About Program / Project Management Office (PMO)
The PMO, or Project (Program) Management Office is an entity that is responsible for definitions and standards for project management within an organization. In its most simplistic sense, the PMO tries to facilitate some level of common practice, processes and solutions of scale for the organization that can be leveraged and re-used as new projects are added to the fold.
A common perception for many who have interacted with PMOs in the past is that they are far more trouble than they are worth. Many cite excessive bureaucracy, process bottlenecks, a large swath of paperwork and a constant overhang of scrutiny from project managers who spend more time nagging than they do actually providing constructive assistance. And unfortunately, a lot of these perceptions are founded; but not because the concept of a PMO is a bad one, but because the structure and execution inherent to the PMO is flawed.
When a PMO is set up and staffed properly, it can be an invaluable resource to the company and project teams. With that being said, how exactly should the PMO be set up to maximize its efficiency?
Effective Administration
One key aspect of ensuring that the PMO will function effectively is having proper administration in place, along with the tools necessary to allow projects to function efficiently. There is a tremendous amount of data collection, analysis, information distribution, general scheduling and various governance activities that need to take place. In order to accomplish this, the right individuals need to function as the vanguard of those actions. Trying to allow the PMO to ‘self govern’ or run with limited administrative resources will ultimately lead to confusion, bottlenecks and productivity reductions. In all likelihood, projects will often suffer themselves as they get caught up on the maelstrom of an understaffed and under-administrated PMO. One key attribute that no PMO should function without is good collaboration and content management software. Having the right software suites in place, usually web enabled and accessed in the same location, will go a long way towards ensuring data is both collected and distributed effectively.
Business Analysis
As mentioned above, a large part of the PMO’s remit is data collection and analysis. As such, it is imperative that the concept of business analysis and data monitoring is not taken lightly. Comprehension of data inherent to projects or aggregate programs cannot be overstated and ensuring that the right individuals be assigned the role of business analysis is an important part of PMO staffing. With that being said, having individuals dedicated to the role of business analysis is imperative.
Note that different skill sets will likely be required to ensure that proper comprehension of data can occur. Standard business analysts will be needed as liaisons with key stakeholders to help interpret requirements for key projects. Additionally, other analyst types such as process analysts, information analysts, legal analysts, etc may also be necessary for an overall successful PMO. Much of the decision on which and what types of analysts are needed will be dictated by the type of corporation, their specific set of deliverables and the overall structure of the company. (Eg. legal analysts may actually reside in the legal department, not the PMO)
Hiring the Right Project Managers
As most will agree, project managers can make or break a project. Hiring the right individuals with the proper skill sets will go a long way towards ensuring the successful rollout of key projects in the pipeline. An important note is that the skill set of the project managers should adequately reflect the type of projects that will fall within the remit of the PMO. Reporting structures in companies vary and depending on how centralized the PMO is will dictate the nature and function of the project managers within its reporting structure.
Whatever the organizational breakdown, the function of the PMO should be the main predicate for the type of project manager’s that need to be hired. For a PMO that is mostly responsible for governance and policies, a few seasoned and senior project managers may be adequate. For a more advanced PMO that is responsible for the actual projects across the entire enterprise, clearly needs more project managers with skill sets that reflect experience across the spectrum of projects. It is also important to note that certain projects that are more internal in nature also may require a different set of skills from the standpoint of the project manager as opposed to projects that produce deliverables going to market. Consideration should be taken to assess the PMO and its overall function and then determine how to perform the hiring.