Importance of a Project/Programme Management Office ( PMO) in Project - Case Study Example

PMO: What is It and Do You Need One in Programme/Project Delivery? Introduction Lang et al. (2006) have defined the purpose of project management as:“Successfully managing projects that emphasizes producing quality results within budget and schedule constraints.” The project scope is the sum of all activities that need to be completed for successful completion of the project. A project manager has been defined as: “A person with more responsibility than authority for doing something that has never been done before, for people who don’t know what they want, who must first predict the unknown, make a plan to cope with the unforeseen, and execute the plan with too-limited resources that they do not control, and who is held completely responsible for the results.” Authorisation of projects is a consideration of one or more of the following considerations: market demand; organisational need; request from the customer; advances in technology; and/or legal requirement. Considerations for a PMO are to: improve chances of project success; standardise the process for project management and execution; prioritize projects; and adequately allocate resources. Managing projects has been considered to include activities, including identification of requirements and establishment of objectives that are clear and achievable, maintaining a balance between time, scope, quality and costs, adapting to concerns and expectations of stakeholders by making changes to specifications, plans and approaches, negotiating with project stakeholders, working to gain support among executive management, standardising project management practices, and aligning them with corporate culture (Lang, 2006). A study has been designed to examine the role of PMO in project management practices, and thereby delivery of projects, specifically medium sized government IT projects in the UK. This includes a review of project management practices, review of the roles and responsibilities and emerging trends in PMO practices. A questionnaire has been considered to examine qualitative and quantitative aspects of PMO practices. The questionnaire would be designed as a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods for assessment. Volunteer departments/organisations handling medium sized government IT projects in the UK have been considered for the study. The expected outcome of the study has been discussed and practices and trends identified in addition to answering the research question about the criticality of the role of PMO in project execution and project delivery. Aims and Objectives The study is in two parts. The first part comprises of a study of PMO, PMO implementation, PMO roles and responsibilities, and benefits of implementation of PMO. The second part of the study aims to study the relationship between PMO and project delivery. More specifically, the study objectives are to test the following hypotheses: 1. PMO is necessary for project delivery; and 2. PMO can enhance project delivery by better project planning and execution. Scope Project management is common in information technology. The scope of the study includes organisations that regularly implement projects, or organisations that have established project management departments. A survey of medium sized government IT projects in the UK will strengthen the study, and reinforce the principles on which project management practices are based on. Background A review of relevant literature on creation, implementation and outcomes of PMO implementation has been conducted. A study conducted by Business Improvement Architects (2005) surveyed over 750 organisations with corporate and departmental PMOs. The report based on the research addresses the kind of organisation to set up for positioning projects for future success. This includes strategically aligning projects to ensure that benefits are obvious to executives, creation of an environment to nurture and grow successful projects, positioning for support and recognition of projects for access to resources, training that is most effective for building teams and managers that are competent, and staying one step ahead of the competition. PMO PMOs are relatively new departments and exist in organisation of all sizes. PMOs could be organisation-wide or could be created for specific departments. Long term successes of PMOs require development of processes, such as management of resources for the management of projects; development of guidelines; development of tools and templates. Organisations planning to implement PMOs should plan well to reduce the likelihood of failure. Key activities in the creation of PMO include development of a methodology for project management, PMO structure, and identification of roles and responsibilities of PMO. However, further activities, such as development of clear scope statement and project plan and identification of PMO’s action plan and mandate in the short term as well as long term are necessary. Other activities include benchmarking best practices and understanding the roles and responsibilities of PMO sponsor. PMBOK and “ISO 10006: Guidelines for Quality Management in Projects” are knowledge resources available for project management. These guidelines enhance quality to the management of projects, and the end product or service. Organisation use documentation while managing projects and methods of documentation include shared files and handbooks via the intranet. Primary ways of ensuring documentation methodology include project reporting and monitoring (Business Improvement Architects, 2005). Training of project sponsors and functional managers help ensure them understand their roles and responsibilities in ensuring project success. This affects the level of sponsorship and buy-in. Project managers and PMO staff should develop influencing skills to cope with constraints of organisational structures that are matrixed. In such organisations, organisational priorities continue to shift and PMOs need to align their projects strategically with organisational priorities and increase the likelihood of success of the projects. Risk management, though