![]() ![]() Instead of being viewed as a staff organization with limited value, the PMO had project delivery responsibility that made it an integral part of project execution. The reporting relationship within the PMO provided shared accountability for successful delivery across the performing teams and the PMO. Project management resources dotted-line-reported to each team supervisor, while a hard-line HR relationship was maintained with the PMO manager. The Web Hosting Services PMO centralized the project management function directly under the PMO manager. Most delivery organizations have project managers within each department reporting to a supervisor. The PMO human resource reporting structure was also different from a majority of PMOs. The critical success factor was investing in an independent resource to consult with other projects and raise the level of project management knowledge. Because the technical project manager wasn’t dedicated to a specific project, he was available to consult with the dedicated project managers. Through knowledge sharing and mentoring, the technical project manager helped increase the organization’s project management competency. The technical project manager was an expert in project management process and highly proficient in commonly used project management tools such as Microsoft Project and portfolio management solutions.Īcross the organization, the level of project management expertise varied, and both technical team leads and novice project managers needed to improve their project management competency. The PMO also created a technical project manager role to advise resources on project management technique, process methodology and best practices. Within the PMO, a dedicated financial management position was established to track the IT organization’s budget forecasts, 300-plus annual service requests, and the internal budget transfers. Additional project managers were also added to the PMO to support complex projects or programs from other organizations. As each team accepted additional projects, an appropriate level of project management resources was added. Structure: The PMO established a flexible resource pool of project managers to support different projects within the portfolio, and assigned a project management resource to each team. Revised Project Management Office Structure A structured project management philosophy was nonexistent, and ad hoc approaches were applied to “just get it done.” Figure 1 depicts the Web Hosting Services organization prior to implementing a PMO. Project end-dates were often missed, new projects were initiated randomly, and the department had little visibility into resource demand or the portfolio inventory. The department had an abundance of technical talent yet suffered from poor project management. Web Hosting Services experimented with emerging trends in web technology and supported enterprisewide programs. Within the IT organization’s technical infrastructure division, a central department was responsible for hosting internal and external company websites. Organizational PMOs have also emerged in response to the growing need for project and portfolio management - the various departments within the IT organization had numerous related and unrelated projects that required governance. An enterprise PMO manages strategic IT programs across business units, and program-level PMOs support IT initiatives within business functions such as Accounting, Human Resources and Manufacturing. By reviewing this project management office example, you can tailor it for your own organization.īackground: The IT organization within a Fortune 500 manufacturing company has established a number of PMOs at various levels. Following the first installment in this series ( PMO Functions Explained), this article takes a look at how a real-world organization implemented an organizational PMO, and the benefits realized. ![]() Many of these links offer methods and theories for managing PMOs, but few provide insight into an actual PMO in action. A recent Google search on “project management office” revealed about three quarters of a million commercial links providing consulting products, tools and expertise for PMOs. ![]()
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