMOs can vary just like any other business function that relies on management for creating, sustaining and growing an organization’s business.  

As Roadstrum stated in Excellence In Engineering – “Engineering work is project work”,   it could be derived that “Organization management is project management.”    And similar to organizational management, success factors for PMOs include:

• Creating a Project Management Plan (regardless of project, program, portfolio monetary value) that defines the PMO’s entire plan and its processes, procedures and deliverables for the business of managing projects
• Building a management staff that demonstrates core values of the organization and PMI ethics
• Utilizing as many procedures, processes and systems that already exist within the organization’s assets
• Capturing and maintaining retrievable knowledge and historical data for all projects
• Establishing annual training and on-going professional improvement requirements
• Creating and maintaining standards for estimating, scheduling, reporting and Key Performance Indicators (KPI)
• Correlating and reinforcing KPI with the organization’s business goals and strategies
• Conducting, documenting and sharing  periodic management review meetings that generate tangible assessments and guidance for improvement
• Developing where required simple, efficient and effective recurring processes and procedures
• Documenting, sharing, and making accessible and common practice for Lessons Learned
• Providing decision making criteria and timelines for rendering/implementing decisions
• Documenting organization policies for risk, integration, performance, quality, safety, security, and  sustainability/environmental awareness
• Establishing long-term staffing plans that integrate a career path and succession of personnel
• Supporting employee nominations, application and recognition in industry publications and professional awards