I've been tasked by my VP to define 3-5 value add's of a PMO. Here is the catch, each of these, whether tactical or strategic, must be able to be tracked by a tangible metric.
So far I have the following items and am looking for additional suggestions
Am I off base or trend in the right direction? Saving Changes...
Sort By:
Digvijay SinghProject Manager| Mastek LimitedPune, India
I think you are on the track, but I think 4 and 5 are similar, few important one should be included are :
1. Productivity in hrs per day per resource for standard wor types
1.a. Productivity forecasts
2.Defect detection and injection prediction for repetitive kind of work
3. Resource wise ROI(May be part of utilization one)
4. Billable/Non Billable duration per resource (May be part of utilization)
5. Internal Vs external rework (may be included in rework effort as you mentioned, to know if defects are detected before they leak to customer)
Hope it helps to freeze your list. Saving Changes...
Mark Price PerryBusiness Driven PMO Evangelist| BOT InternationalOrlando, Fl, United States
Michael, please don't take this personally, but you are off track and you and your VP heading in the wrong direction. You have been tasked to define the value add of the PMO. I would like to suggest a few things for your consideration:
First, this is not your PMO (I am assuming you are the PMO manager). You are but the steward in whose hands the PMO is entrusted. The PMO belongs to the constituents for which the PMO was created and exists to serve. Hence, only the constituents can define value add. And, only measures that they come up with and want to see are important.
Second, your constituents may or may not care about your list of items. To the extent your list is aligned to the Goals of the PMO, the items become relevant. Otherwise, they are just the same old project management community jargon and approach that for so many PMOs does not resonate nor add value.
Third, I might be wrong, but the nature of your assignment and the items that you have listed, appear to me to be the all too familiar and tell-tale sign that your PMO is not constituent-oriented and it does not have any of the following:
Top problems for the PMO to solve (no more than three is recommend)
Vision
Mission
Goals and measurable objectives (for each problem above to be solved)
I would strongly recommend that you sit down with your VP and suggest that he and the other VP-level constituents for whom the PMO exists to serve complete and provide to you the following Business Driven PMO Planning Template (Figure 2.4, Business Driven PMO Setup; Practical Insights, Techniques, and Case Examples for Ensuring Success, shown with permissission from J. Ross Publishing).
I would also recommend that you convene a meeting with all providers of input, having first met with each of them individually, to arrive at a unanimous consensus. This will ensure that their PMO is a constituent-oriented PMO and that they or committed to it [their PMO]. Otherwise, you will end up with a inwardly-focused PMO, with measurements more aligned to PM community speak than constituent needs, and the very real likelihood that you will have to defend the merit of the PMO and engage "selling the PMO" which is absolutely the wrong thing to do. The idea and value of a PMO should never be "sold", never. There is a poignant case study in this book that describes your exact situation and how two different PMO managers handled it; one with great success and the other with failure.
Good luck...!
Saving Changes...
Anonymous
I could not agree more with Mark. Saving Changes...
Anonymous
I agree with MArk's advice to. Three years ago we started a PMO. Our focus was on implementing project server and fixing a broken methodology. We did these things to an extent, but no one outside the PMO really cared or saw value. Only now, are we starting to think in terms of our customers and thinking about value through their eyes, not ours. I would put the blame on our PMO manager and us for having the wrong focus. But I would also giv eus credit for recognizing this and making improvements to what we are doing. Saving Changes...
As Mark, suggests, I would take a top down approach. The PMO can have a more significant impact on the business if it can focus on better aligning projects to business objectives. This can translate to a metric of having a higher percentage of projects aligned to business imperatives on an annual basis. If you need a lower level metric, I would add improving project execution by increasing success rates, as defined by the project sponsor.
On my blog I have a link to Steve Romero’s, IT Governance Evangelist on PPM, webinar that discusses PMO metrics: http://tiny.cc/E3FpS and might help you further.
Saving Changes...
Elyse NielsenSenior Project Manager| Ascension Health Information ServicesHaines City, Fl, United States
Hi Mike,
For your suggestions, i would look at it from another level. Place the value in business terms. Why is earned value important? Well it is a key predictor of project performance and the canary in the tunnel for funding. It let's the organization know if the project is on budget and on target or if adjustments will be needed. So with the PMO, the organization has a better perspective on project performance.
The other item is to review the past projects for the business benefits desired and see if those have been acheived. Acheiving those business benefits is a key marketing item for the PMO. These items will help to justify the PMO's existence currently.
After you have completed the justification, i would then recommend engaging the customers and stakeholders in Mark's suggestions. It is essential to have the business ascertain why the PMO is in existence, and to be engaged in that value. Currently it sounds as if there is a disconnect there.
