EDITOR’S NOTE: Many of you will know Peter Taylor from his popular book – The Lazy Project Manager – but did you know Peter also recently released a new book entitled “Leading Successful PMOs“? You might already know that I’m a bit of a PMO enthusiast so I’m looking forward to reviewing this book and a review will be posted soon. In the meantime here’s the first of two articles from Peter telling you more about Leading Successful PMOs. – LAS

The purpose of the PMO

The Project Management Office (PMO) in a business or professional enterprise is the department or group that defines and maintains the standards of process, generally related to project management, within the organization.

• The PMO strives to introduce economies of repetition in the execution of projects.
• The PMO aims to reduce project risk through common practice and quality assurance.
• The PMO links business strategy to project based execution of that strategy.

In a recent survey ‘The State of the PMO 2010″ research showed that 84% of companies now have a PMO (Project Management Office) in some form to support their project based activity.

According to Gartner Industry Research, ‘building a Project Management Office (PMO) is a timely competitive tactic’. Furthermore, they believe that “organizations, who establish standards for project management, including a PMO with suitable governance, will experience half the major project cost overruns, delays, and cancellations of those that fail to do so”.

PMOs combine project, programme and portfolio management by putting all of those principles in the hands of the 'right team'

What is a PMO?

Project Management is all about doing something (a project) in the right way and the ‘right way’ is all about method and discipline and quality and control.

Programme Management is all about doing those things (the projects) in the right sequence or order.

Portfolio Management is about doing the right things.

Which leaves the PMO; and which you can think of as doing all the above but with the right team (the right things, in the right way, in the right order).

Are all PMOs the same?

A PMO can typically be one of six types from an organizational perspective:

• A Departmental PMO
• A special–purpose PMO
• An Outreaching (Supplier) PMO
• An External (Customer)PMO
• And a model of an Enterprise PMO (internal or external)

There is one view that there are only three PMO types, enterprise, departmental and special-purpose but I believe that what is often forgotten are the organisations that reach outside with their PMOs to external customers to support project managers working alongside and managing customer led projects. If you are a service based company you will certainly recognise this flavour of the PMO. In addition there is the work that such PMOs can get involved in through advising and supporting customer centred PMOs – offering governance, guidance and resources.

So I believe that there are in fact six types that need to be understood or at least appreciated.

A way of looking at this is to consider ‘Internal’ PMOs – those PMOs that oversee projects that are sanctioned within an organization for self-improvement or compliance reasons – as one category.

Then ‘External’ PMOs – those PMOs that exist to ensure that organisations’ customer projects deliver the return on investment expected – as a second category.

A third category can be the ‘Special purpose’ PMOs created for specific situations or needs.

Against these there is the scale of the PMO coverage from departmental or business unit level through to enterprise level.

Internal PMOs

Peter Taylor's new book, Leading Successful PMOs, is available through Amazon

Let’s begin with perhaps the most common type of PMO; the internal to an organization PMO that is focused on projects primarily within that organization, for self-improvement or compliance purposes.

And the most common variety will be the departmental PMO.

• Departmental PMOs: Department based PMOs might be just a small group that manages very specific projects within their own landscape and with their own resources. Any projects that require resources outside this department may have difficulties securing and maintaining such resources. Moving up to the organizational level the bandwidth of resources and scope of projects is greater but the limitations may still be encountered.

External PMOs

Now let’s consider those PMOs that are not internal to an organization as such but that focus on the outside customers of many service companies for example.

Here we can describe the outreaching PMO.

• Outreaching (Supplier) PMO: Here the PMO’s role is to oversee project methodology and practice and standards for a community of project managers dealing with projects inside customer organizations – deploying solutions developed by their own company as a supplier to these external customers.
• External (Customer) PMO: As an extension of the service that outreaching PMOs may offer then they may also offer guidance and governance to these external customers on setting up and running their own PMOs.

Now it is quite possible that an external PMO can also undertake internal project oversight and management, and equally that an internal PMO might undertake the occasional external or customer focused project activity. The internal and external tags indicate the primary focus of the project work.

Enterprise PMOs

For both the internal and the external PMOs there can be large benefits in scaling up to an enterprise level.

• Enterprise Internal PMO: The next step for a PMO is for it to move up to the corporate level. This allows the PMO to gain a strategic position within the organization and to ensure that projects proceed based on their strategic alignment to the key business objectives of that organization. Such am enterprise PMO based is far more likely to gain executive support.
• Enterprise external PMO: The next step for an ‘Outreaching’ PMO is for it to move up to the corporate level. As in internal PMOs this allows the ‘Outreaching’ PMO to gain a strategic position within its own organization and offers to external customers a consistent project delivery and service model across the world.

Special Purpose PMOs

And there may be a need in some cases for special PMOs created for a specific and discrete purpose.

• Special- purpose PMO: What about the special–purpose PMO which may have been created for a single major project or set of projects, something that was critical to the business as it underwent a step change in its technology platform as one example. Here the special-purpose PMO may be departmental or enterprise focused and may be IT and/or business focused. It will, however, be created only for a special purpose and will, most likely, cease to exist once that purpose has been completed.

Operational Mode

So we have explored one dimension of the PMO; the internal or external focus of its work. Now let’s explore the second dimension if you will; that of operating method or approach.

A PMO can operate in a number of ways:

• Supportive
• Controlling
• Directive

Supportive

The Supportive PMO is all about helping out project managers by providing some level of support in the form of project expertise, templates, guidelines, best practices (or at least proven practices), knowledge and project expertise, typically based on personal experience and/or a network of experienced people throughout the organisation.

It can be seen as a process of bringing together of a project community, where before there has only been silos of project based activity and a lack of knowledge sharing.

Why use a supporting model?

• The requirement is to merely aid the existing project activity to raise the levels of project success
• To share project management information across a wider group of project managers
• To  empower the project managers and project teams to solve common problems and be more successful

Controlling

The Controlling PMO is applicable where there is a desire to have a stronger discipline on all project activities, methods, procedures, documentation etc.

Why use a controlling model?

• To ensure that a standard and consistent methodology is used
• To ensure that regulatory compliance is adhered to
• Where there regular reviews that need to be passed
• A project or projects are high or higher risk than normal
• A project or projects are a high or higher profile than normal
• A new business endeavour

Directive

This Directive PMO goes beyond control and actually takes over the project or projects by providing the necessary project management experience and resources.

Project managers from the PMO itself are assigned to each new project and reporting of project progress is direct to the PMO itself.

Why use a directive model?

• To guarantee the highest level of consistency of project management practice across all projects
• To reduce costs by centralizing project services
• To de-risk project delivery

Blended

There is in fact another way that PMOs can operate and that is a combination of the three. A mixture of directive, supporting and controlling or perhaps better described as a ‘blended’ approach. And the blend can be of any two modes or a combination of all three.

This is a quite common PMO mechanism – being flexible depending upon the actual

And what does a PMO do?

Finally, and just for completeness sake, let’s take a very quick look at what a PMO does (or could do).

The short answer is ‘anything that the business wants it to do’ – especially if that PMO is in the period of proving value and the business in question has just made a significant investment in setting the PMO up.

The longer answer could include:

• Project Management community or practice ownership or lead
• Methodology
• Training and Certification
• Resource Management
• Project (Program – Portfolio) Reporting
• Coaching, mentoring, support
• Business alignment
• Quality Control
• Financial follow up and support
• Project selection and/or decision making

And many more besides these.

The point here is really that the PMO’s range of responsibilities can be simple or complex.

Add to that the many forms of PMOs that can exist then it could be said that there is no one answer or solution to the project and business challenges that the PMO could be the answer for.

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Last week I listened in on a webinar from Terry Doerscher from Planview, the webinar featured their findings from a recent survey focused on PMOs. If you’ve not had a chance to see the whole report of findings it is available online at The 2010 PMO 2.0 Trending Survey Report.

