This year’s PPSO Conference in Coventry took place between the 16th and 17th September. Given the conference title of ‘PMO Maturity in your organisation, Your Team and You’, the conference fit neatly in with a recurring theme that we at Arras are currently seeing in the market. That of PMOs / P3Os gaining greater respect within the project fraternity and having burgeoning success as they are increasingly deployed within a myriad of organisational types.
The theme for last week's PPSO SIG event was "From Acorn to Oak: PMO Maturity in your Organisation, Your Team and You". The notion focused on the next steps in growing your PMO.
I have to say, having been to several PPSO conferences over the last two years, this latest event was by far the most useful in terms of acquiring practical knowledge. The interactive sessions really helped in terms of giving delegates a fresh perspective on their current situation and promoting new ideas through shared experience. The friendly and informal setting obviously helped in terms of initiating interaction but credit must go to the conference organisers and session leaders for maintaining a high energy level and enthusiasm across the 2 days.
Particular highlights from the two days for me were Melanie Franklin’s energetic session focusing on PMO team development, which as well as giving useful new perspectives on areas such as benefits promotion and skill-set development for the team and the individual, also helped to shake off the cobwebs from the previous nights drinking and quizzing.
A practical case study of a PMO implementation from Office Depot’s Paul Allen was also interesting in terms of seeing the process laid out from cradle to grave. Donnie MacNicol from Team Animation closed the conference on a positive note with a motivational session on personal development within the PMO, which left each delegate with a personalised Action Plan to take back to their BAU activities.
It seems the organisers are really starting to get a good grasp for what works and what doesn’t at an event like this, as nearly everyone I spoke to over the 2 days agreed that the event had been the most useful and enjoyable thus far. Roll on the next event in March 2010!
If you’d like more info about the PPSO SIG and associated events, please click here.
