I am the IT Director for a company where I am the senior technology voice and the most experienced in IT. The COO was the IT Director before me and is / was an operations process man. Until recently the PMO (a very young PMO) has reported to him. Next week he is promoting a person with no PMO experience to Operation Director and the PMO will report to him.
The PMO works on 100% IT Projects. I have PM and PMO Management experience and I know that taking a young PMO run by someone that doesn't KNOW how one should operate is going to cause me and my department pain so I am making a case so that I can take that team.
What I could use some help with is case studies, examples, white papers or anything that helps prove that a PMO should report into the IT wing of the business and not the facilities, events, purchasing and contracts end of the business.
Anything you all can provide or point me to would help keep our PMO alive and running as it should.
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Wayne MackRetired| RetiredSouth Riding, Va, United States
It sounds like the decision has been made. I would suggest that rather than fighting the new head of the PMO, you befriend him. Try to establish a trusted advisor relationship with the new PMO, allow him to make his own mistakes, yet support him. This is probably the best way to influence him for the betterment of your group. Also, everyone likes a team player, so this could eventually lead to you joining the PMO as a senior advisor and possible future head.
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Senior Advisor to the CEO| PMISterling, Va, United States
So why the change? Asking the COO that question might help you understand whether it makes sense to fight it or not. I doubt that the PMO will be run by a facilities or purchasing person. If that's the case, you have a clear argument that doesnt require a lot of support.
I personally think the business/IT leadership question hinges on what you are trying to accomplish. If its just a PMO for the IT dept that is very focused on supporting successful project execution, having a technical bent can make it more effective. If its a business PMO that is more focused on (PPM activities like) selecting projects based on business needs, then a business bent is more appropriate. There are a hundred angles on it, but understanding what the COO wants is the first step.
Enough commentary. Now I'll try to quickly respond to your question.
- A PMO driven by IT can set policies and standards for IT and help people follow them like(http://uuhsc.utah.edu/its/pmo/). This means supporting not only PM, but the PM process integration with SDLCs and other types of technical projects.
- What are the qualifications of the candidate named by the COO ? MBA? Six Sigma certified (black belt?)
- What are the strategic goals of the PMO? Just IT? If the PMO you reference has a scope limited to IT, how are all non-IT projects in the firm managed?
- Does the firm currently do ROI on all projects, IT and non-IT, in a consistent way, with standard metrics and measures?
- Does the firm currently have an SDLC, or a general LifeCycle document for all hardware and software, systems and applications?
- What process integration across projects exists? How are process changes coordinated across projects today?
- What are the lines of business, or responsibility, or reporting or general OBS? Do you work for the COO?
My initial reaction is that you should support the COO's nominee. Doing so you may find yourself the effective second in command of the PMO, and in a position to expand your own skills, responsibilities, and compensation plan. IE, this is not necessarily bad news - your competencies could nicely compliment the COO's nominee's competencies, with the result that you receive an advancement outside of the normal review / promotion cycle.
For the record, I favor a PMO that spans all projects, and is not limited to just IT projects, because thats the best investment / return / business model for any for-profit commercial venture in my experience.
A skilled PMP who has done nothing but IT projects should have no great difficulties doing a Facilities Project or a Business Venture (new line of business) Project in my opinion. Saving Changes...
Bipin Lekshmanan PMPProject Manager| Wipro TechnologiesEdison, Nj, United States
Interesting situation indeed! I wonder what the cpabilities of the newly promoted operations director are! The COO who has performed your current role is doing that- there must be some reason behind it (assuming that it will be more rational and less political). If an IT manager is being made the operations director and the new PMO reports to him, it can work. But, the question remains as why is this happening when you are in charge of IT and seems to have the bandwidth to handle that function. A discourse with COO should help clarify the decision and can help shape your next move..atleast I would have attempted that (even though when you are outside of it you have no real idea of how it is really like :-)). To conclude, why should an IT PMO report to operations rather than IT? And, as the previous replies have suggested, we need to understand the organization strategy for this move (with that understanding, you'll be equipped to present your best arguments). Saving Changes...
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