There are a lot of statistics, graphs and conclusions to look through but one area I wanted to share on the Camel were those areas around the resourcing of PMOs. Before we look at the findings in any detail, here’s a quick overview of what you’re seeing in the graphs below. The  two blocks of blue – represent the 2008 and 2010 findings so a comparison can be made over the two years. The respondents to the survey were asked to rate the level of impact of each of the operational challenges presented to them, choices were;

• Critical Problem (= 1)
• Significant Challenge (= 2)
• Minor Issue (= 3)
• Not a Problem (= 4)
• Not applicable (N/A)

The number on each bar is the % of respondents reporting that level of impact.

Inadequate Resources

Speak to many practitioners working within the Project, Programme and PMO environment and many will be quick to tell you about the lack of resources they have available to work with and where resources do exist, often they are inadequate in terms of availability, skills and experience . In this report, inadequate resources took third place behind organisational alignment and interdepartmental politics as the most problematic issue the PMO faces. 62% reported it as a significant or critical problem. This is inadequate resources in terms of the whole project management organisation – not just the PMO.

Inadequate Resources in Project Management Organisations

Inadequate PMO Staff

With the project management organisation as a whole feeling the effects from inadequate resources, it stands to reason that this will have a knock on effect to the PMO. PMOs historically have always taken a battering when it comes to resource management – if it’s not cutbacks when times are tough, it’s not being effectively resourced in the first place. Too many PMOs still have inadequate resources even though the senior management insist that PMOs are the way forward for managing and supporting an organisation’s portfolio of programmes and projects.

Inadequate PMO staff has long been an issue for many PMOs in the UK, with two main reasons for it. One, staff are often seconded to the PMO from other areas of the business – like finance or administration, because the organisation is trying out this new fangled concept and don’t want to hire the right resources first time to staff it because they’re not totally sure how it will pan out. Two, as time goes on with the PMO now staffed with people that are (a) learning all about project management, programme management and portfolio management from scratch or (b) wondering what the heck they’re doing there and wondering why they can’t just go back to their cosy admin job.  By this time the PMO may have been around for a few months but no-one is sure what they do or how they do it because the inadequate staffing issue is making people loose faith in the creation of the PMO (indeed, if they ever had faith in it in the first place!)

Responses to the survey shows 43% that believe inadequate PMO resources presents a significant challenge or critical problem.

Inadequate PMO Staff is a Challenge and a Problem

Lack of Training or Skills

PMOs are no different to any other profession in the workplace; when it comes to making sure the staff are adequately skilled up to do their job and also receive the training they need to make sure they continue to “support the right programmes and projects and support the delivery of the programmes and projects right”. Responses to the survey shows 40% that believe lack of training or skills presents a significant challenge or critical problem to their PMO. Interestingly it seems some organisations are addressing this, with a small percentage – 9% – believing it is no longer a problem (the difference between 2008 and 2010).

Lack of PMO training and skills

The question here is “what kind of training and skills are actually needed for PMO?“. There is still a lack of PMO centric training available – sure there are programme and project management courses available – but these courses don’t train a PMO in how to provide monthly reporting that actually gets looked at by the people who need it or how to balance a portfolio of programmes and projects.

Staff Turnover /Reassignment

The survey report does not make the distinction clear between staff turnover for the whole project organisation Vs PMO staff turnover levels however it seems to be a smaller problem – 72% report it as not a problem or a minor issue. It appears to me that as an organisational entity, project management departments or groups are pretty good at resource managing their own entities. When staff leave, others are available to step into key roles whilst hiring commences or is it a case of people working within project management don’t tend to leave their roles very often?

For a small percentage – 8.5% think staff turnover causes them a critical problem – which is an increase of 4.5% on 2008. Do these organisations have their hands tied when it comes to recruiting to fill the gaps and are left to muddle along with what they’ve got?

Staff Turnover

PMOs are not going away anytime soon, in fact they’re starting to make more and more of an impact on the project management landscape – especially with the increase attention placed on an organisation’s ability to manage the many streams of programmes and projects they are delivering. Portfolio offices, centres of excellence, strategic PMOs, the list goes on. Take a look at the report to gain an insight into the basic stats and figures about who is doing what with their PMO today

Thanks to Planview for allowing the sharing of the images in this post

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The latest conference from the PMOSIG has just been announced and it looks like 2011 will be the year of portfolio offices and Agile PMOs. If you’re not already familiar with the PMOSIG, this is the voluntary group that was called the PPSOSIG until earlier this year and is focused on providing conferences for PMO professionals in the UK

The conference on the 8th March 2011 called Raising the PMO Bar is a one day conference for PMO professionals from across the UK; aimed at PMO Managers and professionals who work within a PMO structure – Portfolio, Programme, Project Office and Project Support

The conference will offer presentations from leading experts and practitioners on innovative thought leadership on PMOs. Raising the PMO Bar is all about looking to the near future with a focus on portfolio management, portfolio office, agile PMOs and the skills required to support these changes in the future

Hosted by John Zachar, speakers includes Stephen Jenner, Adrian Quinney, Stuart Dixon, Ralf Finchett and Stuart Cranfield; all experts and experienced PMO practitioners.

The full agenda and details on booking a place – just £130 a ticket – are available from the PMOSIG website

Title: PMOSIG – Raising the PMO Bar
Location: Coventry, West Midlands
Link out: Click here
Date: 8th March 2011

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Here’s the classic conundrum; after the launch of P3O in 2008 where Portfolio Offices are described for pretty much the first time in a UK based textbook, we’ve started to see an increase in the need for portfolio office staff – roles like portfolio office analyst or coordinator. Some organisations are taking the concept of P3O and for the first time thinking about the whole organisational hierachy around programmes and projects, hence the increase in portfolio management and the portfolio office. The conundrum of course is, if portfolio management and portfolio office is a fairly new concept (and it is still relatively new in terms of actually implementing this concept into an organisation) where do we expect to find experienced portfolio office analysts or co-ordinators?

I think we need to look at two things; the experienced programme and project office co-ordinators  and those who have invested time in the P3O qualifications. We know that there aren’t going to be that many experienced portfolio office analysts around because well frankly, there aren’t that many portfolio offices around (yet!)

The obvious solution to staffing the portfolio office initially will be co-ordinators and analysts who are experienced in programme and project office support. And this is good news because it provides a natural career development path for those people. But what else do these people need to be able take the next step up to working at the portfolio level and ultimately plug this resource shortage?

I was always skeptical about a co-ordinator taking the P3O examinations because it felt too much like a “read the textbook, answer a few multiple choice questions and voila!” (at least for the Foundation level) However I’ve started to see the value for those co-ordinators who have been working in the field of programme and project support for a while because (a) it pretty much tells the world – “hey this is the professional field I work in and (b) this is going to be their “in” into the portfolio office field.

Those of you reading that may think, well how different can it be to work at portfolio level as opposed to programme or project, if you’ve supported one type of delivery surely it’s all the same..  I think portfolio level support requires some subtle differences in knowledge and skill base. The role of the portfolio office analyst is all about supporting senior management decision making – especially around the strategic objectives of an organisation and how these will be fulfilled through the programmes and projects it decides to deliver. The portfolio office analyst has to understand not only the programme management and project management processes, methods, tools etc but also those at the higher, portfolio level – in other words – the senior management board level. Key areas of skill development needed for a portfolio office analyst will include areas such as capacity planning, investment and prioritisation planning, benefits management and management dashboards. All areas which require a deeper understanding not just of how programmes and projects are delivered in the organisation but also a greater understanding of how the business is managed and run full stop – the Business-as-Usual.

For a programme and project office co-ordinator today, that means they not only have to increase their business management understanding but also start to understand the differences between portfolio and programmes/projects.

But where to start?

I believe that the best first step is increasing their knowledge and understanding of  portfolio management and the P3O accreditation is surely the place to start? But I do have concerns about how the general business management understanding will be developed; do you think this might be a showstopper for a programme co-ordinator looking for promotion to the portfolio level?

I’m really interested in your thoughts about this skill gap we currently have around portfolio offices and what you think the solution could be… Get involved in the discussion and leave a comment.

Image © sammydavisdog and used with permission.

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A few weeks ago at the PMOSIG Autumn conference, the P3O author Sue Vowler led a session on the future of P3O. P3O is the Portfolio, Programme and Project Office guidance which was launched in 2008 and at the conference it was an opportunity for the real users of P3O to give their feedback, not only on the guidance itself but also the things that surround it (qualifications, tools, etc)

So nearly two years on, what does the PMO community in the UK think about P3O; it’s shortcomings and the things that have been well received?

