Establishing a PMO 美国项目管理考试.pdf

Establishing a PMO Establishing a Project Management Office To fulfill their duty to ensure that their clients can make the best use of their time and resources many IT consultants are taking the lead role in helping organizations establish formal project management processes that encourage the delivery of work initiatives on time within budget and to an agreed upon level of quality Part of the ability to execute better faster and cheaper comes from the organization s implementation of common processes and practices across the entire organization That way there is very little learning curve for the project manager and the team members as they transition from one project to another The larger an organization gets and the more projects that are executed at one time the more difficult it becomes to enforce this organizational consistency Without it though the full value of implementing a common project management methodology is not reached Consulting firms tend to recognize this and usually have a common framework or a full methodology that all consultants use However this practice is not prevalent in other types of companies This is where consulting firms that have experience with project management processes can help their clients Often a consultant will help establish a centralized organization responsible for various aspects of project management methodologies This group may be called Project Office Enterprise Project Office Project Management Center of Excellence or the Project Management Resource Team In this download in which we ve compiled eight articles that have previously been published on TechRepublic we ll use the term Project Management Office PMO 1 Y2K projects brought PMOs to the mainstream Although the concept of the PMO has been around for years for many organizations the awareness level was raised with Y2K Many companies especially larger ones realized that they needed to make a concerted and coordinated effort to ensure that their systems could withstand the Y2K cutover The basic infrastructure of a PMO was implemented with a single minded focus to coordinate Y2K projects After 2000 passed many companies disbanded the infrastructure while others realized the long term value in continuing to coordinate aspects of project management centrally A PMO can offer many potential products and services depending on the needs of the organization and the vision of the PMO sponsor the person generally responsible for PMO funding Before the PMO can be successful however it must gain agreement from the management team on its overall role and the general expectations it needs to achieve A typical PMO is responsible for deploying a consistent project management methodology within the organization including processes templates and best practices This is not a onetime event but a broad initiative that could cover a number of years While a PMO demands precious resources the hope is that the investment in the PMO will be more than saved by implementing common practices that allow every project within the organization to be completed better faster and cheaper Since consultants tend to be further along in their adoption of common project management processes many companies use them to assist in this effort Here is a list of roles that a PMO fills within an organization and a way to outline the PMO s influence in the client s business The PMO value proposition PMOs can be established to provide a narrow or broad set of services This list includes many of the common responsibilities a full PMO would perform In general a PMO 1 Establishes and deploys a common set of project management processes and templates which saves each project manager or each organization from having to create them on its own These reusable project management components help projects start up more quickly and with less effort 2003 TechRepublic Inc All rights reserved Establishing a PMO 2 Builds the methodology and updates it to account for improvements and best practices For example as new or revised processes and templates are made available the PMO deploys them consistently to the organization 3 Facilitates improved project team communications by having common processes deliverables and terminology Less misunderstanding and confusion occurs within the organization if everyone uses the same language and terminology for project related work 4 Provides training internal or outsourced to build core project management competencies and a common set of experiences If the training is delivered by the PMO there is a further reduction in overall training costs paid to outside vendors 5 Delivers project management coaching services to keep projects from getting into trouble Projects at risk can also be coached to ensure they don t worsen 6 Tracks basic information on the current status of all projects in the organization and provides project visibility to management in a common and consistent manner 7 Tracks organization wide metrics on the state of project management project delivery and the value being provided to the business The PMO also assesses the general project delivery environment on an ongoing basis to determine the improvements that have been made 8 Acts as the overall advocate for project management to the organization This includes actively educating and selling managers and team members on the value gained through the use of consistent project management processes 2 Build a PMO that makes the most sense to your organization There are almost as many varieties of project management offices PMOs as there are companies For example some companies rely on the PMO to be responsible for all areas of project management and project execution Others want the PMO to provide a consolidated reporting view of all projects in the organization Before you can start a PMO you must define how it will function within the organization A recent client was facing this dilemma In our first few conversations we talked