Implementing a Value-Added PMO

In this project management training course, you will learn how to:

• Articulate the value of a PMO
• Perform a current state assessment and compare to the future state vision
• Learn how a value-added PMO can help lead your organization to its desired future state
• Identify the potential products and services of typical PMOs
• Create a PMO Roadmap to provide guidance and direction to the PMO for the next 18 months
• Understand how to proactively communicate the value that the PMO is providing
• Create a PMO Scorecard to measure the value of the PMO
• See how to apply the value-added concepts to new and existing PMOs
  

Why Do You Need a Value-added PMO?

PMOs help organizations successfully implement goals and strategies.

1. Organizations have goals and strategies to help them reach their future state.
2. Projects are the way to achieve these goals and strategies.
3. Project management is an enabler to help your organization execute projects successfully.
4. PMOs help organizations implement solid project management practices and build project management competencies.

If you think you can implement a project management culture by introducing some templates and a training class, you will not be successful. You need a multi-faceted and long-term approach. For example, you have to build/acquire a common project management process, train the staff, educate your clients, coach project managers, set up a governance process, etc. This does not have to be a large group of people (although it could be). It could just be one, or even a few people. The point is that it will take resource commitment to implement project management and resources to support the long-term project management initiative.

The resources assigned to successfully implement a project management culture form a Project Management Office. Unfortunately many PMO staff members think of PMOs as the place that makes processes and templates. There is a limited amount of value to this model and it is important that the PMO be focused on providing much more value in everything it does. It is a term we call the "Value-added PMO."

You Need a PMO that Provides Value to the Organization

The nature of the PMO is they can quickly be viewed as overheard – a barrier to swift completion of projects. Of course, that is just the opposite of what they should be doing. In fact, the focus of the PMO should be to help execute projects better, faster and cheaper.

Negative perception of the PMO is twofold. In many cases the PMO is, in fact, not providing value-added services that result in better project outcomes. The second problem is that many PMOs are doing great things, but not measuring and communicating the value they provide.

This project management training class puts all the pieces in place to make sure work the PMO does provides value and that value is measured and communicated.

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Active Learning

This project management training class is a stimulating combination of class interaction, active learning exercises and group collaboration. Each is designed to teach through practice so that you are readily able to apply what you learn to your work immediately. In this project management training class we will have exercises and a progressive case study to:

• Understand the difference between projects, programs and portfolios
• Practice a current state assessment and future state vision
• Determine the appropriate PMO products and services to close the gap to the future state
• Estimate short-term and long-term resource needs
• Create a PMO Roadmap that provides guidance to the PMO for the next 12-18 months
• Build a PMO Communication Plan
• Develop a PMO Scorecard

IMMEDIATE benefits of participating in this project management training workshop:

1. Understand the differences between projects, programs and portfolios
2. Review the multiple models for creating PMOs
3. Learn the importance of identifying PMO sponsors, customers and stakeholders
4. Determine how to identify the right aspects of your organization for evaluation
5. Practice conducting current state assessments
6. See how to gather requirements for the future state vision
7. Create a gap analysis showing the work to be done to move to the future state
8. Discover why the gap analysis is the key to defining a PMO (not the future state vision)
9. Understand how implementing project management is a culture change initiative
10. List the common products and services that are the core of most PMOs
11. Discuss many of the advanced products and services that are needed by many PMOs
12. Narrow down the specific set of products and services that your PMO will offer that provide the most value to the organization
13. Gain the knowledge to tie the work of the PMO to objectives, goals or future state vision
14. Calculate the right number of resources required to adequately staff a PMO
15. Learn about various specialty roles in larger PMOs
16. Determine the relative timeframe for deploying the various products and services of the PMO
17. Create a PMO Roadmap to provide direction for the PMO for the next 12-18 months
18. Build a PMO Communication Plan to proactively market the value the PMO provides
19. Define the details of a PMO Scorecard to measure the value delivered by the PMO
20. Create a PMO Deployment Plan to tie all of the PMO definition work together