Establishing a Project Management Office (PMO) is going to beneficial to any organisation. However, the way in which you plan and build this PMO will determine its success for the future.
Overview
An adequate amount of time will have to be given for this task to ensure that you get the desired result. An effective and well-designed PMO will allow an organization to produce a higher quality project with few resources and less risk.
Here are a few tips for establishing a Project Management Office:
- Get Support: A substantial amount of change will have to take place in order for a Project Management Office to be established. Therefore, you will need to gain the necessary support from executives and management as their current roles and responsibilities may be required to change. This step is the basis which a successful PMO is built upon. Any shift in organisational structure and process must be fully supported by all before any changes can take place.
- Define the Structure: Now that there full support, you can move onto defining the structure of the PMO and begin building the team around it. There is no “standard” structure when it comes to a PMO as each organisation will want to manage different components of their projects such as budgeting, resourcing, risk analysis etc. However, the most important thing is to find the right balance between the PMO, the roles and the style of management as they will all need to co-exist within your organisation.
- What Standards Need to be Determined: Now you should have your structure and team hammered down you need to move onto the PMO standards. These standards need to be defined as they will ensure that there is consistency across the organisation and all its projects. Being consistent or standardising your project management process will make the management of your projects easier in the long run.
- Training: Much of the training will focus around the standards set out in the previous step. All individual skill sets should be considered when the training program is being drafted up. The PMO should have up-skilling training programs available in the future as the PMO evolves.
- Continue to Examine Your Process: Once you have established your Project Management Office and its standards you must ensure that you shift a certain amount of focus to measuring how successful the PMO is being. After putting the hours into establishing a PMO it is important that you measure its effectiveness and identify any areas which require improvement. Any issues or improvements that are needed can then be highlighted and possible solutions can be examined.
Further Insights
Learn more about Cora Systems PPM Tool here.
Tune in to our most recent Project Management Paradise Podcast episodes available on Spotify and Apple.