used by only a minority of organisations, could increase the likelihood of success in projects by the deployment of risk assessment tools. This is a preferable method in the management of risk rather than the management of projects by crisis. Competency evaluation tools allows for improved selection of project managers and team members by the identification of competencies. This method ensures selection of right people on the basis of their knowledge, skills and experiences. Meeting customer requirements within time and cost constraints have been traditional measure of project success. However, opportunities exist for the addition of additional quality measures. Knowledge retention and transfer could be achieved by documentation archiving. Active approaches, such as knowledge management systems and knowledge sharing sessions allow for more active methods for knowledge retention and transfer (Business Improvement Architects, 2005). Role of PMO Desire for greater success in the implementation of projects, and to have tools, techniques and processes that are predictable and reusable have been stated to be the primary reasons for setting up PMO. This has resulted in PMO mandates that include improvements that could be measured in the management of projects. This includes mandates, such as being on time, on budget and meeting customer requirements. Project monitoring, portfolio reporting of projects and imparting project management skills by training are primary responsibilities of the PMO (Business Improvement Architects, 2005). Lauriano et al. (1999) proposed the deployment of PMO as an organisational strategy. PMO being responsible for project success should use tools strategically to exercise authority, and enhance the odds of success. This includes the preparation of a written governance agreement defining roles and authorities, such as role of sponsors, project managers, functional managers, budget authority, scope authority, resource allocation, change management, etc. Team members should be assignment to the PMO throughout the project. This decision should be negotiated between the project manager and functional manager, and made in the best interests of the project. Project failures have been attributed to lack of sponsor commitment. Issues and status reports must be communicated to the project sponsor by the project manager. The sponsor should be responsible for securing budget and resources, enforcing the written governance agreement, acting as a liaison, and endorsing the PMO authority. The PMO should be responsible for preparation of standards and guidelines, based on best industry practices. This includes preparation of service agreements, RFQs/RFPs, project scope, project plans, project proposals, etc. Anderson (2008) described Carnegie Mellon University’s Planning and PMO’s approach to project management. This includes discovery and tactical planning processes. The discovery process is used to scope and describe projects proposed in tactical planning. Tactical planning involves development of mini charter, followed by full charter instead of a project plan. Factors for Success Executive sponsorship and presence of clear project management processes have been attributed as critical factors for project management successes. Executive sponsorship could be gained by strategic alignment of projects with the organisation’s goals. Successful PMOs have structured themselves to deliver portfolio of services with a high level of quality to support the business. PMOs are oriented towards consolidators and distributors of information within the organisation. PMOs that struggle in the achievement of effective communication and/or reporting may not receive adequate support from senior management and functional management (Business Improvement Architects, 2005). PMO Impact PMO is a strategy that could be deployed to: “harness the power of cross-functional teams; control the onslaught of integrated technologies; provide ownership and accountability of critical efforts; fully assess the impact and risk of change; and provide guidance on best practices and standards” (Lauriano, 1999). Projects should be strategically aligned with organisational goals to ensure executive sponsorship. PMO should be developed as a service agency to ensure that the PMO exists to provide a service to the business rather than consolidators and distributors of information. Ongoing communication is necessary within the PMO and the rest of the organisation. Such communication is necessary to gain executive support and also serves as an early warning system. Effective planning from early stages of PMO creation is vital for long term success. Training, mentoring and leading by example are principles that have been used by successful PMOs (Business Improvement Architects, 2005). Design and Methodology The first part of the study includes a review of PMO, PMO implementation, PMO roles and responsibilities, and benefits of PMO implementation. The study would be completed by reviewing available literature on PMO. Resources such as those published by Project Management Institute and International Association of Project and Program Management would be referred to for the study. For the second part of the study, 50 organisations that have been involved in medium sized government IT projects in the UK would be enrolled in the study. Organisations that have implemented a PMO or are in the process of implementing a PMO would be sought for the study. Volunteer organisations would be sought by providing detailed objectives of the study and the expected outcomes of the study. This would include explaining potential benefits to the participating organisation in improving their PMO and project management practices. Also, the study report would enable organisations benchmark against best practices within the industry. A responsible person, such as a manager or project management executive within the organisation would be designated to execute the survey and as a point of contact. Also, the individual would be sought as an industrial consultant for inputs in the study and future studies. Method for communication would include personal visit wherever possible, and