about common project management processes a training curriculum coaching services and a staff of four people After a subsequent meeting with the sponsor however it became clear that the funding level and the sponsor commitment would only support a much more modest PMO implementation of one person This might be supplemented with consulting services to make sure the project starts off on the right track Start creating your PMO through a formal organizational definition The value of defining a logical organization is twofold First you gain clarity and agreement on what you are doing and why This information is communicated to clients stakeholders and your own staff so that everyone starts with a common set of expectations Second this exercise provides a framework for the PMO to guide decision making in the future For example you wouldn t want to undertake any projects that didn t help you achieve your organizational objectives Likewise major decisions can be evaluated based on whether they fit into your strategy Building a logical organization The following major components define your logical PMO Many companies have the expertise to perform this definition by themselves However defining missions and strategies is something that most of us don t do every day That s why consultants are brought in to assist Some consultants specialize in these organizational assessments They can facilitate the definition process and make sure that the resulting logical organization provides a firm foundation for the subsequent staffing and project execution Mission The mission describes what the PMO does how it is done and for whom It s a very general statement usually aligning the PMO to the value it provides to the business An example of a PMO mission statement is The Acme Project Management Office PMO implements and supports project management methodology to enable our organization to deliver projects faster cheaper with higher quality and within estimates and expectations 2003 TechRepublic Inc All rights reserved Establishing a PMO Strategy There may be many ways to achieve your mission A strategy is a high level set of directions that articulate how the organization will achieve its mission Defining a strategy also helps get the PMO aligned in the same direction as strategies in the rest of the company Strategy defines how you ll do things over the long term say three years and is used as an overall framework for the more detailed tactical decisions that are made on a month to month and day to day basis Sponsor All organizations don t have a sponsor but a PMO typically does In this respect a PMO is similar to a project and in fact many PMOs are established with a project The sponsor is the person responsible for the PMO funding and in many cases the sponsor is the manager to whom the PMO reports Sponsors are important for all initiatives but they re absolutely critical for a culture change initiative Stakeholders The stakeholders are the specific people or groups who have an interest or a partial stake in the products and services your PMO provides Internal stakeholders could include organizations you work with but which are not directly under the PMO umbrella External stakeholders could include suppliers investors community groups and government organizations Clients Clients are the main individuals or groups that request and use the products and services your organization provides These people may also be referred to as customers While there may be many stakeholders it is important to recognize who the clients are They should be the ones the PMO focuses on to help them meet their project and business objectives Objectives Objectives are concrete statements describing what the PMO is trying to achieve in the short term perhaps up to one year The objective should be written at a lower level so that it can be evaluated at the conclusion of the end of the year or the end of a major project to see whether it was achieved A well worded objective will be specific measurable attainable achievable realistic and timebound SMART Products Services Products describe tangible items that the PMO produces and they are typically produced as the result of a project Services refer to work done for clients or stakeholders which doesn t result in the creation of tangible deliverables Services provide value by fulfilling the needs of others through contact and interaction The PMO achieves its objectives through the creation of products and the delivery of services Transitional activities Transitional activities are the specific activities and projects required to implement the physical PMO If the PMO is new these activities describe the work required to build and staff the new organization This doesn t imply the creation of a full work plan but it includes the immediate activities required to get you to the point that the PMO work plan can be put into place There are other aspects of the organization that can be defined as well including the PMO vision principles goals skills roles and responsibilities 3 Deploying project management in a client s organization Project management methodology is a framework that allows project managers to successfully manage projects of varying sizes Most organizations however don t follow a formal consistent methodology I ll describe how you can help a client deploy project management within an organization The project management office PMO can provide many services but there s no question that most companies will want the PMO to be responsible for building project management skills and competencies within the organization Since there is no perfect solution that s right for every company I m going to make some assumptions about the services the PMO will provide to your client s organization These services include creating or buying the project management methodology delivering project management training and coaching conducting project audits and organization assessments and providing consolidated project