PMO Discussion presented by Hal Lunka, PMP #5873

1. PMO Discussionpresented byHal Lunka, PMP #5873 Failure Proofing People Series, AVR Associates, Ltd www.avrassociates.com

2. How We Will Operate • Please silence communication devices • Tell me when you need a break • If you need to leave, feel free to do so • Please join the discussions • Also, what is said here stays here! www.avrassociates.com

3. About This Experience • There are an infinite number of opinions about what a PMO is, its function, and how organized. • This session is intended to enhance our shared understanding of the process www.avrassociates.com

4. Introductions • Introductions • My experience and background • Your name and what you hope to gain from our discussion These slides are intended to be useful as a reference www.avrassociates.com

5. My Sources • The Wiley Guide to Project Program and Portfolio Management, Peter Morris and Jeffery Pinto, John Wiley and Sons, 2007, NY, Chapter 8 • Program Management, Michel Thiry, Gower Publishing Ltd, 2010, England, Figure 1-2 • PMO in Sync with Strategy, PMI White Paper 2012 • PMI Agile Practice Guide, PMI 2017 • PMBOK Guide, 6th Edition, PMI 2017 www.avrassociates.com

6. Agenda • Projects and Organizations • PMO Discussion • PMI Definitions • Frameworks • How Projects Differ www.avrassociates.com

7. Things PMs Deal With Uncertainty • Lack of knowledge • Difficult to define cause-effect relationship • Hinders ability to predict outcomes Ambiguity • Numerous possible solutions, no clear path • Objectives likely to change over time www.avrassociates.com

8. Organized into a Process Unsettling Change Ongoing Actions Change Actions Power-Based Methods Learning-Based Methods High Value Programs Ambiguity Performance-Based Methods Administration-Based Methods Low Projects Low High Routine Uncertainty Program Management, Michel Thiry, Gower, 2010, Figure 1-2 www.avrassociates.com

9. Administration-Based • Operations • Routine activities • Efficient use of resources • Power struggles for resources www.avrassociates.com

10. Power-Based(Empowered to Choose) • Vision, mission, goals/objectives, strategies, etc. (politics) • Portfolio Management • Budget and resource allocation • Maximizing value (benefits) • Strategic alignment • Balance • Right number www.avrassociates.com

11. Learning-Based • Program Management • Responding to and assessing deliberate and emergent strategies • Iterative and constant reassessment of the use of resources and direction • Benefits and Stakeholder Management • Management of Change • Managing and completing projects more efficiently (PMO?) www.avrassociates.com

12. Performance-Based • Project Management • Change process • Single project methodology • Clear deliverables and parameters • Constrained: time, cost, schedule www.avrassociates.com

13. Business Processes Unsettling Change Ongoing Actions Change Actions Vision Mission Goals/Objectives Portfolio Management Program Management High Value Programs Ambiguity Projects Low Operations Projects Low High Routine Uncertainty www.avrassociates.com

14. Project Portfolio Management Project x Strategy Project 1 Project 2 Strategy Project 3 Goal Strategy Program z Mission Strategy Goal Project 4 Strategy Project 5 Goal Project 6 Strategy Ends: Desired Outcomes Project 7 Means: method To achieve them Project y What: Actions we will take www.avrassociates.com

15. Organizational Project Orientation • How well do organizations really support “projects?” • “Are your projects” really supported, including power, resources, wide acceptance? • How does this fit with the fact that “projects” are moving an organization toward their future? www.avrassociates.com

16. Organizational Project Orientation2 • Project-based, centralized and focused operation (PMO) • Project-led, organization support projects, maybe in core operations • Core-operations-led, project focused on improving efficiency of operations External customer? www.avrassociates.com

17. Models of Project Orientation • Project Scoping – how completely is scope defined? • Project Programming – how tightly constrained? • Project Autonomy – how heavily micro-managed www.avrassociates.com

18. Organizational Perspective • Christmas miracle • Many projects • Overlap • Contention and rivalry • No process to foster adaptability www.avrassociates.com

19. Organizational Variables • Corporate Environment • Top leaders involved and supporting change • Importance, support, value placed on projects • Support from other parts of the organization www.avrassociates.com

20. Organizational Differences? Operations Management • Strategies • Objectives, goals • Business performance • Stockholder satisfaction • Project selection and mix • Resource availability • Cash flow, income • Projects Management • Schedule/time • Project cost • Project performance • Stakeholder satisfaction • Scope/change control • Resource utilization • Cash usage www.avrassociates.com

21. Finer Points of PMO • What might be the best way to connect operations and projects? • How to prevent the clogging of the pipeline? • Do different types of projects require different considerations? • How do we deal with Risk and Uncertainty? • What are some of the tools we can use? www.avrassociates.com

22. Share Your Thoughts • Management of Projects and Project Management are different • Ambiguous relationship within organizations, operations vs. projects, power politics • Opportunity for more effective relationships within the organization www.avrassociates.com

23. PMO as a Bridge • Discussion: • Groups do not share a common language • Each has its own purpose and goals • Advantages • Connects the two sides • Limitations • Does not eliminate the gap • Does not bring the groups together to work in harmony, within a shared system for a common cause www.avrassociates.com

24. Basis for a Rational Decision System • Having all of the information and data • Having analytical processes for effective use of the information • Able to communicate with all of the stakeholders in their language • Aligning opportunities with objectives • Able to assess and control Risk • Minimizing office politics • Getting everyone on the same page • Promoting the use of common sense www.avrassociates.com

25. PMO as a HUB • PMO provides the motivation and vehicle for integration • Must be supported by Senior Management • Provide a core set of combined business and project processes • More effective use of limited cash and human resources www.avrassociates.com

