How to create a successful PMO

are known for their global best practices and many local companies are jumping onto the bandwagon of formal project management, abandoning archaic methodologies of delivering strategy.
This shift is because of the realisation that projects are a significant source of revenue, innovation and corporate shareholder value addition.
“Attempting to implement a major enterprise project through the routine functional structures simply does not work,” as Robert Taruwona, the president of the Project Management Institute of Zimbabwe (PMIZ) recently emphasised.
NSSA is currently owed over US$14 million by employers due to a possible poorly managed compliance inspectorate that has not been given project management attention.
In this article we are focusing on notes to do with the creation of the Project Management Office (PMO), specifically at strategic level and the steps to staffing an enterprise level project office.
Companies that want to improve project outcomes provide critical project information for executives, or institute an analytical project decision process, must turn to the systematic creation of a Project Management Office as the change agent.
Regardless of the business function of the projects in question – from marketing to IT projects, from client services to R&D – a PMO can be the answer to better decisions, information and execution.
The PMO was originally conceived as means of capturing and promulgating good project management practices throughout the organisation.
The role of the PMO has been expanded, however, to include analysis, communication and decision support.
The PMO has become not only the centre of excellence for project execution, but management’s lens for viewing project performance, and the platform for initiating project portfolio management in the future.
In establishing and maintaining an effective enterprise-level project office what I call the Strategic Project Management Office staffing remains a challenge for most organisations.
Even when a project office is merely a localised, single-project or single departmental area entity, finding the right project managers and support staff can be difficult.
Making an PMO the central driving force behind the management of projects raises the stakes. Assigning roles and responsibilities is a critical first step as people do projects.
The Project Office Director
Consider establishing a director of project management who will sit at the director or vice-president level with other senior executives in the organisation.
This position, which we will call the PMO director, provides project oversight in virtually all areas of the organisation, managing corporate-level projects and overseeing corporate-wide resource distribution and allocation on all projects.
Any project that crosses divisional boundaries, as well as some large projects performed within a department would be under the auspices of this PMO director.
As the expert on project management, the PMO director also serves as an ad hoc consultant and advisor to project leaders and teams.
The existence of a PMO director guarantees a focus on the consistent use of the project management process throughout the organisation. The PMO director must possess enough stature and respect throughout the organisation to champion projects from start to finish – and to recommend cancelling projects whose objectives either can’t be met or are no longer valid.
He or she must have the demonstrable backing of senior management, especially critical early in the transition to the PMO structure.
The PMO director is, among other things, a relationship manager, a communicator, a liaison to executive and functional management, an integrator of process, a manager of staff and a co-ordinator of project resources (including project managers).
He/she is also the co-ordinator of standards and methods, a mentor, training co-ordinator, and point of interface between projects, programmes and the executive staff.
Role of HR Department
Any time you build a professional development plan or design an employee appraisal or reward system, human resources professionals are involved.
They are invaluable when setting up PMO staffing, providing input on titles, job descriptions, roles and responsibilities, and on how to measure performance against those roles and responsibilities.
Especially in a matrix organisation, the facilitation of communication among functional areas is an important role for the PMO’s allies in HR.
One of the most important issues on which you can enlist the assistance of HR is how to measure the performance of project personnel.
There is a significant disconnect between functional area measurements of performance and appropriate performance measurement for project tasks.
Since the role is unique, middle managers and supervisors often do not know what to measure. HR expertise is crucial in overcoming this stumbling block.
Here are a few keys to success in staffing your PMO:
Communicate: Not everyone in the organisation fully understands the roles and value of your PMO.
At the outset of PMO organisation, the person responsible for deploying the PMO must determine the role of the PMO, how it relates to your organisation and responsibilities of the project office deployment team.
These roles and responsibilities must be communicated across the organisation to inform and to set expectations.
Executives and senior management need to understand the functions and expectations of PMO staff in order to build buy-in and management support.
Set Expectations and Goals: Staffing the PMO will most likely require a phased approach.
Take time to understand the roles and responsibilities of the various functions of the PMO to establish in your own mind how a fully mature PMO will be organised.
Then, build a strategic approach to staffing the PMO and plan to integrate the appropriate roles as they are needed.
Focus on Value: Too many Strategic Project Offices are established with a bias towards “administration”.
PMO staff must have requisite skills to be of immediate support and assistance where they are needed the most – on projects.
Those staffing these roles should come to the organisation with previous experience in the areas of support they will be providing.
Examples of short-term value-adding initiatives:
l Deployment of a project management methodology.
l Building an inventory of your projects (new product development, information technology, business enhancements, etc.)
l Preparing an executive report, showing the status of all active projects.
l Establishment of summary project report structures and project success metrics.
l Establishing support for new projects and projects in need.
l Providing templates for recurring project activities
l Understand your company’s business.
l Find individuals for your PMO who have the ability to understand the organisation from various points of view.
The PMO is far-reaching. Your PMO staff will interact and support a wide mix of project teams – many times influencing multiple divisions and working with representatives throughout the organisational hierarchy. Look for individuals who have a business mindset and organisational savvy.
l Peter Banda is the Secretary General & Chief Executive of PMIZ. Send your views and comments via email: [email protected]; website link www.pmiz.org.zw