reporting and metrics It s worth noting that many companies will choose to deploy and support project management methodology on their own and others will use consultants in one or more capacities For instance at a 2003 TechRepublic Inc All rights reserved Establishing a PMO company where I previously worked we probably had the expertise to build the PMO and deploy common project management methodology but our CIO felt more comfortable having one of the big five consulting companies provide guidance Culture change The key to a project like this is to recognize that getting people to become better project managers requires them to do things differently managing projects more actively consistently and rigorously It also requires different behaviors of the people who work on projects and the clients of the projects Because we re trying to change the way people do their jobs this effort is an organizational change management initiative It s all about trying to change the culture Driving culture change requires much more than simply teaching new skills although training certainly plays a part The PMO must evaluate aspects of the organization that drive behaviors Processes that drive good project management behaviors must be reinforced processes that are barriers to good project management must be changed or eliminated Resistance to change must be accounted for expected and then overcome In some companies it s easier for employees to buy into the new processes if a consultant is saying they need to do it This is similar to the dilemma many parents face with their children Children often will listen to teachers doctors or other outsiders but they won t listen to their parents Other companies are antagonistic toward outside parties in these companies using a consultant partner would do more harm than good The environment and the vision Many change initiatives begin when we try to define what the future will look like However describing the future state of project management in your client s organization is not the major deliverable at this point The ultimate deliverable from the initial assessment is a gap analysis that shows what you need to focus on to move the organization to where you want it to be The first deliverable is a current state assessment that looks at the organization s culture enablers barriers project success rates project roles client attitudes compensation systems skill levels standards and working environment You ll get most of the information you need from a cross section of managers staff and clients using interviews surveys and focus groups While you re looking at the current environment also ask these people what the future will look like When you have a good picture of the state of the organization and how the future state should look you can create a gap analysis that shows how far the organization is from where it needs to be You ll use this information to create your deployment strategy and approach Once you reach an agreement on what the future looks like and how to get there you ll be at a point where you can move forward with the deployment project Deploy in waves Since you re probably introducing a number of changes in how people do their work it s important to deploy products and services at different times Like waves rolling toward the beach certain aspects of the new project management culture should be deployed in waves the PMO then pauses before rolling out the next wave In many cases one wave builds on a prior wave After a while you will have introduced many new skills and new processes but the staff will not have been as traumatized as if everything came crashing down on them at once The deployment waves touch on all the aspects of the organization that need to be dealt with to effectively change the culture A sample list follows Conduct general awareness sessions to explain what is coming and why Provide basic project management training focused on up front definition and planning skills Introduce standard project management processes and templates 2003 TechRepublic Inc All rights reserved Establishing a PMO Roll out project management coaching services to help project managers use the training and templates effectively Align the rewards and recognition systems by tying a portion of the staff s performance review and bonus criteria to the successful implementation and use of the project management methodology Implement a document repository to hold the common processes templates best practices and standards Reinforce the management governance process to ensure that senior and middle management are implementing the new initiative within their organizations Introduce ongoing and random project audits and periodic organization assessments Teach advanced project management classes focused on more sophisticated processes such as quality management metrics management and risk management Support the new training concepts with more sophisticated processes and templates Build a PMO support organization to handle the project management methodology on a long term basis Deploying project management processes and building project management capability in an organization requires much more than simply training the staff and walking away There is a process that must be followed to move the organization toward its vision Once the work is understood you should divide it into smaller pieces implemented in successive waves throughout the organization so the process will have a better chance of success throughout the organization 4 Defining and supporting project management methodology Organizations that have a project management office PMO usually make the PMO responsible for project management methodology the processes procedures templates best practices standards guidelines and policies that you use to manage projects The methodology must be adaptable to meet the changing needs of the business and it must add value to the projects that use it As new technologies and methods emerge t