How would the Enterprise PMO add value to the organisation advising on a process for evaluating projects under the corona virus (covid-19) cloud?
Amany NuseibehSpeaker, Global Leader | Optimal ConsultingSydney, Nsw, Australia
In these stressful times, as our global village is facing the corona virus (covid-19), individuals, organization and countries are responding with anxiety and fear. What would be the best added value and contribution that an Enterprise PMO can make?
- What recommendations would add value to the organization's leadership?
- What processes could the Enterprise PMO recommend to evaluate projects and program within the portfolio that are in flight as well as those in the pipelines?
- How would the Enterprise PMO operate differently? Saving Changes...
I'd suggest that the general criteria for project selection and prioritization would be the same but with tightened portfolio budgets, where the line is drawn on "what's in" and "what's out" would be higher.
I could see projects which could be delivered with remote workforces being more palatable than those requiring in person work, especially in harder hit areas.
The Enterprise PMO itself should model good remote work behaviors and (potentially) serve as a CoE for staff who are struggling with the transition.
Kiron
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1 reply by Amany Nuseibeh
Mar 22, 2020 10:40 PM
Amany Nuseibeh
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Thank you @Kiron for sharing your thoughts. I agree with you - the ability to work remotely with tightened budgets and clarity on what's in and what's out are definitely the approach to improved project selection criteria during these challenging times.
Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
That´s beyond the situation of Corona Virus. Please let me speak directly and bluntly: if the EPMO/PMO did not help the organization to be ready for this type of situations then it is not delivering value (ok, I know that to decide if value is delivering or not depends on the strategy of the organization). Just to put this in terms of a new "buzzword" what organizations are facing to day is the real meassure about who agile they are and how much agility the got in the last years because, by definition, agility is: "Be able respond to a wide variety of unexpected external surprises and create external surprises. Being agile will assist businesses who face unpredictable circumstances:". The PMO/EPMO is key on that. At the end, it is a good opportunity for change a risk into opporutnity, something that lot of people said but few people put in practice.
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1 reply by Amany Nuseibeh
Mar 22, 2020 10:42 PM
Amany Nuseibeh
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Thank you @Sergio for your contributions. The current situation is unprecedented, while agility is required, the criteria goes hand in hand in what it means to be agile in this specific situation.
Well i think PMO's must manage to get the right set of tools for their teams which may help them in remote working. Tools like TaskQue, Todoist , Zoom , Google Suite may help them in staying organized, tasks management, collaborating with team members and so on.
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1 reply by Amany Nuseibeh
Mar 22, 2020 10:46 PM
Amany Nuseibeh
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Thank you @Atif for sharing your contributions. I agree that having the right set of tools and software to enable remote work is critical. Unfortunately, not all activities and not all projects could resume in a timely manner even with these available. Taking the example of capital works projects in the event of a complete curfew / lock-down.
Saving Changes...
Amany NuseibehSpeaker, Global Leader | Optimal ConsultingSydney, Nsw, Australia
Mar 19, 2020 7:49 AM
Replying to Kiron Bondale
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Amany -
I'd suggest that the general criteria for project selection and prioritization would be the same but with tightened portfolio budgets, where the line is drawn on "what's in" and "what's out" would be higher.
I could see projects which could be delivered with remote workforces being more palatable than those requiring in person work, especially in harder hit areas.
The Enterprise PMO itself should model good remote work behaviors and (potentially) serve as a CoE for staff who are struggling with the transition.
Kiron
Thank you @Kiron for sharing your thoughts. I agree with you - the ability to work remotely with tightened budgets and clarity on what's in and what's out are definitely the approach to improved project selection criteria during these challenging times. Saving Changes...
Amany NuseibehSpeaker, Global Leader | Optimal ConsultingSydney, Nsw, Australia
Mar 19, 2020 9:28 AM
Replying to Sergio Luis Conte
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That´s beyond the situation of Corona Virus. Please let me speak directly and bluntly: if the EPMO/PMO did not help the organization to be ready for this type of situations then it is not delivering value (ok, I know that to decide if value is delivering or not depends on the strategy of the organization). Just to put this in terms of a new "buzzword" what organizations are facing to day is the real meassure about who agile they are and how much agility the got in the last years because, by definition, agility is: "Be able respond to a wide variety of unexpected external surprises and create external surprises. Being agile will assist businesses who face unpredictable circumstances:". The PMO/EPMO is key on that. At the end, it is a good opportunity for change a risk into opporutnity, something that lot of people said but few people put in practice.