Just How Useful is the Examination?

There was still a lot of skepticism about the courses and examinations that go with the P3O guidance; like PRINCE2 before it, the P3O examinations include a Foundation level and a Practitioner level. The general feeling amongst the community was the examinations didn’t really feel like a useful exercise – after all – the Foundation level just tests your ability to process and retain knowledge and complete a multiple choice examination paper. The Practitioner level, whilst deemed to be more difficult than the Foundation wasn’t actually an examination aimed at people working within a PMO – it is aimed more at those that manage a PMO (or those with a responsibility to implement a PMO). The other concern about the examinations is the issue of them actually being recognised in the marketplace; the APMG really needs to be marketing them as well as it has with PRINCE2.

It Needs Executive Guidance

Much like the PRINCE2:2009 refresh with a new seperate guidance for those Directing a Project (aimed at the project sponsors) there is a feeling that the P3O also needs a seperate text for those people within the organisation who may be sponsoring the set up of a PMO.

Doesn’t Tell You How To Do It

For many PMO professionals there had been a really lack of quality literature on the subject of PMOs for many years, the news that the P3O guidance was on the way caused some excitment for a while; but like many things, it is felt that the P3O guidance doesn’t go far enough. Sure there is a lot about what a P3O is, the process to setting one up, a list of the types of services it could offer and a good run down of the descriptions of people who work within them (role specifications). For the average PMO professional on the street though there was an expectation that the P3O guidance would give a more DIY approach to PMO – the how to set up a PMO, how to implement services; how to gain buy in from the organisation and so on. The question is – will there ever be a P3O refresh where we get to see this level of detail, indeed is it even possible to write a definite guide to all things PMO because each organisation seems to implement them differently or they are there in the first place to address a specific organisation objective.

More Examples; More Case Studies

Everyone wants proof these days that things work without investing loads of money and time – or in other words taking the risk. The PMO community were very vocal about seeing more examples and case studies from organisations that have implemented P3O successfully. The guidance itself does contain some case studies but of course these are examples of success that pre-date the P3O concept, so the audience are interested in success stories that have come directly post launch of P3O. Again the same issues are seen as above – each organisation has a very specific approach for implementing their P3O and how relevant would each case study be to the open market. The PMO community may be expecting too much here – a case study for each type of organisation, industry sector, department, remit?

Support?

The PMO community have felt disappointed with the lack of online support available for P3O; search the web for PRINCE2 templates and process and there’s many places to visit for further reading and on-the-job support. The P3O website does contain an online repository but it is quite strange – just a PDF download. The community feel that an interactive space would be most beneficial – the ability to share and exchange materials at the very least.

There is a general concensus that the P3O guidance was welcomed by many, mainly because nothing existed in one place before. The PMO community have been generally happy that PMOs were finally being put on the map within project management by the introduction of P3O but what is also apparent from the feedback session – is that PMO professionals still need to look beyond P3O to get the answers and guidance they need in the day to day job.

Some of the other feedback on the session included; lack of software/tool recommendations, assumes prior knowledge and background in PMO, doesn’t have the same brand power as PRINCE2, organisations don’t know about it, human aspects are not covered, aimed at the business portfolio not IT, not much use to a new starter in PMO, comes from the UK government!

Image © Casey.Marshall and used with permission.

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New for October 2010 on the Camel is the Q&A Project Management Careers, an opportunity for you to pose a question directly to me. First up, this week’s question is from Thomas R;

I would like to seek career advice, regarding a career within project management. I graduated from University with a 2:1 degree in Business Management (BSc). During my time at University I took a placement year where I worked as a Programme Office Administrator, within the IT department, for a reasonably large insurance company.

Having graduated I was then offered the opportunity to work for the same company, as a contractor, to work on a major programme, as a programme administrator. Once the programme had finished after 6 months, I was then offered a role within the company as a programme management office administrator, a similar role to my placement year, but with added responsibilities. Again this was a contractor role.

Due to seeking a permanent role, with a company willing to invest in myself, I applied for, and got offered the job as a Portfolio Management Office Administrator for a leading insurance company, who are willing to pay for Prince2 qualifications, which I will be starting in the coming weeks.

Having gained two years experience working in Project/Programme Management support, what do you think is a realistic career path for myself?

Would the next step after an administrator role be a PMO/Project Analyst / PMO/Project Coordinator role, and how long do you feel I should continue as an administrator, before I take the next step to these positions?

Will my degree in Business Management help me progress in my career, bearing in mind it isn’t an IT related degree?

I am currently thinking of going down the PMO Manager/Consultant route as my end goal, as opposed to the Project Manager path. Please could you give advice as to the kind of requirements needed, in order to achieve this?

Thanks for your question Thomas; I’ll answer your questions in order. First off your career path – you have already started to build up a solid foundation in project and programme support and it makes sense to me that you are on the right track to meeting your long term career goals in the future. The key thing for you now is to make sure you are developing a good enough breadth and depth of project support experience whilst on the job and also complementing that experience with not only qualifications but other professional development (CPD). The realistic path for you is definitely taking the next step up in the PMO hierarchy – be that as a co-ordinator or analyst. Often the titles within the PMO can be confusing anyway, so it is better to concentrate on what skills you need to be developing rather than what title you need to be chasing. To help you assess what kind of skills you need to be developing in a PMO career, buy the P3O guidance – it has excellent sections on role descriptions and services a PMO should be offering (which means what services you will be offering at some point in your PMO career)

There is no real time limit on when to make the next move up the chain; it all depends on the skills you’ve learnt, the capability levels you’ve attained, and/or that gut feeling when you know you’ve learnt as much as you can with your current employer or programme you’re working on. When the job starts to feel too easy and you are feeling very comfortable with your position, that’s the right time to look for a new challenge. The new challenge doesn’t have to mean new role – it just means you’re ready to take on a new service area or  level of responsibility.

Your business management degree could indeed help you along your career path, but for me personally, your professional career holds much more currency – especially in a world where many workers have a degree, too. The type of degree and its relevancy to the workplace becomes less and less important because you’re moving away from academia now.

Finally, you are looking to a long-term future in PMO management and consultancy and for me there are two very distinct paths to take. Some of the best PMO consultants I’ve met have come through the project management, programme management and then PMO ranks – these professionals are the people to call on when an organisation really needs a programme manager-level PMO Manager – someone who would be setting up a strategic PMO or portfolio office. These consultants are people who have lived and breathed programme and project management – have experience of delivery and are now called on to set up corporate level PMOs. The second path is for PMO consultants who have never delivered a programme or project before but have plenty of experience of first working within a PMO, then going on to manage a PMO. Their experience may include managing project offices, programme offices or Centres of Excellence-type models and they would be experienced in setting best practice, implementing processes and methods, rolling out tools and managing the team. Again, seek out the P3O guidance to give you a better understanding of the various kinds of PMO models, as this will help you to choose your path. The guidance also covers the requirements you will need to plan for in your own career development path.

Good luck with your development and future career; if you are determined enough, spend enough time on your development inside and outside of the work environment and regularly carry out a SWOT to keep you on track you will be doing something that many others rarely do.

Want to send a question?

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The P3O (Portfolio, Programme and Project Office) Practitioner level qualification was launched in January 2010 and in this PMO Watch I wanted to share an overview of what the Practitioner level qualification actually consists of. I’ve not had the opportunity to take the accreditation myself yet but I’ve been very intrigued to see how the subject of PMOs can be converted into a training course and subsequent examination. I’m intrigued because anyone who works in and around PMOs will know that there seems to be endless variations of PMOs – some are admin in their focus, some strategic, some which house the project managers and others which are a PMOO (PMO of One!)

So, briefly, the P3O guidance covers; why have a P3O, what is a P3O, how to implement a P3O (or refresh one) and how to operate one. So how does the guidance convert to a training course?

