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.

Realizing Results With an EPMO

I recently received an interesting comment that I would like to share my thoughts on. I was asked “what if the attitude of most employees and management is things just get done … if we can’t see how the work helps achieve some goal we shouldn’t do it.” This is a typical frustration managers have to respond to when striving to gain commitment and budget to establish, or even continue, an EPMO within an organization. If individuals, especially executives, cannot connect their own work to the outcome or requirements of an EPMO, then they won’t support spending budget on it. An EPMO is established to provide holistic oversight of interrelated programs and to increase efficiencies of how programs are managed. The ability for an EPMO to be successful is tied directly to its ability to meet leadership requirements and expectations. Managers can only measure those activities that they have defined as performance requirements. Research has shown that processes and tools only provide 30% toward an EPMO’s success. The balance comes from having a solid value proposition (20%) and leadership approval and support (50%). The key performance indicators (KPIs) that are tracked and reported by the EPMO to demonstrate its ability to achieve leadership’s goals and objectives must be carefully and thoughtfully defined and designed. The ability to measure those KPIs and then report measurements back to leadership is what will result in determining if an EPMO is successful or not, along with maintaining commitment and budget. It all boils down to knowing what is important to your leadership and connecting the EPMO back to those important requirements.



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

EPMO vs PMO

One of the many things I get asked is what is the difference between an EPMO and a PMO? An EPMO or Enterprise Program Management Office aligns strategically with the organization and provides holistic management over multiple Program Management Offices. In this capacity, an EPMO should have the ability to collect, analyze, and display program data in a manner that enables executives to see at a glace how their programs are running. A PMO is aligned with the organization with the purpose of providing management over multiple projects. Like the EPMO, the PMO should have the ability to collect, analyze, and display data but this data is project data and thus should be at a more specific and granular level. A PMO provides insight in the schedule, budget, and risks of each project. I think of the EPMO as being the overarching umbrella that governs multiple PMOs which in turn provide oversight over numerous projects.



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

What Makes An Effective EPMO (Blog 4)

After wondering if an EPMO aligned and integrated with an organization’s cultural dynamics would make it more effective, I read the book “Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture” by Kim S. Cameron and Robert E. Quinn. The book talks specifically to changing culture and so I have been thinking about how to apply the concept to an EPMO. For example, if the organization’s cultural & operational dynamics are based on “control” then the EPMO would need to be organized, controlling, monitoring, maintaining, and focused on efficiency. If the organization has an environment ripe with internal competition to generate higher levels of productivity then the EPMO would need to be hard-driving and provide competitive stakeholders with the tools to drive their project teams to an on time, within budget finish. An organization where employee involvement and participation fosters empowerment and commitment would need an EPMO that is supportive and focused on team building while providing projects with facilitators and mentors. And lastly, an organization that is highly innovative with a focus on creating new ideas, new markets and new opportunities would require an EPMO that empowers rule breakers with the ability to be entrepreneurial and visionary so that they are quipped with the right tools to be focused on the future, yet effective in the present.




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

What Makes an Effective EPMO (Blog 3)

For the past two weeks I have been wondering if an EPMO aligned and integrated with an organization’s cultural dynamics would make it more effective. I decided to read several books about organizational dynamics and organizational culture to see if that helped me determine if this is a sound idea or not. One book was “Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture” by Kim S. Cameron and Robert E. Quinn. They state that an organization resides within one of four quadrants based on how collaborative, creative, controlling or competing an organization is in its approach to conducting business on a daily basis. For example If the organization’s cultural & operational dynamics are based on “control” then the EPMO would need to be organized, controlling, monitoring, and focused on efficiency.

Assessing and considering cultural dynamics and then actually designing the EPMO to align with them would take careful consideration, but would it in turn enable an organization to embrace the project management processes and tools at the core of the EPMO more quickly and efficiently?




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

What Makes An Effective EPMO ? (Blog 2)

Last week I suggested that EPMOs are being created in a practical, rigid manner without regard for the cultural dynamics at play within an organization. I am wondering if an EPMO should actually be directly aligned and integrated with that organization’s cultural dynamics and operational model to achieve optimal effectiveness. If that were the case then throughout the development processes, it would be imperative to work closely with key EPMO stakeholders to get a sense of how the EPMO is going to be used, how people are going to interact with the resources being provided and with other EPMO stakeholders. What are the dynamics that are at play between these individuals and the information they are gleaning or providing to the EPMO? So I ask you, would working closely with these individuals in a way that allows the EPMO development team to capture the essence of how this organization gets work done enable the EPMO infrastructure to optimize the functionality that is required and expected?




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

What Makes An Effective EPMO?

I have been thinking about what makes a truly effective Enterprise Program Management Office (EPMO). Most people agree that for an EPMO to be effective it has to meet the needs and requirements of the people who are going to use it, whether that is for a decision making tool, a mechanism for knowledge sharing, a training center, and/or a communication hub. I have not stated anything new here, I mean establishing an EPMO based on a defined set of requirements is fairly common place. So I ask you, why aren’t the EPMO’s that are created based on a specific need working the way they were envisioned?

I suggest to you that EPMOs are being created in a practical, rigid manner without regard for the cultural dynamics at play within the organization. Doesn’t deploying an EPMO using a structured and practical approach make the assumption that every organization is the same? But, every organization is not the same. Each organization has its own culture and dynamics that impact how business is conducted, how individuals interact with one another, how reports are created and used, and even how projects are managed on a day to day basis.

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