Blogging Defined and Weekly Topics

During a week stay at Bethany Beach, several of my family members asked me what is a “blog” and how does it work?

Blog Defined- It has two features set apart a blog, or web log, from other kinds of websites: the main goal is ease of publishing content and reader interaction on current topics and issues. Typical blog software is designed so that anyone using a PC with very limited computer experience can easily put their writing and thoughts online, in their own blog site (Google is one of the easiest to use) or by adding comments to those of other blogging folks.
The conversations that arise should be current, relevant, lively, and informative.
Our EPMO blog site is about key lessons that I have learned about on complex IT programs, EPMOs, and new concepts business process management using business architecture, through my own recent career activities. I hope others will benefit from my experiences at what (for me, at least) feels like an adventure each day.

Among the weekly topics that I will address are:

EPMO Structures
Business Governance
Good Government Practices
Enterprise Architecture with an emphasis on business architecture
Helping people help you to migrate to an enterprise PMO
Publish PMO / EPMO findings and lessons learned from the field
Becoming a more valuable resource in your field
Serving multiple constituencies
Participating in the broader marketplace – Aerospace, Commercial, Civil, Defense, Intell, and other public entities such as utilities
Hot topics in the press- WSJ ,Financial Times, and others

EPMO Team Needs More Senior Business Performance Analyst to be successful!

I would like to point out that the emerging Business Analyst (BA) skill and competency profile in the Business Process Management (BPM) field and effective PM are blurring the lines more each day in support of successful business performance. I argue that today’s Business Analysts have a sophisticated role that includes (and is not limited to) enterprise business architecture and modeling, defining agile enterprise business requirements, facilitating lean/agile process improvement efforts, applying process frameworks (e.g., CMMI), understanding both the emerging BABoK and existing PMBoK and where they collaborate, and enterprise and/or program performance technology support (e.g., IT dashboards, portfolios). This new role will combine the competency of both BPM and PM fields as time goes by and BPM becomes more developed as part of enterprise strategies to increase and balance business performance.
We need to stress the importance of looking at situations from a broad enterprise and program business perspective rather than a narrower IT viewpoint.

Any high-performing EPMO team would not be complete or competent without having a few great business performance analysts in play!

New EPMO Practice Director Support from Steve!

It is with sadness that I report that Cheryl Strait, our EPMO Director, has moved on to a new organization in Chicago last month. We all will miss her dearly.

In the meantime, I will be able to blog away with you on my EPMO experiences at Customs and Border Protection and other federal and commercial efforts that I have supported in the past. I hope to share some thoughts on what works and what doesn't! I also manage the Process Refinement and Optimization (PRO) Solution at Robbins-Gioia, with special concentrated areas on enterprise engagements with Oracle and SAP ERP for an Enterprise Architecture play especially on the business architechture side.


Steve

What's Your PMO New Year's Resolution?

It is hard to believe another year is upon us, which means it is time to reflect on what went well and what could have gone better over the past year. Thinking through the accomplishments and lessons learned for a PMO is equally valuable. When I reflect upon what did or didn’t go well I typically use a checklist. A checklist enables me to think through all of the different areas that I consider to be important. Here is a checklist that I have created to focus my reflection on aspects of what a PMO has achieved and what needs correcting:

• How well did the PMO team interact with one another and with key stakeholders?
• Has project status been reported consistently, accurately, and in a manner that is visible and accessible to all key stakeholders?
• Did key stakeholders utilize the reports and information prepared by the PMO team or did they just “file” them?
• What do stakeholders feel is the most valuable aspect of the PMO’s existence? What does the answer to this question tell you?
• Were performance metrics identified at the beginning of the year, baselines captured, and then re-measured for analysis? What do those metrics indicate?
• Is the PMO team utilizing a collaboration site? Does this site make collaborating easier and more effective? If not, why not? Can it be improved?
• Are the PMO team members utilizing common processes consistently? Do any processes need to be updated?
• Are projects being completed on time, within budget, and in compliance with quality standards? If yes, what has helped to make this happen? If no, what is prohibiting it from happening?

The objective of these questions is to take the pulse of a PMO and to identify areas where attention can be focused in order to mature a PMO’s capabilities and productivity.

