Report from the PMO Symposium

Earlier this month, I had the privilege of attending and presenting to the inaugural PMO Symposium, presented by the PMO Special Interest Group (PMOSIG) of PMI.  This turned out to be an extremely valuable event, with presentations that included some great academic research on PMOs, case studies from successful  and challenging PMO situations, and some cutting edge theory. The latter category included my presentation on Comprehensive Resource Management, which played to a packed house and received rave reviews (at least at the bar later I was also asked to sit on a presenter’s panel where four of us were peppered with great questions from the general audience.

Some highlights, at least from this attendee’s perspective.

Interesting Research:
Two researchers, Brian Hobbs and Jim Pennypacker, presented some interesting survey data on PMO’s in general.  The highlights, from my point of view:

Best Practices:
Here’s a question I get asked with almost every PMO engagement – what are best practices for a PMO? Hobbs’ research indicates some interesting facts that back up my own anecdotal perceptions.  First, there is no real agreement on what a PMO is, let alone what would be best practice.  Let’s start with the meaning of the term.  Is it a Project Management Office, a Program Management Office, or something entirely different? In my own practice, I’ve seen Project Support Office, Project Guidance Office, Project Center of Excellence and several others. Pennypacker uncovered some truly interesting names, including “Office of the Multi-Year Plan” and “Innovation and Planning”.

The mandates of these PMO’scover that gamut from managing single projects and programs to the Strategic Project Office (per Pennypacker), which can engage in  Project Governance, Portfolio Management, and Resource Optimization.

One area of agreement was that there is a sub-set of services, yet to be defined, that are generally offered by PMO’s, depending on their mandate, and that it may be possible to create best practices around these services.

Industry segments and company size:Of real note, Hobbs’ research showed no correlation between the type and mandate of PMOs by vertical industry or company size. If there is a common thread, it is that PMOs are formed to solve specific problems, and their mandate stems from this.  They are usually born from a specific pain point, such as poor project execution, resource overload, or poor portfolio visibility.

Where do Project Managers report?The research, and my own anecdotal evidence, both suggest there is no best practice around this. In Hobbs’ research, 50% of the PMOs surveyed have project managers reporting to them.

What correlates with success?Hobbs’ research suggests some correlation between perceived legitimacy of the PMO and a few key factors:

% of projects within the PMO’s mandate
% of project managers reporting to the PMO
Decision-making authority
Resources not matrixed
Supportive organizational culture
Project Management maturity
Number of important functions

So much for the interesting research.

Marketing the PMO:

Hugh Woodward presented some compelling information, based on research, on how to market a PMO.

First and foremost, he suggested using business terms instead of project management terms for measuring and promoting success. So, instead of touting how many projects are on-time and on-budget, talk about how a project is improving profitability, increasing market share, or otherwise improving business conditions in terms commonly used by your executives.

Hugh also notes the importance of linking projects to strategic objectives and value. This is a theme that was, of course, repeated throughout the conference.

Finally, be willing to change or kill projects as business conditions change. This is not a sign of failed project management, but rather shows the PMO’s flexibility and understanding of business. Projects do not exist for their own sake, and if there reason for existence changes, change or eliminate the project. Hugh gave an example of a project that was originally scheduled for 18 months, but ended up improving productivity so well, the life of the project was extended to 5 years to add scope and take the new techniques enterprise-wide. While this project may look years late, it was actually a huge success when measured in business terms – increased productivity!

Case Studies:

If there were common themes  to this Symposium, it was found in the case studies and the information gleaned from all the networking with other attendees and presenters. The basic ideas were:

Successful PMOs focus on business results, not common project metrics

The Strategic PMO is becoming more common, and is often located outside of IT at an enterprise level. Even PMOs that started in IT are graduating to the Enterprise level. The common term here is now EPMO – Enterprise Project Management Office

Enterprises often have multiple PMOs, facilitated by  the new EPMO

If there are causes for PMO death, it is typically that the PMO forgets its business purpose and becomes a bureaucracy. There is a related symptom I like to call “The Methodology Police”. Both of these symptoms alienate project managers and stakeholders alike.

Who should staff a PMO?

This question came up repeatedly, and consistently received the same answer, including by yours truly during the panel discussion. If we’re talking about a Strategic PMO (not a program specific PMO), the PMO head and key staff should be business leaders first, and project managers second. They are the link between corporate strategy and execution through projects, and need a solid understanding of the underlying business. The project management expertise needs to be there, but the business knowledge is critical to success.