Marcel ABI NASSIFProgram Manager| Amerab Business Solutions (ABS)Beirut, Lebanon
Hello, hope everything is going fine, especially during these harsh times.
I was wondering if you could help me in something: I was asked to create from scratch a PMO in an existing IT company. They are a hybrid company, as they have their operational departments (finance, HR, procurement...) separated from their projects, and their project managers are "fairly" performing, knowing that they lack proper documentation in terms of hierarchy, workflow and tasks, roles and responsibilities...
Can you please advise me on where to start, and if there's a PMO course, PMO certification, white paper, proper framework... that might help me in navigating in a straightforward way this project? I might use several resources to actually construct what might work for me.
Any help is appreciated.
Best,
Marcel Saving Changes...
Arshi BhutaniProgram Manager| Tata Consulting Engineers LimitedMumbai, Maharashtra, India
Marcel, i have also done similar exercise for my organization. It is a step wise approach. You need to first identify the goal or objective, what is expected from the PMO and then next step is stakeholder identification. Further the process or methodology needs to be aligned with respect to work needs to be done Saving Changes...
Hi Marcel,
When creating a new PMO, a good place to start is understanding what problem you are trying to solve. The majority of PMOs are cost centers - no company would want to introduce one unless they were sure there would be a benefit to the organization... So what is that benefit? It sounds simple, but too often I see people starting a PMO by rolling out templates, with scant consideration for what the organizations actually need. PMOs with a mandate to accelerate delivery can look very different to PMOs with a mandate to reduce risk/ improve compliance. Personally, I try to view the PMO as a business catalyst - putting processes in place help deliver the right things, faster. More on that here: https://www.hotpmo.com/blog/pmo-as-a-catalyst/ Certification-wise, you could look at PPSO, P3O, and AIPMO. If you want a book, you could try Bill Dow's book: The PMO Lifecycle: Building, Running, and Shutting Down. All if these will help you, but remember to keep your eyes on the prize and ensure you build PMO services that solve the actual problems that the organization needs to fix.
Best of luck with your new adventure!
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1 reply by Bill Dow
Jan 07, 2021 9:04 AM
Bill Dow
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Thanks John, I appreciate the call out on the book. It is literally the guide for building PMOs from scratch.
Marcel, I think everyone has given you great advice, I would just a couple things for sure.
Yes, the PMO is core part of your business, and should be treated that way. I think that people roll out tools and processes because they are trying to solve the project problems which is what I have seen as major reasons PMO get started. But you do have to look at the PMO as a core component of the business as you would HR, Finance...etc.
If you would like I am happy to setup a call with you and talk through some of your issues or concerns. I am managing my 10 PMO now, I have lots of hands on experience. :) Let me know!
Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
Create a PMO or any other business unit is a matter that rest on business administration field. Just to put references in the framework of PMI (while is outside the framework) you can find literature in all related to business analisys because creating a business unit is a matter of solve a business problem. The brief of the process is: 1-decide if project/program/project management functions or procedures need to be included in the list of functions/procedures inside your organization. 2-decide if those functions/procedures will be through existing business units or a new dedicated business unit needs to be created. If it needs to be created then create (taken into account all the organizational impacts) and call it as best fits, PMO for example. Saving Changes...
Marcel ABI NASSIFProgram Manager| Amerab Business Solutions (ABS)Beirut, Lebanon
Thank you all for your input.
I was part of the team that did the analysis, and the PMO needs to be created as a separate unit.
They lack proper templates, knowledge base, even standardization...
My point is to have a (somehow generic) roadmap that would allow me to go thru the PMO creation in a streamlined way.
Needless to say that i would be customizing the content to properly fit the need, but i wanted to start with something already established/tested, and not recreate the wheel.
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1 reply by Sergio Luis Conte
Dec 30, 2020 7:29 AM
Sergio Luis Conte
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As I mentioned is the same than any other business unit. You do not need template. You need functions/process. Remember: organizations are open systems that answer to stimuli thanks the defined strategy where strategy is composed by functions/process. Then, because the organization decided to have it as a separate business unit is time to define which functions/process the PMO will have to answer externar stimuli. Where you can find it? Inside the PMBOK for example just in case you decide to follow the PMI way to do things. So, go to your stakeholders and ask them what they expect from the PMO and map it to functions/process: quality, risk, change, etc, etc
The PMO is evolving - I recommend the following webinar, "PMXPO2017: Driving Success With the Modern Hybrid PMO." A thought-provoking view on the PMO as a trusted advisor to the organization.
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
Dec 29, 2020 9:11 AM
Replying to Marcel ABI NASSIF
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Thank you all for your input.
I was part of the team that did the analysis, and the PMO needs to be created as a separate unit.
They lack proper templates, knowledge base, even standardization...
My point is to have a (somehow generic) roadmap that would allow me to go thru the PMO creation in a streamlined way.
Needless to say that i would be customizing the content to properly fit the need, but i wanted to start with something already established/tested, and not recreate the wheel.
As I mentioned is the same than any other business unit. You do not need template. You need functions/process. Remember: organizations are open systems that answer to stimuli thanks the defined strategy where strategy is composed by functions/process. Then, because the organization decided to have it as a separate business unit is time to define which functions/process the PMO will have to answer externar stimuli. Where you can find it? Inside the PMBOK for example just in case you decide to follow the PMI way to do things. So, go to your stakeholders and ask them what they expect from the PMO and map it to functions/process: quality, risk, change, etc, etc Saving Changes...
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