First of all there is a Foundation level course which “measures whether you could act as as an infomed member of a P3O”. You are also expected to understand the principles and terminology of the guidance. In terms of learning, delegates are really being assessed at two levels (out of a possible four) which are knowledge (recalling facts, figures etc) and comprehension (understanding the concepts). The other two levels of learning are application (by appropriate use) and evaluation (by appraisal of situation). In the Practitioner level training, all four levels of learning are assessed. I think we can safely say the P3O Foundation level training and accreditation will be very similar in nature to PRINCE2 Foundation and if you can read and study the manual, the exam will be quite easy to pass

So onto the Practitioner level, the one which most PMO professionals have been really waiting for. The standards for the practitioner level include;

• Measure whether a candidate should manage or work in a component of a P3O
• Show understanding of how to justify, build and manage a P3O. Specifically they need to demonstrate their ability to;
  • Define their business case to get senior management approval for a P3O
  • Build the right P3O model to adapt to the organisation’s needs, taking account of the organisation’s size and PPM maturity
  • Plan the implementation of a P3O
  • Use tools and techniques in running the P3O and shaping the portfolio of programmes and projects

This is really interesting stuff, mainly because many PMO professionals I have contact with would never have had the experience of putting together a business case or creating a plan for an implementation (of any kind – project or PMO) This Practitioner course sounds like its aimed at PMO Managers, but I suspect alot of course delegates will probably include a lot of people who work in the PMO but don’t have responsibility for implementing or managing a PMO. I’m not sure what those delegates stand to gain from taking this course.

The examination itself consists of a paper describing a scenario within an organisation, and there are seven questions. Each question carried 10 points, so 70 in total. There is a word count of 13000, and answers are either right or wrong. The exam itself lasts for 2 hours 15 minutes. The pass mark (surprisely!) is only 50% or 35 marks.

Another surprising thing about the paper in the exam is that it is focused on Portfolio Offices rather than Programme or Project Offices. This surprises me because most people who work within the world of PMO either have experience working within a Programme Office or Project Office structure, Portfolio Offices are still considered to be relatively new in the marketplace and not many organisations even have this set up.

The scenario within the paper describes a situation of; “a portfolio of change, a business transformation programme and a large project”. It also touches on governance, departure from good P3O practice, P3M3 assessment extract, organisational statements, the organisational structure, a proposed P3O model and the timeline.

So the scenario is presented and then there are seven questions; OTE questions which means Objective Test Examination.  There are different classes of questions; Classic, which is choose from a possible list of questions; Classic Assertion Reason, which is similar to the first except that the format of each distracter is “assertion BECAUSE reason”; multiple response, choosing from a list;  matching, linking items from two lists  and assertion reason, an item consists of two statements, an assertion and a reason that are linked by the word “because”.

I’ve spoken to a number of people who are either planning on taking the Practitioner level accreditation and also people who have already taken it. Those who are planning to have seen the syllabus and exam overview and feel that they’re going to really need the training because the accompanying book is not going to be good enough for them to pass, i.e., it looks tough! Those that have done the course did find it tough!

I’ve said before in previous PMO Watch’s that I’m glad the P3O guidance became available in 2008, it’s been a long time coming to have something that covers this area of project management. For many people it didn’t really tell them anything new but at least it made it easier to discuss PMOs within their organisations, at least there is something tangible that could shared with senior management. We  have foundation and practitioner level accreditations in P3O for people that need/want them but I can’t help but feel that there is still something missing from the PMO collective. We still have people who work within a PMO who may be new or just a few years into their career that need the basics; the how to of PMO operations. Areas such as robust reporting, governance, planning, controls and the details like running workshops, mentoring project managers and creating new processes. Some of the hands on practical knowledge may come from pre-existing project management courses but the PMO has a different focus and must provide different services to that of a project manager. I can’t help feeling we still have a development gap for PMO professionals and I hope those new to PMO or just learning the ropes are not coerced into taking the P3O practitioner just because it’s the only thing available.

Thanks to Graham Shreeve of Target Practice for providing the P3O Practitioner level information – presentation given at the PPSOSIG local branch event in February 2010. Download the presentation here (includes a few sample of questions)

Image © thejonoakley and used with permission.

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Last week I presented at the PPSOSIG conference, which was focused on Competence and Competencies, I focused on PMO Competencies in the Marketplace, trying to bring a marketplace view on what competencies are deemed to be important in PMO professionals today by organisations and employers.

I kicked off by sharing the Current Top Competencies from the Arras People Project Management Benchmark Report 2010 which asked all professionals about what three competencies make them most effective in their role. The Technical (red) is methods, tools and domain knowledge and it’s good to see that Planning and Organising is the top competency (at 16%) across the PMs, Change Managers and Project Support professionals. Looking closer at the Project Support which incorporates all the PMO titles, we would expect to see the Technical competencies ranked pretty high, after all, the job of the PMO focuses heavily on areas such as method, tools and processes. The PMO professions have access to a lot of training and accreditations that address the Technical competencies too, especially recently with the new P3O training but also from PRINCE2, MSP, MoR etc. I highlighted the concerns I have about how PMO professionals need to ensure they have the softer skills too. In the table, the Project Support professionals deemed communication skills and adaptability as very important in their effectiveness to do a good job. Current PMO professionals need to recognise the breadth and depth of knowledge and experience required to be successful practitioners and to ensure their career development plans take into account a balance of soft skills and the technical ability.

Next up, I looked at two roles within the PMO career structure, the PMO Manager and the Project Co-ordinator. I looked at ten recent requirements for PMO Managers and highlighted what top things organisations and employers were looking for in their PMO Manager recruits. Now, we all know how PMOs can vary from organisation to organisation, some might be heads of an admin type PMO, others leaders of Centre of Excellence, so what I tried to do here was take a cut across all ten to give a flavour. In the PMO Manager (above), there was a balance between the Technical (T) competencies required and the Behavioural (B). In fact, across all ten requirements, the Behavioural competencies were just as important as the technical abilities.

As we delve deeper into requirements, these are some of the behavioural or personal qualities that are important in the PMO Manager. Organisations and employers only tend to highlight these when in conversation, i.e., they don’t always figure in the job specification. These are the competencies that can make or break an application for a job or promotion because generally you will have two people with very similar technical ability and the ability to perform in the role but it is these behavioural competencies that differentiate between the good and the great

Taking a look at the Programme/Project Support levels, again I looked at ten recent requirements from organisations looking for Project Support professionals. In these level roles it is not surprising to see such emphasis on the Technical competencies, but what is surprising is a relative lack of behavioural characteristics. My advice to anyone starting out in the programme/project support area is to focus on the technical competencies first in your career, build a strong foundation in all the key competencies of project management and then look to the softer skills side later.

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If you’ve not had chance yet to buy or read the new P3O manual (Portfolio, Programmes and Project Offices) there are a few resources you might be interested in:

> Table of contents (to see what’s contained in P3O) (PDF)

> The first chapter of the P3O book (PDF)

> P3O: Portfolio, Programme and Project Offices presentation (PDF)

Do you have any resources to share in P3O?

You can also check out the P3O recruitment pages on Arras People and contact us to receive some P3o job specifications

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P3O, Portfolio, Programme and Project Offices, has been out for about a year now and the above Case Study shows one organisation’s journey in the implementation of P3O. Further case studies can be seen at the back of the P3O manual should you be interested in seeing how P3O is being used in other sectors.

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NOTE: This article is reprinted from the August 2009 edition of Project Management Tipoffs. In this section of Tipoffs. If you have a question for our Q&A experts or simply wish to contribute an article to a future edition, email us at this address, and be sure to subscribe to PM Tipoffs to read our responses by clicking here. The August edition can be found by clicking here.

Project Managers and budding PM professionals seem convinced that obtaining a project management qualification has led or will lead to an improved career path.

Those are the general findings of the recent Arras People’s Qualifications Survey, which closed Monday after a week of exposure to a variety of project management-friendly social media, including Twitter, LinkedIn and in Arras People’s own blog, How to Manage a Camel.

The survey, which combined direct yes/no questions with a variety of chances for respondents to comment freely, turned up some intriguing results, mainly with regards to the importance of project management qualifications as they relate to project managers today. When asked “Please pick a statement that closely matches your motivation for taking a qualification”, over 85% of respondents gave answers that reflected on the enhancing virtues a PM qualification provides (i.e. ‘Gives me an advantage when applying for new roles’, ‘Shows that I am a fully competent PM professional’).

