Wai Mun KooPMO Director| Intergraph PP&MSingapore, Singapore
Many people believe that 'there is nothing that cannot be outsourced nowadays'. I have seen government sector in Singapore that outsourced its entire IT function to an external vendor for cost saving reason. The question here is, if the entire IT function can be outsourced, can we do the same for PMO too? Assuming we can outsource the entire PMO, what are the key conerns and problems we are expected to face along the way? Can these concerns and problems be addressed easily? Will the effort to manage these concerns and problems outweigh the benefits gained through outsourcing? Saving Changes...
Elyse NielsenSenior Project Manager| Ascension Health Information ServicesHaines City, Fl, United States
HI,
Anything can be outsourced, the item is more the reasons for outsourcing. Quite often support services are outsourced. Sometimes implementations are outsourced. With any outsourcing arrangement, the key is to keep leadership in house. Therefore if you outsource IT and PMO support services, be sure to have a positioning in house which manages the relationship and is supportive of the outsourcing arrangement. Decisions and Accountability for managing the sourcing arrangement would lie with this position.
If a sizable chunk of IT is outsourced with many projects being done by the vendor, then I think it definitely makes sense to outsource that part of the IT PMO. A PMO at the outsourcer will be better able to do the oversight and can be better overseen by the customer.
That being said, if the IT PMO was the only one in the company, then it would be a good idea to setup a small Corporate PMO to liaise with the outsourced PMO to make sure the supplier relationship is properly managed and that the internal parties have an internal channel to follow up grievances and settle disputes. Also a small internal business focused PMO can better sense the changing business climate and steer the external PMO and hold it accountable for at least the most critical areas. Saving Changes...
Mick GavinPMO Co-Ordinator| NHS PensionsFleetwood, United Kingdom
In simple yes or no terms, I would personally say that the answer is NO.
Even though both Peter and Elyse say 'yes' they then qualify this by indicating a need to keep 'something' in house to manage the relationship.
Outsourcing is not a silver bullet either contrary to ehat some people think. Saving Changes...
Wai Mun KooPMO Director| Intergraph PP&MSingapore, Singapore
Mick, Peter & Elyse, thanks for sharing your thoughts. It seems to me the general agreement is that while the transactional and operational piece of PMO can be outsourced, the strategic piece of it is better off maintained within the organization. Saving Changes...
Martyn PrettyDirector| Bowler Hat ConsultingFranklin, Act, Australia
Hi All,
Yes the PMO can be "Successfully" and "Effectively" outsourced. I work for PM Partners, a Consulting and Delivery company and we currently outsource PMO's for several companies.
The important thing for an outsourced PMO to succeed is that the PMO is still sponsored by the Company C-Level executives. Saving Changes...
Anonymous
Sometimes we need to ask ourselves if we're asking ourselves the right questions. At what point does an organization cross the line between "outsourcing" for a deliverable and simply "contracting" for a deliverable? Does defining the acquisition of the deliverable as "outsourcing" or "contracting" matter? If a person deciding to start a company needs deliverables on which profits are to be made, does the person "hire", "contract" or "outsource" for the deliverables needed to be sold and upon which profits will be made (for tax purposes it would probably make a difference)? A better question than "can" anything be ....; might be "what are the pros and cons of .......? If someone has the acumen to successfully (needs to be defined) outsource, unless the deliverable is a shortterm, infrequently needed deliverable, might the outsourcer gain a greater long-term benefit by successfully building his/her own deliverable team and then also outsourcing that team's capabilities while building additional teams? Many may be willing to take on outsourcing assignments, but maybe too few are experienced enough at effectively managing or performing outsouced assignments. I've seen little glowing publicity about successful IT and IT or other projects and the contractors or contract managers for those projects. I've seen much negative publicity about failed projects. Thoughts? Saving Changes...
Martyn PrettyDirector| Bowler Hat ConsultingFranklin, Act, Australia
Mr/Mrs Anonymous,
That is a good point and exactly why I added "Successfully" and "Effectively" to my reply and it is not a question of can it be outsourced?
I also see a big difference between contracting and outsourcing, contracting (i see) as just another daily rate, the client is still completely responsible if something is contracted out; but with outsourcing i feel there is a shared responsibility and the outsourcer has 'skin in the game'. Saving Changes...
Mara BurnsSenior Program/Project /Portfolio ManagerQueens Village, Ny, United States
If the purpose of the PMO is simply to coordinate the portfolio of projects, yes, I believe that can be outsourced/contracted onshore. However, if the purpose of the PMO is to build a PM Community of excellence, with governance, oversight, standardized processes and programs, then it should be done in house. It can then be customized to the culture of the organization, and you can align it's purpose and functionality with the overall corporate strategic goals. In either case, the effort must be internally championed and managed, or it will fail. Saving Changes...
Sam MotesManager II Business Sys, Operational Excellence| BA Systems Inc.Ellenton, Fl, United States
The question is not can it, but should it. Today's technology gives the tools needed to manage projects but if the PMO is truly a strategy driver then it could be risky to do this. One of the hardest things for a PM to do is manage the communication channels. This is much harder to do in a remote implementation with a PMO. To the point of strategy, do you really want to plan strategy for your cooperation with an entire PMO organization with a lesser or non-existent skin in the game. Can be good for some projects but truly strategic initiatives get more risky. Saving Changes...
Consider two aspects. The first being the level of success in an outsourced PMO. As the effort by the outsource company goes into overdrive you typically see it led by an zealous optimist and then the outsourced PMO struggles to meet those lofty expectations. Funny thing, do salesmen make good PMO experts? That's another topic. Expectations are so high at the firm being serviced that the hired guns take over with service expectations that are just not attainable.
Second, consider the price of failure. Just say the outsourced PMO can't / doesn't deliver and the firm being serviced is left holding the bag and we all know what is in that bag. Can you really understand the impact to taking back a failed PMO into your firm? You do have headcount to spare don't you? How about doing so with new people who have little if any background in why the PMO was set up the way it was? Could it be that there might just be a little contention between the PMO service provider and the firm being serviced?
Can your firm really afford the risk of a failed outsourced PMO?
Can your career afford a failed outsourced PMO?
What will you say when the business areas come to you wanting an explanation for so much money being spent with less delivered than promised? Saving Changes...
