Could anyone give me a five or ten issues to consider when contemplating setting up a PMO? Or could someone point me in the right direction to find this information? Saving Changes...
The next article that I'm writing for the PMO department will address it in part. However, I'll try to give a brief answer now with a promise to revisit it more than once in the future.
An extremely important factor to consider when setting up a PMO is the maturity of the company as well as the culture and organizational style. The issues associated with this make up most of the important issues regarding setting up a PMO. Of central importance is the question of the maturity of the IT function within the company. A related issue is to what extent is the business dependent on the IT function for survival? An in depth discussion of this topic would require a book so for now I'll leave it at that.
Another important issue is the ability of the organization to staff a PMO function with managers who are competant, sufficiently senior and energetic as well as aligned with the goals of the organization. If the staffing can be done properly, is the organization mature enough to accept leadership from Program Managers who may appear at some times to be working across the organization or even at cross purposes with the structure in place? This must be addressed directly through the governance function of the PMO.
Alignment with the goals and strategies of the organization is by itself an important issue that is part of organizational maturity but is important enough to warrant a separate mention. If there is insufficient alignment the primary goal of the PMO must be to achieve alignment. This will impact the nature of the PMO itself and how it is introduced.
As I think about this, I keep coming back to maturity of one sort or another. For example, the maturity of the organization as it relates to getting systems work done will be an important factor determining what skills and capabilities need to be introduced so that the PMO will be effective. In other words, if the organization has trouble getting things done, remedial work in project management and other functional areas will be required.
Does the organization have a good handle on the expected return of each investment it makes? Is there a good measurement system in place for project success based largely on ROI?
Here is a summary of some of the issues to consider:
* Organizational maturity * Project management and IT maturity and capability * Ability to plan and measure ROI * Degree of alignment with corporate goals and strategies
Other issues not discussed above:
* Geographic issues -- is the organization very spread out or contentrated in a few locations? * Value chain issues -- to what extent is the organization dependent on partnerships and relationships with other business entities? What is the nature of those relationships? (This is largely a question of whose in charge). * Market position issues -- is the organization under great pressure in the marketplace due to lots of competition or is the organization clearly one of the top two competitors in its market. * Market marturity issues -- is the market the company trades within mature and well defined or an emerging one that is still seeking clear definition? * Organization style/culture issues -- do managers in the organization feel like they are herding cats or is there a strong command and control style organization?
That's a rambling (sorry) discussion off the top of my head on a Saturday morning of the issues related to setting up a PMO. If there are other specific questions, I'd be happy to provide answers, if I am able.
I see a lot of philosophical/theoried content on approaches, definitions, etc. in creating a PMO but I have yet to see any "instructions" on how to effectively evaluate and plan the implementation of a PMO. I realize this is a broad topic with many definitions but is there such thing as a "PMO's For Dummies" out there (not to belittle the importance)?
This is literaly a Million dollar question. I have done it 3 times, successfully and I am not sure that I would give the instructions away. Saving Changes...
I appreciate the candidness and I understand your position. With that said, this is a community designed to "assist". I wasn't looking for the keys to the Cadillac, just directions on where to find them!
I am not necessarily asking for a step-by-step breakdown on the creation of a PMO. I was looking for some additional content (i.e. case studies, white papers, articles, etc.) that would document some of the hurdle rates, critical success factors, etc. encountered during an actual implemenation. Each organization is different which creates different expectations, obstacles, etc. I'm just looking to avoid unnecessary pitfalls (if possible).
You did not understand my point, and I will repeat it in this way:
In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice, except in practice.
If you seriously require assistance, and not just a discussion, drop me an email note, and I will try to help.
What you should realise, is there is no silver bullet in this area. This problem is the domain of consultancy, and of liability (in the case of failure), not only in monetary terms, but in terms of damage to the profession.
The main issue in getting this done is changing the organisation. Many (I repeat MANY) people will be 'disadvantaged' in terms of their previous span of control (especialy middle management) - hearin lies the biggest challange.
I strongly suggest that people who have not done this not volunteer advice lightly. Participate in the discussion by all means (community participation is great). Saving Changes...
Douglas BrownBusiness Advisor| Decision Integration LLCAlexandria, Va, United States
I like the PMO set up flow in Frank Winters' article. It certainly confirms what I have been doing. I believe that the Charter should be step 3, rather than 1. First establish the business proposition, then get agreement on who is in charge. I have seen a couple of major PMO's fail miserably be ause you just can't set PM up in an organization that is not willing to fix accountability and define reporting chains. In that environment, you can have PM at the local level, but you cannot have an enterprise PMO. Saving Changes...
I agree with much that have been posted. Some important factors (critical in our successes and in my opinion) have been mentioned lightly or not at all. These are: (1)CHAMPION (very strong credible within the organization), (2)VALUE (benefits in $$$, operational efficiencies, speed to market, etc.), (3) TIME (required time for setting it up and to see visible results) (4) COMMUNICATION (from the very start critical that everyone is on the same page) (5) CHARTER (what will it do - defining and agreeing on all it's components with all stakeholders).
Culture of an organization (including IT) has to be assessed before attempting PMO. Chosen champion (his/her skills should be carefully considered) should complement what does not exist or is too much of within the organization. Did I mention egos? How about attitudes "my way" or "no way."
Truly I could write a "case study book" and I have two cases. One, in which IT had to charge back for all the project related work other business units, the other, speed to market of consumer products had to be improved by 50% within 6 monts.
So, if you would like to discuss this further just drop me an e-mail. Saving Changes...
Read "The Project Office: Teams, Processes and Tools" Strategic Analysis Report from the Gartnet Group (www.gartnet.com), dated August 1, 2000, written by Light and Berg. You might need to pay for this document if you don't have a Gartner's licence. It a fantastic strategic report Saving Changes...
Richard...I have the doc, available online from TechRepublic...will e-mail seperately. It's well worth reading, as is the short book "The Project Office (Best Management Practices)" Saving Changes...