Perhaps most intriguing were the responses to the question, “Has the qualification been beneficial to you in any tangible way?” Nearly 60% of respondents answered ‘Yes’, while 18% answered ‘No’ and 23% stated they were ‘Unsure’. Some ‘Yes’ responses would seem to speak to the importance of project management hiring personnel place on qualifications. For instance, one respondent commented that they answered ‘Yes’ because ‘I was told by my current employer that they would not have interviewed me for a PM role without some evidence of a PM exam’. This respondent was not alone: In all, 68% of ‘Yes’ respondents who added a comment stated that they answered that way because qualifications improved their ability to get hired or interviewed.

But more surprising is the amount of people who answered ‘No’ to this question – 41% of our survey takers either don’t think that their qualifications have been beneficial or are unsure about how much of a role they play in their career’s path. It correlates to the uncertainty of the quality within the job market at the end of the day – the experience and the on the job “know-how” may speak just as highly for candidates as the certificate in the office.

Couple that result with figures tabulated in response to another Yes/No question, and one can begin to understand the polarization that project management qualifications bring. The question in question is “Do you think you have ever missed out on an opportunity or promotion, etc., by not having the right or any qualifications in project management?” The majority of respondents (55%) responded ‘No’. Another monkey wrench in the polarisation element is that other factors have been blamed by the respondents for their missing out on promotions, like:

• ‘vocal communication’, ‘right place, right time, right contacts’, ‘lack of defined path for advancement’, ‘experience’ (some variation on ‘experience’ was given many times as an answer), ‘depth of business experience in a particular sector’,
• ‘None related to training’

As polarising as qualifications in project management may be, there can be little doubt that recent hiring practices would suggest that qualifications could be more emphasis in the future than less. When asked, “Do you intend to gain a qualification?”, 47% of respondents answered ‘Yes’, while a mere 12% said ‘No’ and 40 % said ‘Not Applicable’. Some, though, seemed almost apologetic about it, feeling certification has been driving down the perceived importance of practical real-world experience.

“Sorry to say, but I will need a cert(-ification) to  demonstrate my knowledge if I need to move to another company,” said one respondent.

Another added, “(The) project management field has grown cert happy. Certs (are) preferred to actual experience and success.”

You can also check out the new project management training directory

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Project Management Tipoffs, the Newsletter from Arras People, is at our online newstand now. The August edition deals with Project Management Training & Qualifications.

Last month at Project Management Tipoffs, the project management news & issues newsletter from Arras People, spoke with you (OK, wrote to you) about the economic climate and the uplifting effect on the delivery of projects.

Our August newsletter, which was released this morning, switches gears slightly to the matter of training and certifications. Entitled Project Management Training, Qualifications & CPD (Continuing Professional Development), this edition delves further into the ways that individuals are coping and rising above the economic situation, one of those being CPD.

Furthermore, Tipoffs explores the region of training & qualifications, giving you a glimpse at the issue from both the trainer and the individual’s side while weighing both sides of an educational opportunity that can be education unto itself. What are the views of you, the project manager, on qualifications & training? We’ve got them right here, and the answers and findings will surprise you.

We continue our series of book reviews, this month delving into “The Invisible Candidate”, by headhunter Tony Haley, whose expertise and knowledge of job hunting “is like having your own job coach”.  And as in recent months, we once again provide a chance for one reader to win the book of the month.

Our Q&A session comes from a reader who concentrates on qualifications as they relate to his direct experience in the field of project management. In question: Does his vast, relevant experience count for naught without a degree? As always in the field of job hunting, you’ll be amazed to learn that there’s more to the search than just being 100% compatible with a job spec.

Articles from the August edition will be available to read here at the Camel at a later date. But if you want project management knowledge safe in your inbox every month, sign up for Project Management Tipoffs today.

If you wish to be a guest contributor to a future edition of Project Management Tipoffs and have your work published before more than 14,000 subscribed readers, contact our editor today. If you wish to advertise in a future edition, check out our advertising package here.

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Programme Management Offices (and the many variations on a theme) have become much more popular in recent years, in fact I would say it is one of the fasting growing areas of project management. The interesting thing about PMOs is the sheer diversity of the roles that exist within it. In project management, there are generally two roles that dominate, the Project Manager and the Programme Manager, but in the world of PMO we’re talking double digits.

I often get asked about the types of roles within a PMO or what kind of roles are considered to be entry level project management positions, the list below shows the types of positions available;

Programme Office:

Programme Office Manager (PMO Manager)

Like the Project Office Manager, the Programme Office Manager (PMO) role can vary depending on the organisation’s project management capability, approach to programmes and projects and maturity. In some organisations the Programme Office Manager role is to manage the programme office function – they have responsibilites at a more strategic level and will be tasked with putting in place best practice project management processes and methods, training, coaching and mentoring. The Programme Office Manager in this type of role may also have line management responsibility for the Programme Office staff. Areas of expertise may include benefits realisation, programme level reporting – progress, interdependancies, budgets etc. Programme Office Manager roles tend to fall into two camps – Programme Office set-up or the ongoing management of an established PMO – and candidates often have a firm preference for one or the other.

Some Programme Office Manager roles are purely focused on supporting one large programme of work and tend to report at the programme level i.e., programme level plans. These roles may have no remit for improvements or governance in PPM but provide a very hands on support role in terms of managing the end to end programme plan inc budgets, forecasting, issues/risks and reporting progress to drive the delivery of the programme. A busy role if there are many workstreams within the programme.

Some strategic Programme Office Manager roles have seen the title of “Centre of Excellence” Manager more recently, mainly due to the changing face of PMO and its widening remit. The CoE model has a greater emphasis on project governance and the need to improve project management processes and methods to achieve better delivery in terms of time, quality, costs and benefits.

Portfolio Office Manager

The Portfolio Office Manager role may exist in an organisation which is very project centric and has many programmes and projects running – some interlinked, some unrelated to each other. The Portfolio Office Manager will have responsibilities for project initiation and prioritisation, resource management, benefits management, metrics and progress reporting (dashboard)- essentially overseeing all the projects within the organisation.

Programme Accountants

A dedicated role within a programme, programme office or portfolio office where there is a need for a dedicated resource managing and co-ordinating the financial aspects. The Programme Accountant will have responsible for providing management information to the Programme and the Executive or Board in the areas of costs (cost tracking, allocation, cost benefit analysis etc), forecasts, progress, contract performance measures, financial planning, accounting returns for individual projects and programmes. Programme Accountants often have recognised accountancy qualifications along with good project management experience.

Programme Office Co-ordinators

A term given to the support staff working within the Programme Office, the Programme Office Co-ordinators may be working on one large programme of work – reporting to the Programme Office Manager or be providing support services to multiple projects – much like the Project Office Co-ordinators.

Programme Office Analysts

Like the Project Office Analysts, the Programme Office Analysts may have a particular emphasis on analytical tasks or duties within the programme office. If the programme office is supporting a large programme of work with many projects and workstreams, the analysts role becomes increasingly complex.

Programme Office Support

A generic term used to describe the staff who work within a Programme Office or PMO, may also have endings like Programme Office Support Co-ordinator, Programme Office Support Administrator or Programme Office Support Planner.

Programme Office Document Controllers

Much like the Project Office Document Controller, the Programme Office Document Controller’s remit may change considerably depending on the size and nature of the programme or the services the PMO offers. Generally speaking, the more complex a programme or project is, the greater the skills are needed in the area of document management and configuration.

Programme Office Planners

The Programme Office Planners role may vary greatly from that of a programme planner or project planner if they are required to provide planning services across a large programme or even portfolio. Good planners are hard to find and planners with programme office or portfolio office experience even more so.

Programme Office Quality Assurance

The Programme Office Quality Assurance specialist may be providing support to a vast number of projects or workstreams as well as at programme level. They may also have a large remit if they are providing support and expertise at programme and portfolio level. Again, the more complex the project environment, the greater the level of skills needed.

