The Project Management office (pmo) - Teloxy Engineering

PME601

WEEK THREE HOME WORK

VIDEO ONE: The Project Management Office (PMO)

The PMO has become an important part of the business process because they align project objectives and broader business goals.  One of the most important rolls the PMO has is taking on the role of becoming the guardian of all project management intellectual property.  Executives fight over control of the PMO so they can have access to all the intellectual property. In order for a company and senior executives to accept a PMO you should gradually include less threatening activities then more threatening activities in order to let company executives become comfortable with the PMO. The PMO should always report to C level executives.  The PMO should manage activities, which will enhance the company for the future. The PMO should always be looking to the future. The PMO’s focus should be on the corporate value-added activities. Most PMO’s are overhead and the return on invest (ROI) should be measured. Metrics must be established to show the ROI such as customer satisfaction or less project risk.  There are three types of PMO’s functional PMO (resource management), Customer PMO (customer management), and corporate PMO (strategic and operational issues). It is possible to have multiple PMO’s networked together. The PMO has evolved over the years and now looks at staffing, change requests; validate funding, stream-lining project closure.

VIDEO TWO: Understand Project Management Maturity Models

Maturity and excellence in project management cannot be achieved quickly without strategic planning for project management.  Customers are asking companies to demonstrate project management maturity through a model of their choice. There are several models in the market place.  First, the non-structured maturity model has an embryonic stage, executive management acceptance, line management acceptance, Growth, Maturity.

Second, there is the Project management maturity model which has 5 levels common language, Common process, singular methodology, benchmarking, and continuous improvement.  

When a company is at level there 1 is only lip service provided, no executive support, no attempt to recognize benefits. Why are there roads block…resistance to change, not invented here. Steps to advance to the next level include training and education, certified PMP, Understanding the PMBK, recognition of available PM tools, communicate in a common project management language. One of the most important things which must be accomplished is a change in culture. A cultural change is required to advance from level one to level 2. Levels 3, 4, 5 become a cycle of continuous improvement. Selection of which model to use is based on the complexity of the model, ease of use, cost, time, participants, assessment instruments.

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