26. The Hub Scope Change, Cost Control Opportunity Management (projects) Resource Availability Budget and Cash Flow Project Selection and Portfolio Management Strategic and Tactical Plans Demand (internal projects) Project Control and Performance Business Performance Risk Assessment and Management Resource Allocation www.avrassociates.com

27. Advantages of the Hub • Closed loop to ensure project selection also considers both proposed and active projects • All processes are connected • Collects and stores pertinent data • Serves as a communication hub • Has resources to support rational analysis and decision making • This is an entirely new integrated management process, not an extension of PM www.avrassociates.com

28. PMI Definitions www.avrassociates.com

29. Per PMBOK • Supportive PMOs provide a consultative role to projects by supplying templates, best practices, training, access to information, and lessons learned from other projects. This type of PMO as a project repository. The degree of control provided by the PMO is low. www.avrassociates.com

30. Per PMBOK2 • Controlling PMOs provide support and required compliance through various means. The degree of control by the PMO is moderate. Compliance may involve: • Adaptions of PM frameworks or methodologies • Use of specific templates, forms, and tools • Conformance to governance frameworks www.avrassociates.com

31. Per PMBOK3 • Directive PMOs take control of the projects by directly managing the projects. Project Managers are assigned by and report to the PMO. The degree of control provided by the PMO is high. www.avrassociates.com

32. Per PMBOK4 • Governance Framework is the framework within which authority is exercised in organizations. This framework includes, but is not limited to: • Rules • Policies • Procedures • Norms • Relationships • Systems and Processes www.avrassociates.com

33. Per Agile Practice Guide • PMO is a management structure that standardizes project related governance processes and facilitates the sharing of resources, methodologies, tools, and techniques www.avrassociates.com

34. Iterative/Incremental Approaches Attributes: • Very short feedback loops • Frequent adaption of process • Reprioritization (ranking) • Regular updated plans • Frequent delivery www.avrassociates.com

35. Iterative/Incremental Approaches2 Work well for: • Projects that involve new or novel tools, techniques, materials, or application domains • Require research and development • Have high rates of change • Have unclear or unknown requirements, uncertainty, or risks; or • Have a final goal that is hard to describe www.avrassociates.com

36. Discussion Please share how your and these ideas might apply to what you are currently doing? www.avrassociates.com

37. Models to help Quantify www.avrassociates.com

38. How Project Attributes Differ • Each project is unique and the project management style and methodology adapt to the situation, circumstances, the environment, and the people • As a formal managerial discipline, project management is still relatively young • Authors propose different managerial levels will use different frameworks to distinguish among projects and determine their needs www.avrassociates.com

39. How Project Attributes Differ2 • Remember the caveat in the PMBOK, the practices apply to most projects most of the time, and there is a consensus about their value and usefulness • PMBOK is a “thought” process • A methodology is a system of practices, techniques, procedures, and rules used by those who work in a discipline www.avrassociates.com

40. What are Project Frameworks? • A basic system or structure of ideas or facts that support an approach • Three parts of a project framework are: • Lifecycle, the process through which a product is imagined, created, and put into use • Control Cycle, planning and management of each stage • Templates, a partially complete document in a predefined format that provides a defined structure for collecting, organizing, and presenting information and data www.avrassociates.com

41. Some Frameworks • PMBOK • Lean Six Sigma • Agile • Scrum • Crystal • XP • Etc. • Critical Chain • ISO/DIS 21500 • PMIEF • Prince2 • IPMA • Technical Competence • Behavioral Competence • Contextual Competence www.avrassociates.com

42. Theory of Contingency • PM literature often has ignored the importance of project contingencies, assuming that all projects share a universal set of managerial characteristics • Some contingency studies have focused on the impact of uncertainty and change on the way organizations are conducting their project operations www.avrassociates.com

43. Theory of Contingency2 • An additional aspect is Complexity – hierarchical nature of systems and their subsystems (general systems theory) is typically used to address this issue • Classical theory focuses on sustaining organizations. It also looks at projects as temporary organizations, but the high velocity (pace) in which decisions are made changes everything. www.avrassociates.com

44. UCP Model This model attempts to describe how these factors are related • Uncertainty – at the moment of project initiation • Complexity – Size, # of elements, variety, interconnectedness • Pace – Available time frame Risk Complexity Uncertainty Pace www.avrassociates.com

45. UCP Model - Uncertainty • Uncertainty Different project=>*different levels of uncertainty=>function of project execution is seen as a process aimed to reduce that uncertainty • Uncertainty has an impact on everything • Front end planning • Definition and finalization of requirements • Detail and extent of planning accuracy • Level of contingency resources, time and money • Uncertainties can occur internally and/or externally *=> means implies www.avrassociates.com

46. UCP Model - Complexity • Complexity is dependent on: • Product scope • Number and variety of elements • Their interconnections • Organizational design and its connections, that is, the formality with which the project will be managed www.avrassociates.com

47. UCP Model - Pace • Pace, the third dimension involves urgency and criticality of time goals=>same goals with different time constraints which may require different project structures and different management attention www.avrassociates.com

48. UCP Model – Selecting Project Management Style Environment Uncertainty Complexity Pace Project Management Style Product Task www.avrassociates.com

49. UCP Model – Selecting Project Management Style2 • Environment (everything) • Market • Politics • Location • Urgency • Organizational environment • People • Culture • Policies • The way projects are managed • Available resources www.avrassociates.com

50. UCP Model – Selecting Project Management Style3 • Product • Specifically what is the product? • What does it do? • How does it do it? • What are its operational requirements? • What are its specifications? www.avrassociates.com