communication by phone or email. The most efficient and reliable means of communication would be relied on to achieve objectives. Once a representative has been assigned within the volunteer organisation, a schedule would be developed in consultation with the representative to ensure timely completion of the survey. Considerations for cultural issues would be made, since organisations across cultural boundaries would be enrolled in the study. All considerations would be made to make them comfortable with the study. This includes explaining the objectives of the study, and how their organisation could potentially benefit and improve their practices from the study. Primary data collection method would be employed. This includes the use of online and paper based questionnaires. A questionnaire would be developed to conduct qualitative and quantitative analysis. The questions would be segregated in broad themes, and each theme would consist of specific questions. Broad themes include planning for PMO implementation, implementation of PMO, benefits of PMO implementation, and challenges faced after PMO implementation. Questions for each theme would be generalised so that it is applicable to all organisations. Questions would be formed based on an understanding of each theme. Questions would be formulated to answer specific questions, such as affirmative or negative answers, or a range that the respondent may feel comfortable answering. Other questions would include questions to capture the size of PMO, budget, tools, methods, practices, templates, etc. Questions would be designed to identify trends or patterns within specific practices or broader themes. Broad themes would be broad enough to cover all aspects of PMO implementation. However, care would be exercised to ensure that organisation specific influences do not creep into the study. Each theme would be examined critically by the development of specific questions and all possible aspects of the theme examined. PMBOK and “ISO 10006: Guidelines for Quality Management in Projects” provide project management practices to organisations. Questions within the practice theme would be developed to examine whether such practices have been implemented in the participating organisation. Review of literature has determined emergence of best practices for PMO. Questions within this theme would be developed to examine whether organisations have been experiencing the emergence of such practices and have been responsive in the development of practices to adopt such practices, and how beneficial it might have been for them while doing so. Also, as a theme based on pitfalls, questions would be developed to determine whether organisations are capable of identifying such potential pitfalls, and are equipped or positioned to handle such pitfalls. A final section or theme based on future expectations would include questions to identify perspectives of practicing project management professionals. Future expectations might vary depending on the industry or sector of application. The questions would be designed to capture such expectations for the particular industry or sector specific application. Overall, the questionnaire would be designed not to be verbose, but capture the essential features to answer specific questions in relation to PMO and identify valuable practices or emerging trends in project management practices, specifically roles and responsibilities of PMO. Once the questionnaire has been developed and approved by the advisory committee, several methods are available for conducting the study. This includes mailing the questionnaire to representatives by ordinary mail, email or fax transmittal. Another alternative method is the development of a website to conduct the survey online. This method is more reliable in terms of project execution, and could save effort in terms of coordinating activities while executing other methods. Also, it could result in cost savings in terms of printing and mailing paper based questionnaires. However, the most feasible and practical method as considered by the advisory committee would be considered for project execution. During the development of the survey method, organisations would be communicated and enrolled in the study. The target number of organisations is a minimum of 50, however if the response is better than expected a larger group of organisations would be enrolled in the study. Simultaneously, representatives would be sought and the method of the study explained to the representatives. Representatives would be briefed on the questionnaire and a few examples solved for them. Also, the importance of a true representation on the questionnaire would be explained to the representatives. Wherever queries arise, they would be answered to their satisfaction. Once the representatives are comfortable with the study design and methodology, they would be encouraged to complete the questionnaire, review it and send it back for analysis. Organisations would be assured that their personal details would not be revealed and all efforts would be made to keep specific details confidential. They would be assured that the objectives of the study are to reinforce certain practices and identify emerging trends or practices and none of the individual inconsistencies would be identified or published. Data collected would thus represent qualitative as well as quantitative data. It is believed that a professional look to the questionnaire will encourage further response and increase the rate of response. Hence, all efforts would be made to give a professional look to the questionnaire (“My Dissertation Proposal”). It is estimated that the study, would extend over 90 days. This includes the design of questionnaire, approval of study by the advisory committee, enrolment of volunteer organisations, data collection, data analysis, and preparation of the report. Resources required for this study are volunteer organisations, questionnaire for data gathering, and data analysis tools, such as SPSS. The estimated time for project completion is 90 days. The development of a website for an online version of the questionnaire is expected to be completed in a weeks’ time. In order to develop