Project Office:

Project Office Manager (PO Manager)

The Project Office Manager role can vary greatly in organisations. Some Project Office Manager roles focus purely on the line management of the PO staff and their career development with no direct involvement in the projects. Project Office Manager roles exist where there is a combination of line management and the continous improvement of the services the Project Office offers to the organisation – again with no direct involvement on the projects. Finally, there are Project Office Manager roles where it is a particular complex / large project and a dedicated Project Office Manager is required to provide a new standalone project office function to actively support the project as well as managing the other support staff within the Project Office team.

Project Office Accountants

A dedicated role within a project office where there is a need for a dedicated resource managing and co-ordinating the financial aspects of multiple unrelated projects. The Project Office Accountant may also have a responsibility for ensuring information systems for all unrelated projects are kept in line (i.e., P&L, Ledger Systems), allowing financial reporting for the project management group or department. The Project Office Accountant will also have responsibilities for ensuring best practice project accounting processes and procedures and their continual improvement.

Project Office Analysts

The Project Office Analyst role tends to indicate a project co-ordinator role with more emphasis on particular aspects of the reporting duties. The Analyst may have indepth experience in project budget management and concentrate heavily in this area. Any project co-ordination role which includes a heavy emphasis on the analysis of project data/information will tend to have the title of analyst.

The Project Office Analyst title may also be used to indicate specific support required on business process change projects where there is a need for experience in business process re-engineering, etc.

Project Office Administrators

Differs to the role of Project Administrator and Programme Administrator only in its position within the Project Office rather than a sole project or programme. The Project Office Administrator could be providing administrative support to multiple projects, a dedicated programme or a portfolio of projects depending on the organisation’s project office structure and remit. The Project Office Administrator therefore has the additional task of ensuring all projects within their remit are adequately supported.

Project Office Consultant

A term often used by programme and project office professionals who have opted for a contract career and are used to taking up shorter term assignments which may objectives such as  initial set up of a programme or project office, major change within an existing programme or project office or where troubleshooting may be needed.

Project Office Co-ordinators

With the project office co-ordinator role, the co-ordinator may be sitting within the project office function and be providing support to a number of unrelated peojects, like the Project Co-ordinator role they will be providing support across the lifecycle and will be required to manage their time effectively to ensure all projects within their remit are support adequately. The Project Office Co-ordinator may also have other duties like contributing to the continuous improvements in best practice PPM, coaching or mentoring Project Office Administrators, running workshops and training for the project management organisation.

Project Office Document Controllers

The project office document controller is a dedicated role within a project office function, the controller here may be responsible for providing a document management service across multiple unrelated projects as well as ensuring best practice in this specific area of project management is advanced. The Project Office Document Controller may also have their own initiatives such as new tools, processes or techniques which need rolling out the project management organisation.

Project Office Planners

The project office planner is a dedicated role within a project office function, the planner here may be responsible for providing a planning service across multiple unlinked projects, carving up their time to work on independant projects or be providing a planning expertise within the project office function i.e., a subject matter expert in planning and be inputting into an organisations best practice approach to planning in projects.

Project Office Quality Assurance

A dedicated role within a project, programme or programme management office which specifically manages and co-ordinates the quality aspects of the project – the way the project is delivered and the quality output of the project deliverables i.e., the products or services. The Project Quality Assurance role works closely with the Project Manager and project team from the onset of the project and throughout delivery. Key areas for quality assurance of the project include; managing the project quality plan, quality control, verification, validation, testing, change control, configuration management and issue tracking. Quality Assurance in the project will normally follow a specific methodology, prescribed activities throughout the project, documentation and reviews / audits, walkthroughs or testing phases and training. In order for quality control to be carried out effectively on the project there will be effective configuration management, build/release phases, technical or supporting documentation. The Project Quality Assurance role has different levels of competency and responsibility and can range from Quality Assurance Administrator through to the Quality Assurance Manager depending on the size, complexity and nature of the project or programme. The Quality Assurance function may also have responsibilities for ensuring project delivery is in accordance with the corporate quality objectives and adherence to requirements such as ISO9001, etc.

Project Office Librarian

The Project Office Librarian can sometimes also be known as a Document Librarian, Document Configuration Manager, Document Manager or Configuration Manager. The role is normally seen on large programmes of work, large projects or a dedicated role within a programme or project office. The role focuses on the documentation aspects of a programme / project, which can be a full-time role if there are large amounts of documentation. The Project Office Librarian will be skilled in document formatting, configuration and version controlling, quality assurance and may be skilled in a particular toolset for example, SharePoint.

Individual programme / project support roles:

Project Co-ordinator

The main objective of the Project Co-ordinator role is to support the Project Manager and Project Team in the co-ordination, planning and control of the project. In this particular description this is the co-ordination of one project and one project manager. The Project Co-ordinator has knowledge of project management structures and methods and is able to support the Project Manager across the project lifecycle in each stage. Project Co-ordinators will have experience in these key project areas;

• Ensure the agreed project management methods, standards and processes are maintained throughout the project lifecycle.
• Assist the Project Manager and Team Managers in the production and maintenance of project plans.
• Develop and maintain the project library, filing, recording and reporting systems.
• Develop and implement appropriate configuration management procedures
• Co-ordinate the production of all reports and produce project summary reports.
• Set up and maintain systems for recording project costs.
• Define and document procedures in accordance with agreed methodology
• Advise and assist project team members in the application of project procedures, disciplines and recording and reporting standards.
• Maintain risk and issue logs and change control records.
• Develop and support effective communication mechanisms between the project team members.

Project Co-ordinators also achieve formal training and accreditations in areas such as PRINCE2, ISEB PPSO, P3O, formal project management accreditation (APM, PMI etc). Project Co-ordinators tend to be highly organised individuals who are able to multi-task effectively and are good at managing deadlines and expectations – especially when working in a large project.

Project Support Officer

The Project Support Officer role is essentially the same as the Project Co-ordinator but we’ve found that it tends to be used more within the public sector rather than the title of
“Project Co-ordinator”.

Programme / Project Administrator

The main objective of the Project Administrator role is to support the Project Manager and Project Team in the administrative tasks of the project. In this particular description this is the administration of one project and one project manager. The Project Administrator may also be working alongside the Project Co-ordinator to provide support in areas such as project team administration (travel and meeting requirements), project meeting arrangements and providing minute taking, creating basic documents and templates, documentation filing, main point of contact for correspondence and telephone/email, general adhoc administration duties. Project Administrators generally gain good project management experience by being delegated to by the Project Manager and Project Co-ordinator and being within the project team environment and move into the role of Project Co-ordinator before time.

Much like the Project Administrator and Project Office Administrator, the Programme Administrator role differs due to the position within a Programme. The Programme Administrator is responsible for supporting the Programme Manager, any Projects Managers delivering projects within that programme and the corresponding teams. The Programme Administrator will probably be working alongside other programme support staff like a Programme Co-ordinator or Programme Planner, to provide programme administration duties like programme team administration (travel and meeting requirements), programme meeting arrangements and providing minute taking, creating basic documents and templates, documentation filing, main point of contact for correspondence and telephone/email, general adhoc administration duties.

Project Assistant

The Project Assistant is sometimes another title for the “Project Administrator” but is sometimes used to indicate a role where a general administrator is required to support the project manager, project team in more general admin areas such as travel bookings, expenses, booking meeting rooms, etc.

Programme / Project Planner

A dedicated role within a programme, project or programme office which purely concentrates on the initial and ongoing planning of a project or programme. The Project Planner generally has excellent skills in working with the Project Manager and team to initially assist in scoping the project, creating, issuing and controlling project plans, implementing earned value techniques, identification of project plan issues and supporting the project manager in issue resolution and decision making. The project planner will also be expert in particular planning tools (PPT) – MS Project, Primavera, NIKU, Artemis etc and equally at home with MS Excel as basic. The Project Planner works proactively with the Project Manager and project team and ensures the project plan remains current and up to date, they’ll also be able to assist in areas such as capacity planning, resource management planning and interdependency management on larger projects and programmes.