Thank you @Sergio for your contributions. The current situation is unprecedented, while agility is required, the criteria goes hand in hand in what it means to be agile in this specific situation.
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1 reply by Sergio Luis Conte
Mar 23, 2020 12:22 PM
Sergio Luis Conte
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Sorry @Amany but the current situation is not unprecendented. We have SARS, Flu-A before and others in some parts of the world like Dengue (that´s today). The mind shift is to understand that value is added when PMO´s help to prevent instead to cure. Nothing new below the sun.
Saving Changes...
Amany NuseibehSpeaker, Global Leader | Optimal ConsultingSydney, Nsw, Australia
Mar 20, 2020 8:16 AM
Replying to Atif Qureshi
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Well i think PMO's must manage to get the right set of tools for their teams which may help them in remote working. Tools like TaskQue, Todoist , Zoom , Google Suite may help them in staying organized, tasks management, collaborating with team members and so on.
Thank you @Atif for sharing your contributions. I agree that having the right set of tools and software to enable remote work is critical. Unfortunately, not all activities and not all projects could resume in a timely manner even with these available. Taking the example of capital works projects in the event of a complete curfew / lock-down. Saving Changes...
Graham ColborneEnterprise Portfolio Management Office ManagerEpping, Nsw, Australia
I’m not sure that the EPMO’s role is any more than ensuring that the organisation’s health and safety department have been consulted, that any advice coming from them is catered for in standard operational processes and is adhered to.
I wouldn’t expect the EPMO to advise on the correct safety boots to wear on site, just that PPE must be worn in accordance with OHS guidelines. Similarly I wouldn’t expect the EPMO to advise on working practices in a COVID-19 environment.
The other avenue of course is the organisation's Business Continuity Plan. If the organisation has one and it has been properly validated.
Don't get me wrong I'm not saying you should pass the buck here. As a Senior Leader of course you will be involved in evaluation and decision making and will be passing this on through the EPMO. But hopefully the organisation will have specialists in this area that should be taking the lead. Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
Mar 22, 2020 10:42 PM
Replying to Amany Nuseibeh
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Thank you @Sergio for your contributions. The current situation is unprecedented, while agility is required, the criteria goes hand in hand in what it means to be agile in this specific situation.
Sorry @Amany but the current situation is not unprecendented. We have SARS, Flu-A before and others in some parts of the world like Dengue (that´s today). The mind shift is to understand that value is added when PMO´s help to prevent instead to cure. Nothing new below the sun. Saving Changes...
I think organisations must invest in tools that can help their teams work remotely beyond COVID 19 pandemic. To some organisations particularly in Africa people are very much used to work in the office and with the current lockdown have been forced to empower staff to work from home. Its a culture change that needs to be properly managed and in the long run there a lot of savings for organisations when staff can work remotely from home. Saving Changes...
Thomas WalentaGlobal Project Economy ExpertHackenheim, Germany
Most PMOs aggregate project reports and that has had a value of transparency (1) at least. Some enable capabilities (2), to increase the values of PM satisfaction and efficiency. And others engage in portfolio management (3). All should help with enterprise risk mgmt, though this is often and should be a responsibility held by ERM/IA.
1. With Corona, transparency could be increased to include metrics on staff availability, redundancies, partners etc. as well as supply chains.
2. Enabling capabilities could include to extend the knowledge base by Corona management tools and techniques, good practices and to hold (virtual) sharing calls for these tools and techniques.
3. In portfolio management a PMO should question the old selection critera, challenge the strategy, or introduce additional Corona induced criteria. Resource assignment to selected projects needs to be revisited. Then a review the portfolio probably suggest a change in the set of active projects. Support closing down projects and help jumpstart new ones.
For any other area a PMO is active similar considerations will lead to pro-active support and value to the organization. Saving Changes...
