Adnan ShareefEPMO Director| JEDCO (Jeddah Airports Company)Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Dear experts,
I've been assigned to establish a PMO from scratch in a consulting company. They need a Directive PMO.
So from where do I start ?
What are the basics ?
Is there a road map to walk me through ?
Penny KincannonProgram Manager| Cleaver BrooksTallahassee, Fl, United States
Hi Adnan,
I believe the first task is to understand why there is a desire within the organization to establish a Directive PMO. What are the gaps that need to be closed, what problem are you trying to solve? Based on that, I would develop a Charter for the PMO that establishes your mission, critical success factors, implementation plan, staffing, stakeholders, budget, etc. much like you would for a project. You will find samples on the web of a PMO Charter that gives you an idea of what I mean. It may take some time to bring the organization from where they are today to where they need to be depending on the project management maturity of the organization so you may want to look at PMI's OPM3 model and the steps you take to mature an organization from one level to another. Some of the things I always look at are: Project Inventory is a good place to start, categorization of projects by size and or by type or benefit to company/scoring, Intake of projects/centralized way to handle?, Staffing (internal PM's, new hires, contractors), standardized Training for PM's, What PM Methodology do you plan to follow?, Development of templates and/or use of a PPM tool, Status Reporting for individual projects, Steering Committee's for large projects, Portfolio Reporting - including what and to whom - individual portfolio reporting to specific areas/ roll-up for entire company, timekeeping on projects?. How do you get buy-in within the organization? Any one of these activities can consume a lot of time, so prioritize based on the most immediate need in the organization and build a plan to add on those PMO functions of importance as you move forward and give yourself plenty of time to build out each area/function because it takes more time than you think. Since you are working in the Engineering area, you may want to consider the Stage Gate process as a methodology.
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1 reply by Adnan Shareef
Sep 07, 2017 8:26 PM
Adnan Shareef
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Thank you very much for this rich contribution.
I will look up for the PMO charter as a start.
Saving Changes...
Stéphane ParentSelf Employed / Semi-retired| Leader MakerPrince Edward Island, Canada
If you check out the blogs section, Adnan, you'll find that many people are writing about how to go about setting up a PMO.
I will add - start with stakeholders and gap analysis.
You say directive, do the people asking for this knows what it means (not the text book answer); i.e in the real world what is a PMO and what it should do for the organization?
Do you they want to set the PMO or the PM Function or PM Department?
Does your organization have an organizational project management system?
Does the organization have a tailored methodology?
You can check some of our videos on the SUKAD YouTube Channel. Many of them address the questions I am posting here and some are in Arabic while others are in English.
Good luck
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1 reply by Adnan Shareef
Sep 07, 2017 8:31 PM
Adnan Shareef
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The two points you've mentioned will define the business plan for the PMO as I believe.
I shall establish stakeholder analysis & gap analysis as soon as possible.
Thank you for your contribution Mr. Mounir.
I will definitely watch the SUKAD youtube channel for more details.
It's hard to get a roadmap since it's so dependent on the organization, stakeholders and environment. The advice given here thus far is a very good start though. The rest is learn as you go since it's a new PMO and there is bound to be a learning curve.
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1 reply by Adnan Shareef
Sep 07, 2017 8:34 PM
Adnan Shareef
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I get your point Mr. Sante.
Each PMO should have its own road map depending on the requirements of the organization.
Thank you for your contribution.
I agree with Penny and others here on this. Understanding the why the PMO is sought, will help map out the processes, and metrics, which are essential to the PMO.
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1 reply by Adnan Shareef
Sep 07, 2017 8:35 PM
Adnan Shareef
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So it's the why then the how.
Thank you for your contribution.
Saving Changes...
Drew CraigSr. Agile & Product Coach| VanguardPhiladelphia, Pa, United States
Laura Barnard has a lot of great points in her postings.
3 replies by Adnan Shareef, Drew Craig, and Stéphane Parent
Sep 07, 2017 5:40 PM
Stéphane Parent
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Didn't read my post before you put yours up, Andrew? :)
Sep 07, 2017 8:36 PM
Adnan Shareef
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Thanks
Sep 07, 2017 8:42 PM
Drew Craig
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Haha, I guess I did not. But regardless, it simply emphasizes the point, right?
Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
It is simple. But people forgot it. An organization must be considered an open and adaptable system. The organization reacts to environmental stimulus and create environmental stimulus (when the organization achieved both then the organization is an agile organization). How the organization answer the stimulis? Thanks the defined functions/process. What functions/process are defined? Thanks the strategy definition. Where the funcitons/process are located? Inside business units. If after an strategy defintion process a business function named PMO deserves to be created then it must be created. If you do not follow this path then you will fail.
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1 reply by Adnan Shareef
Sep 08, 2017 11:15 AM
Adnan Shareef
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I am sorry but I don't get it.
Could you simplify more ?
Saving Changes...
Stéphane ParentSelf Employed / Semi-retired| Leader MakerPrince Edward Island, Canada
Sep 07, 2017 3:50 PM
Replying to Drew Craig
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Laura Barnard has a lot of great points in her postings.
Didn't read my post before you put yours up, Andrew? :) Saving Changes...
Adnan ShareefEPMO Director| JEDCO (Jeddah Airports Company)Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Sep 07, 2017 9:11 AM
Replying to Penny Kincannon
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Hi Adnan,
I believe the first task is to understand why there is a desire within the organization to establish a Directive PMO. What are the gaps that need to be closed, what problem are you trying to solve? Based on that, I would develop a Charter for the PMO that establishes your mission, critical success factors, implementation plan, staffing, stakeholders, budget, etc. much like you would for a project. You will find samples on the web of a PMO Charter that gives you an idea of what I mean. It may take some time to bring the organization from where they are today to where they need to be depending on the project management maturity of the organization so you may want to look at PMI's OPM3 model and the steps you take to mature an organization from one level to another. Some of the things I always look at are: Project Inventory is a good place to start, categorization of projects by size and or by type or benefit to company/scoring, Intake of projects/centralized way to handle?, Staffing (internal PM's, new hires, contractors), standardized Training for PM's, What PM Methodology do you plan to follow?, Development of templates and/or use of a PPM tool, Status Reporting for individual projects, Steering Committee's for large projects, Portfolio Reporting - including what and to whom - individual portfolio reporting to specific areas/ roll-up for entire company, timekeeping on projects?. How do you get buy-in within the organization? Any one of these activities can consume a lot of time, so prioritize based on the most immediate need in the organization and build a plan to add on those PMO functions of importance as you move forward and give yourself plenty of time to build out each area/function because it takes more time than you think. Since you are working in the Engineering area, you may want to consider the Stage Gate process as a methodology.
Thank you very much for this rich contribution.
I will look up for the PMO charter as a start. Saving Changes...
Adnan ShareefEPMO Director| JEDCO (Jeddah Airports Company)Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Sep 07, 2017 1:12 PM
Replying to Stéphane Parent
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If you check out the blogs section, Adnan, you'll find that many people are writing about how to go about setting up a PMO.