One of the greatest gifts a new year brings is the ability to establish a fresh start and to use this fresh start to inject energy into your PMO. May we all use this gift wisely and reap the benefits a fresh start offers us.




The views expressed on this blog are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer, Robbins-Gioia.

Blog 9 - How to Structure A PMO

A struggle many project managers have in designing a PMO is deciding how to structure the PMO to meet organizational requirements, yet not be too burdensome to the individual project managers. Three common structures that can be considered when designing a PMO include: Virtual or PMO Lite, Coach / Mentor and Active Manager. The concept of the Virtual model, or what many people refer to as a PMO lite, is a repository based approach focused on providing processes and templates via a collaboration site that enable a project manager to have ready access to tools that jump start a project. For a virtual model to provide executives with value it must also be equipped with a dashboard used to publish project status. Like most PMO dashboards it must provide visibility into project schedules, costs and risks while also providing a compilation of project portfolios.

The Coach / Mentor model goes one step further by staffing the PMO with individuals capable of providing project managers with educational support. By this I mean the individuals within the PMO must be experienced project managers who also know how to mentor other project managers. Being a qualified mentor is a skill unto itself and should not be taken lightly. Like a Virtual model, the Coach/Mentor PMO must also have a collaboration site housed with processes, templates and a project status dashboard.

The Active Manager PMO is staffed with analysts who are the project managers for the organization’s projects and who provide real time visibility into project schedules, costs and risks. The success factor for any one of the models is to focus efforts on right-sizing the PMO activities and structuring the project management practices and methodologies so that they provide true value to the organization while not bogging project managers down with time-intensive documentation. It is the role of every project manager to be mindful of continual process improvement by sharing what works and what doesn’t work, enabling everyone to benefit from each other’s experiences.




The views expressed on this blog are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer, Robbins-Gioia.

Sustaining the Value of Your PMO

During a recent conversation with a program manager, I was introduced to the concept of an opportunity model consisting of: Define Value -> Deliver Value -> Sustain Value. When I relate this model to a PMO, then I have to consider what happens once a PMO reaches the point where it must sustain value. If I ask myself that question, then I say that one of the key activities that help the PMO to be a sustaining force is in having a forum where project status is reviewed and discussed on a regular and timely basis.

A popular report format used to facilitate project status discussions is the 4-up report. The 4-up report is a one page format with defined sections highlighting project costs, schedule, and risks with a fourth section that fluctuates based on organizational preference. I have seen the fourth section be used for actions, assumptions, accomplishments, or to highlight needs. Successful status review sessions don’t review every project within a PMO, instead they prioritize reviews based upon a pre-defined criteria focused on project risk. Review meetings are hosted by a leader who holds project managers to be accountable, accurate and driven to resolve issues. Another useful quality is for the leader to be effective at elevating issues the project manager is unable to resolve on their own. Status review meetings that are used to keep projects focused, on schedule, within budget, and drive issues to resolution are at the top of my list for sustaining PMO value. What’s at the top of your list?




The views expressed on this blog are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer, Robbins-Gioia.

Independent Program Oversight (IPO)

I read an article written by a colleague of mine, Emory Miller, entitled “Could Independent Program Oversight be a new model for improving the success of IT programs?” (FCW.com, Published June 11, 2007 http://www.fcw.com/article102922-06-11-07-Print ) In the article Emory states “We fail because we don’t make good decisions.” His answer to failure is to begin “with the roles we play”. He applies oversight roles to a program management office (PMO) structured to provide informed decisions by utilizing multidisciplinary reviews, independent assessments and validation of project costs, schedules and earned value reporting to “speed up the time-to-decision cycle.” If we consider the purpose of a PMO, then the functions of Independent Program Oversight (IPO) as described by Emory are a logical and innovative use of a proven PMO structure. An IPO could provide needed visibility into an initiative as complex as an ERP system implementation. Consider having the ability to utilize an experienced neutral party to monitor progress and risk of the work being performed by another third party. Wouldn’t it be valuable to know, without bias, how a project is actually performing and then have the ability to utilize that information to make timely decisions that improve the outcome of the project? I am intrigued by the concept of an IPO, what do you thing?



The views expressed on this blog are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer, Robbins-Gioia.