Like the Project Planner, the Programme Planner supports the Programme Manager and Project Managers in planning activities to facilitate the delivery of the programme within budget and within timescales. The role differs slightly from that of a project planner due to the support that is required across projects within the programme. Due to the programme nature – often meaning multiple projects, complexity in terms of shared resources and larger scale in term of budget and scope etc, the programme planner may have both the duties of the project planner i.e., planning on the individual projects as well as the programme planning duties.

Project Document Controller

A dedicated role within a project, programme or programme management office which purely focuses on the documentation control – the flow of documentation in and out of the project and its team. The Document Controller’s responsibility will be to ensure all project documentation is effectively filed, retrievable, version controlled, quality assured, formatted and is a central point of distribution to ensure all documentation produced and issued is in accordance with the project plan and objectives. Document Controller tend to be highly organised, attention to detail and process professionals with excellent skills in IT packages and even specific document management tools such as Documentum, SharePoint, Enterprise Content Management systems.

Programme Accountant / Project Accountant

The Programme Accountant or Project Accountant will be dedicated to an individual programme or project. With strong financial acumen the programme/project accountant may be fully qualified (ACA / ACCA / CIMA) and responsibilities may include:

• Working closely with the Programme / Project Manager to establish the programme / project plan baseline in terms of costs
• Provide a contract / commercial terms guardianship role ensuring all planned work is delivered according to the terms
• Providing a central point of contact for change requests and approvals
• Provide a pivotal role in month end processes – providing clear reports on actual costs, costs vs. plan, forecasts for coming month, update of schedules
• Provides billing information and instruction for invoicing at planned phases and project completions
• Collates and manages the timesheeting process, ensuring resource planning is accurate and approved
• The role may also include a link into the financial / accounts department of the organisation which would include regular reporting, approval for invoicing etc

Salaries for programme / project accountants are directly related to the size and complexity of the programmes and projects and ultimately the levels of responsibilities delegated by the programme / project managers.

Bid Support

Bid Support, Bid Co-ordinator, Bid Administrator, Proposal Administrator are roles which support the Bid Manager in the bid process. The Bid Support staff are generally experienced in co-ordinating multiple bids, have excellent organizational skills and are particularly good in areas such as document formatting, research – in areas such as pricing, good written skills and a keen eye for detail especially if typing and proofing documents. Bid work tends to alternate between high pressure and tight deadlines to extreme lows – the aftermath of a good tender response going out the door and waiting for the next steps.

Project Contract Administrator

The Project Contract Administrator co-ordinates all contract related work, including tracking deliverables against existing contracts, managing any third party or subcontractor contracts, co-ordinating purchase order activity and ensuring all contracts remain up to day. The Project Contract Administrator may also be known as a commercial officer and may work as part of a large programme or project, within a programme or project office or within an organisation’s legal department and be seconded to project environments as and when needed.

Project Estimator

See also the Programme Office Planner, Project Office Planners and Programme / Project Planner, the Project Estimator works predominantly in the proposal or bid/tender phases. The role is often seen as a combination of the project planner and project accountant, and is used to help develop the project budget at the beginning of the project lifecycle. The Project Estimator within the construction industry is generally known as a cost estimator and has the name suggests their role concentrates heavily on the cost estimates in a bid or tender, essentially ensuring that when a bid is made, it will be profitable and a sound business proposal.

Resource Administrator

The Resource Administrator provides a supporting role to the Project Resource Manager or supports a large programme or project which may be resource intensive and needs a dedicated administrator to ensure the team’s administration is taken care of. In this instance, the Resource Administrator may be responsible for ensuring travel arrangements are taken care of (especially if the project delivery is taking place off site), supporting the timesheet process (chasing down inputs due to reporting deadlines) and assisting in the performance appraisal process.

Arras People specifically specialises in this branch of project management, find out more about the PMO / Project Support Recruitment Services

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Unless you are a hopeless geek like me, this question is of no interest unless it helps you structure your own PMO, right here, right now. Well, attending the ppsosig event in September could take you a long way towards your answer. There is a session on Day 1 that, taking the comprehensive P3O framework as a starting point, runs through the more stable configurations of ‘P’ Offices in various types and sizes of organisations. At the very least you will come away with an understanding of how your peers are facing the same challenge, what works, and what is a long shot, but worth a try.

Why is structure important? On a pragmatic level it is the most visible aspect as far as the rest of the organisation is concerned: how many staff, what roles, what levels or roles, what authority, how do they relate to other areas, etc. Any business case to establish or re-energise a PMO must be absolutely clear on the proposed structure. After all, others in your organisation may not be too clear on what you do or its value, but they can certainly read an organisation chart.

On a deeper level, structure is important because it dictates how you choose to deliver the services you offer, and how you propose to evolve your PMO to continue improving and being relevant.

Let’s look at the Pyramids. Relax; this is not the usual boring aside on how project management has been around for a while. It is way more boring than that. Egypt is not the only place in antiquity to produce pyramids. There were older ones in Mesopotamia, there were stranger ones in South America, and even an inverted one near Xian, where the emperor who built the Great Wall of China was buried with all his terracotta warriors. The diagram below shows a ziggurat, a pleasant ancient type, one of which was the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Another was the Tower of Babel, but we won’t dwell on that.

Fig. 1: Functional areas within a P3O model

Form should follow function, and when it comes to PMO that means that the best structures are those that facilitate the delivery of the services you choose to provide. It’s no use denying that the ground on which your PMO structure is built is made up of those old admin and support facilities that were initially provided by PSOs to single big projects. You may no longer do that, but that is the historical foundation. It is important not to forget it, even if you outsource that work, because mundane as it is, it provides real value to your internal customers. Somebody has to do it. Your mission is to make it clear who does it and ensure it gets done. You don’t have to do it yourself, and there are real advantages to leaving all that ‘admin’ label behind.

The first level of structure that needs to be built for our ziggurat is made up of the delivery or support functions and services. P3O recognises that helping programmes and projects succeed directly is the first step. In some organisations, a pretty flat pyramid that ends here is the most appropriate solution. The next stage, building on the previous one is the COE – the Centre of Excellence functions and services. At this point your PMO is setting the standards, possibly training programme and project managers, and certainly setting the pace for what is best practice in all aspects of change management. The final level, which requires the previous two, as well as a certain level of organisational maturity is the strategic planning or portfolio support functions and services.

The ziggurat givesyou a clue as to what you need to have in order to tackle the next stage, but it doesn’t give you an organisational chart. At this point you need to consider whether your PMO is centralised or decentralised, whether it is permanent or temporary, whether it is physical or virtual. So how do you decide that?

The key is to ensure that your PMO fits your organisation, not some external theoretical model. Hands in gloves, and all that. So you need to consider what are the types of structure that your own organisation actually favours. For instance, if ‘decentralised’ seems to feel right to you it may be because your organisation has many geographical locations and other departments are already distributed geographically. Or it could mean that every executive or board member likes to control all aspects of delivery in their patch. Your PMO has to match the business goals and the ethos of your organisation. You may have found the perfect PMO described in some journal, but tails never wag dogs: you wouldn’t get away with it and you shouldn’t.

This is why events like the ppsosig Autumn Conference are so valuable. You can ask other PMO practitioners how they are dealing with the question of structure, what has worked for them, whether your respective organisations are similar in some way, what they hope to try next, etc. You could even keep in touch. And every one there is focused on PMO, no other roles – a small and select band of fellow travellers.

Consider the next question, once you have a broad org chart – how big should it be? If you look at the P3O book (pp. 58-59) you are told that a PMO could be as big as one person, on average between 5 and 10, and easily up to 100+ in some cases. So how do you know? Well, for programme offices you could use a rule of thumb related to the monetary value of the programme (3% to 5%), or another rule related to the team size, where a PMO would be 10% of a 30 strong team or 3% ofa 100 strong team. Asking others PMO practitioners what they have done and why is even better.

A more accurate method (same source as above) for larger multi-programme offices asks you to list your functions or services and then estimate about how many hours per week it takes to deliver each, broken down by the different skills and levels involved. Keep in mind that to use this method you need to be sure about your services, i.e., why you offer what you offer and how, which ones are essential, etc.

Also keep in mind that you must take into account the impact of the maturity of the organisation you serve, before settling on a menu of functions.

