Project Management

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Establishing a new PMO

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Patrice Briley Lead Systems Analyst| MCCG Macon, Ga, United States
I am part of a small team that was charged with setting up a PMO. I am interested in connecting with others who have gone through this process themselves and would be willing to share their thoughts, advice and lessons learned. We are a non-profit healthcare organization and would like to find other healthcare groups to network with. We are currently setting up the PMO within the IT department but over the next 2 years plan to morph into an ePMO.
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Chauncene Henry Los Angeles, Ca, United States
I would start by joining a PMO LinkedIn group and start a discussion. You'll find that members are very responsive and work in a variety of sectors. I would also attempt to network with PMO Managers/Directors on LinkedIn. Below is a list of LinkedIn PMO groups. Best of luck.

PMO
99,245 members

PMO - Project Management Office
99,686 members

PMO Experienced (Practicing Project and Program Managers)
20,662 members
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Don Ellis Sr. Partner| Ellis & Adams Austin, Tx, United States
Hi Patrice, our firm has helped several health systems do this. Best general advise would be to start small, with general intake and ownership governance and slowly build into more structure. There can be a lot of push back from department directors if the governance structures seem to be too over-burdensome. You might also check out the PM SIG at HIMSS. I believe there are past presentation there on this. http://www.himss.org/get-involved/sigs/project-management
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Liana Underwood National Capital Region, Va, United States
This site has a ton of great information to help you get started. Go to "Practice Areas" at the top, Click "Show All" and then scroll down to the PMO slot. You'll find articles, discussions etc. that should give you great ideas on how to get started.
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Aaron Porter
Community Champion
IT Director| Blade HQ Payson, UT, United States
Just a few questions to think about as you go through the process of establishing your PMO:

* What is your PMO chartered to accomplish?
* What problem(s) is your PMO intended to solve?
* Does the PMO have tangible/finite objectives? How do these benefit the business?
* How will you (someone) measure and report on success of the PMO? To whom?
* Are there any quick wins you can leverage to maintain support and reduce opposition as the PMO grows?
* What type of opposition might you face from within the company - intentional or passive/aggressive? How will you deal with this?
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1 reply by Kevin Jacobs
Apr 13, 2017 11:24 AM
Kevin Jacobs
...
Great answer Aaron, if you don't understand the business case, whatever the project, you're starting off on the wrong foot.
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Naomi Caietti Senior Project Manager | ePMO | Higher Education | Healthcare & IT| Linkedin.com/In/NaomiCaietti
Patrice:
I've setup and worked in many PMOs. The real key is getting your champion to create a charter and get buyin from your CEO and senior management and key organizational management leaders.
Check out the Hall of Fame on PMSolutions here. You may find many PMO to emulate and consider reaching out to for an information interview. Also, as Don mentions HIMSS is a good place to check out also.

http://www.pmsolutions.com/pmo-of-the-year-award/hall-of-fame/
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Mike Dewing Senior Project Manager / Program Manager| MLD Holdings Ltd. Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
In my opinion you must show the business value of the PMO and the processes being implemented is to the organization. Are you going to save money, if so how much and what do they get in return. If the business and operational areas sees the business value then your already ahead of the game.
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Sergio Luis Conte Helping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based Organizations Buenos Aires, Argentina
The only way to be successful when you create a new unit inside the organization is because a strategical reason. Strategy is the way the organization will answer environmental stimulus in order to survive, growth and develop. The mean to answer the stimulus are the functions. When you define the functions (project management functions for example) and define the process from the functions then you have to define the locations where those functions and process will be located. Inside a new unit (a PMO)? Inside existing units? That is the way where you can get what most of the people name "senior leadership support". And remember: anything you introduce inside an organization will impact the organization as a whole.
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Kevin Jacobs PMO Manager| Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. Gilbert, Az, United States
Apr 11, 2017 6:33 PM
Replying to Aaron Porter
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Just a few questions to think about as you go through the process of establishing your PMO:

* What is your PMO chartered to accomplish?
* What problem(s) is your PMO intended to solve?
* Does the PMO have tangible/finite objectives? How do these benefit the business?
* How will you (someone) measure and report on success of the PMO? To whom?
* Are there any quick wins you can leverage to maintain support and reduce opposition as the PMO grows?
* What type of opposition might you face from within the company - intentional or passive/aggressive? How will you deal with this?
Great answer Aaron, if you don't understand the business case, whatever the project, you're starting off on the wrong foot.

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