and online version of the questionnaire, some server space is required and web development tools are required. A simple html or java version of the questionnaire online is considered adequate for the study. This requires obtaining approval from the concerned department within the university, and is expected to be obtained within a week. Computing tools available in the laboratories have been considered adequate. Other resources required include storage space for the questionnaires, which could be a CD or any other form of memory device, transmittal device such as fax as a preparation for some cases of questionnaire transmittal and receipt. Volunteers considering mailing the questionnaire by ordinary mail would be provided with pre addressed and stamped envelopes for the same. Access to printers, copy machines and library facilities has been considered adequate for the study. During project design and execution, considerations have been made for reliability, validity, sampling error, and non sampling errors. Non-sampling errors include researcher error, interviewer error, and respondent error. A random sample size of 50 or greater has been considered to account for sampling errors. The questionnaire has been designed with great effort to reduce non-sampling errors (“My Dissertation Proposal”). Analysis Analyses include qualitative analysis, and quantitative analysis. Data obtained by the questionnaire would be described and summarised. Variables would be analysed to identify relationships and differences between variables, comparison of variables, and forecast trends. A mixed approach has been adopted where themes are examined at greater depth. The themes represent the qualitative approach and examination of the themes represents the quantitative approach. The data would be tabulated and the responses for each respondent would be tabulated in a spreadsheet. A summary for the tabulated data would be constructed. Descriptive statistic would be used to describe the data set. This typically includes an average and a measure of dispersion. Correlation coefficients would be examined by the use of tests, such as chi-square to examine the linear relation between variables across organisations. Secondary data would be represented by the use of diagrams. Quantitative data analysis would be carried out by the use of tools, such as SPSS. Provisions for handling missing data would be made by use of appropriate coding, such as use of 0 to represent missing values. Tests of statistical significance would be performed to examine the hypotheses, with a level of risk of 5 in 100. Data from themes would be presented and would be used to form the basis of logical and structured discussion. The discussion would be relevant to the hypotheses and research questions (“My Dissertation Proposal”). Conclusion It is expected from the tests of hypotheses that presence of PMO is vital for achieving project success. Also, PMO can enhance the quality of the project, and the product or service by the use of tools and/or methods for project planning and execution. Four phases for PMO have been identified in a study by International Association of Project and Program Management (2004). Phase one is having projects under control. This includes definition of project boundaries and resources, and deployment of processes to ensure reporting and change management. Phase two includes project value proposition. This includes capturing business values and impact to customers. Phase three includes portfolio management, where projects that are provide strategic values to operating companies or provide the highest returns on investment are selected. Phase four includes project management governance, where a method for review and approval of project progress at different stages of the project is developed. From the study, it is expected that the concept of the deployment of PMO as a strategy to: work in cross-functional teams; successfully integrate technologies; provide ownership and accountability; assess the risk and impact of change; and provide guidance on best practices and standards, would be reinforced (Lauriano, 1999). It is expected that projects that have been strategically aligned with organisational goals have been most successful in securing executive sponsorship. PMOs that have been developed as a service agency to ensure that the PMO exists to provide a service to the business rather than consolidators and distributors of information have been most successful. PMOs with long term vision consider ongoing communication to be necessary within the PMO and the rest of the organisation. Such communication serves to gain executive support and also provide early warning to issues that could arise. Long term success could be achieved by effective planning since the early early stages of PMO creation. It is expected that principles, such as training, mentoring and leading by example have been used by successful PMOs (Business Improvement Architects, 2005). References Anderson, Kelly. (2008). Development of a Project Management Office. Available: http://www.educause.edu/Resources/DevelopmentofaProjectManagemen/163376. Last accessed 6 May 2009. Business Improvement Architects. (2006). From Crisis to Control. Available: http://www.bia.ca/fctc-promoflyer.pdf. Last accessed 6 May 2009. Business Improvement Architects. (2005). The Impact of Implementing a Project Management Office. Available: http://www.pmi.org/PDF/pp_mikestanleigh.pdf. Last accessed 6 May 2009. International Association of Project and Program Management. (2004). PMO Observations. Available: http://www.iappm.org/IAPPM-PMO%20Observations-2004.ppt. Last accessed 6 May 2009. Lang, Kathy J. (2006). PMO The Key to Project Success. Available: http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/powerpoint/MWR0665.pps. Last accessed 6 May 2009. Lauriano, Deborah A. (1999). The Project Management Office as an Organizational Strategy. Available: http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/html/cmr9924/cmr9924.html. Last accessed 6 May 2009. Thames Valley University. (2009). My Dissertation Proposal. Available: http://brent.tvu.ac.uk/dissguide/hm1u1/hm1u1fra.htm. Last accessed 6 May 2009. Read More