Given that you may not get a bigger budget (safe bet?), you should also consider upgrading the skills you have and re-aligning existing resources and structures to cope with actual requirements.

In fact, you should consider attending the ppsosig Autumn Event and we can continue chatting with those who’ve ‘got the T-shirt’ over a nice drink.

Lain Burgos-Lovece is a member of the managing committee of the ppsosig, the UK’s programme and project office specialist interest group. Lain is also Director of Serissa which helps clients to get the best out of the control environment for their projects & programmes, often through corporate centres of excellence known variously as PMO, PSO, PPSO, etc

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Bill and Bob Tomas @ thomastoons via Flickr

The headline was a quote from a recent survey in response to the question, “what pressures do you currently face in your PMO?” Interestingly this situation is pretty common in UK business’ today. I think we would all like to hear that PMOs are  becoming increasingly common in organisations that deliver programmes and projects and not only common but a function that the organisation can’t live without. 

The reality is somewhat different, especially as we’re seeing the PMO fight for its life right now;  “seen as a removable overhead in hard times”, commented one PMO professional.

PMOs now are also being subjected to downsizing;

They have removed the PMO manager as the required function is established and given it over to a graduate trainee to perform a predominantly administrative service

The lonely PMO is also an increasingly common feature, staffed by one person, the whole set up smacks of “we would like to do better programme and project management but actually we don’t really want to bother with all that best practice and governance stuff and we don’t really want to pay for it”, paying lip service to the whole concept of PMOs.

Organisations are struggling on with resource issues in the PMO;

We have one Project Coordinator who is doing above and beyond her role. There are 10 project managers, but not enough project support. The project managers have to pick up some of the support function work as there is not enough resource to manage this work.

Hmm, doesn’t seem like great value for money when the project managers are being hired to manage projects and perform their own project support if anything it seems like a very expensive option.

Another comment;

By nature, a PMO is a support and services department within an organisation. When there is an economic down-turn then it is typically these departments that get scrutinised for possible cost reduction opportunities.

Interesting times! The world of PMO recently got a boost with the launch of the new guidance P3O and now, more than ever, PMOs have to show their real value and benefits to their organisations just to stay in the game. We give with one hand and take away with the other,  I can’t help thinking that the organisations who resist the urge to downsize or even scrap their PMO altogether will emerge the victors when it comes to the upturn in the ecomony. It’s up to the people within the PMO to ensure they’re doing everything they can to contribute to the bottom line and make sure they’re constantly and consistently telling people how and where they’re contributing.

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Seek Knowledge from SeraphimChris via Flickr

The OGC has just released an online P3O repository of supporting tools and templates aimed at providing some flesh to the theory of the recent P3O book. P3O has thus far been marketed as a set of guidelines that are to be consulted on an ad hoc basis according to the needs of your project office, as opposed to a full blown project management methodology such as Prince2. It is therefore interesting to read what best practice solutions have been suggested for this particular model, even though the writers are keen to point out that the examples provided are exactly that – examples, and should not be taken as gospel.
I should firstly point out that the repository is a single document clocking in at 38 pages, with attachments included – quite lengthy then. I couldn’t help but think when I clicked the link that the information would be better served up as separate smaller documents that relate to the subject headings. This would be more in line with the idea of ‘dipping in and out’ where required and would perhaps make the repository more user friendly. It is also worth noting that the repository is best accessed as a Word document, so as to enable the attachments to be easily opened.

These minor gripes aside there is a great deal of information on offer, even at this initial stage of development. The example templates work well in most instances, providing a high level of depth to accompany the text in the main body of the document. Some of the key areas discussed include Portfolio Management Approach, Benefits Realization Management and Planning / Control. The attachments are clear and concise for the most part and would help provide a framework in which to build and develop those areas deemed most necessary, whether you are developing your PMO from scratch or fining tuning and developing methods that are already in place.

When used in conjunction with the P3O book I can see this repository developing into a really useful tool. Again it is important to view it as a flexible knowledge source that is in many ways open to interpretation. The OGC have stated that they are welcoming feedback at this stage so I am hopeful that they will develop the tools on offer and refine what is already there, as although it is a work in progress at this stage, it could become an ideal accompaniment to the existing P3O guidelines.

If you’d like to see the repository for yourself and get a feel for what is on offer, follow the link

Check out the P3O roles that Arras People recruit for

Image ©SeraphimChris and used with permission.

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Title: PPSOSIG – From Acorn to Oak – PMO Maturity in Your Organisation, Your Team and You
Location: Windmill Hotel, near Coventry
Link out: Click here
Description: In 2008, P3O, the new Portfolio, Programme and Project Office framework was launched to the PMO community. In September 2009, the ppsosig launches its new conference “From Acorn to Oak: PMO Maturity in your Organisation, Your Team and You” focused on the next steps in growing your PMO.

This two day conference, being held on the 16th & 17th September 2009, will move you from awareness to a greater understanding of the current guidance and tools available to assess your organisational and PMO maturity.
More details on the PPSOSIG website
Start Date: 2009-09-16
End Date: 2009-09-17

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The new conference from the ppsosig has been launched today, ” From Acorn to Oak: PMO Maturity in Your Organisation, Your Team & You“. It’s taking place on the 16th & 17th September 2009 near Coventry:

In 2008, P3O, the new Portfolio, Programme and Project Office framework was launched to thePMO community. In September 2009, the ppsosig launches its new conference “From Acorn to Oak: PMO Maturity in your Organisation, Your Team and You” focused on the next steps in growing your PMO.

This two day conference, being held on the 16th & 17th September 2009, will move from awareness to a greater understanding of the current guidance and tools available to assess your organisational and PMO maturity.

The conference will provide expert led presentations and interactive sessions combined with networking and discussion groups on key topics such as PMO maturity models, structures, assessments, PMO roles, PMO team development and personal development. You will leave the conference with 6-12 month action plans designed to assist you in growing the maturity of your PMO team and yourself and a clear grasp of how the new P3O framework can be of help to you now

The full agenda includes;

• PMO Maturity – Using Organisational Maturity Models to understand how weaknesses and improvements in PMOs are identified

• PMO Structures – Explore the challenges that organisations will have to face in establishing or re-energising PMOs

• PMO Assessments – Understanding the scope and value of performing PMO self assessments

• PMO Roles – Greater awareness of P3O guidance and typical roles & services

• Developing Your Team – Through identifying and reinforcing the key issues in establishing a professional PMO team

• Developing Yourself – Identifying key skills and competencies that are required to improve your professionalism

Conference Details:

DATE: 16th & 17th September 2009

TIME: 9.30am START, 2nd day finish: 3.30pm

LOCATION: Windmill Village Hotel – near Coventry

COST: Early Bird – £300.00 includes overnight accomodation
Claim 15% discount for additional bookings from the same organisation – bring your team

BOOKING: Complete the booking form and send to the conference organiser

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• PPSO SIG Conference – From Acorn to Oak

Back to the PMO series, I’ve not updated the PMO Watch since Nov 08! The PMO Watch brings together news and views in relation to Portfolio Management Offices, Programme Management Offices and Project Management Offices, in other words PMOs (or if you’re looking at P3O, P3O!)

In this Watch we’re looking at reasons why you shouldn’t consider implementing a P3O framework into your organisation.

The most common reasons were highlighted at a recent PPSOSIG conference:

1. No clear senior sponsor buy in / no support for the approach. The P3O implementation may be seen as an overhead
2. No major change programmes / projects, or no risky projects which might benefit from a consolidated approach like P3O. A less formal approach would possibly be needed
3. Time consuming and hard to achieve buy in from the start. The payback for the implementation is over too long a timeframe and possibly no direct benefit to the customer. The business case or ROI just doesn’t stack up
4. The P3O approach is just too advanced for the maturity level of the organisation. The organisation feels that they are losing the support* previously provided by the PMO team and would prefer the concentrate on what they really need first
5. Need for P3O or any other model is actually reduced because the number of programmes and projects has decreased within the organisation
6. The organisation has a culture that is resistant to change

* The “support” word is effectively banned from the P3O framework, mainly because of the view that PMO’s provide much more value than just supporting the Programme and Project Managers. A debate that still rages on!

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