In the 1979 movie, The Life of Brian, the Monty Python crew all asked the question, “What have the Romans ever done for us?”
It seems that PMOs are getting the same treatment.
According to recent research by ESI, 72% of PMOs are being called into question, mostly by senior management. Putting the most negative spin on this, it means that nearly ¾ of PMOs are simply not seen to be delivering the goods…
Ouch!
So let’s unpack that a little.
Top Three Reasons
The following are the top three reasons that PMOs are being questioned:
1) In 44% of cases, senior managers and other executives simply don’t perceive value from the PMO. This could be because the PMO isn’t delivering the right value to the organization or it could be because the value is not being presented well.
2) In 41% of cases, there was a perceived lack in maturity in projects / programs. Again, this could be a real problem or a perceptual one.
3) In 32% of cases, it’s the old chestnut… lack of executive sponsorship.
How to Tackle the Perception Problem?
In the rest of this blog, I’m going to look at the perception problem. Let’s assume that you, like the Romans in The Life of Brian, ARE adding value. In that case, we need to focus on how to make sure that value is visible.
Generally, execs hate any initiative that has poorly defined goals and that has no clear way to measure success… and if they don’t hear about an initiative, they kind of assume it’s not really adding value. These are normal human reactions, so be aware of them and act accordingly.
• Understand expectations of your executives It’s important to have clear goals for the PMO, goals that reflect what execs want to see from you. These goals naturally come out of a good planning process (see next point), but relatively few PMOs take the time to consult with execs and to document the results.
• Engage in activities that add value for execs: Executives are busy. You might be doing an amazing job of training and supporting PMs at a tactical level, but the execs never see that work. On the other hand, picking the right projects in the first place is a very visible activity and PMOs should make sure they are supporting that prioritization and selection process. This will not only eliminate the waste from “doing poorly aligned projects” but will also show that you are actively adding value at the strategic level. Of course, I’m not suggesting the PMO should make portfolio selection decisions, but you can add value to the process. I’ve written on this quite extensively elsewhere.
• Measure your progress: This is kind of obvious, but if you don’t measure it, you can’t manage it… and you can’t blow your trumpet when you get it right. Good measurement will also support your drive to greater program/project maturity (showing where you need to focus) and it gives you a platform to quantify the value the PMO has delivered.
If you focus on these items, you’ll improve the perception of the PMO very quickly.
by Stuart Easton
Source: https://blog.transparentchoice.com/what-has-the-pmo-ever-done-for-us
