PMO Priorities in an Economic Downturn

In the midst of the cut backs and changing priorities, many firms restructure the IT department to get more value creates strain on the PMO.  

How can the PMO maintain continuity and add value?

Key processes on whcih to focus to maintain the balance include

- Objectively measuring the Business Impacts and Benefits

- Requirements collection

- Estimation

- Scope, schedule, cost

- RAIDS and interdepencies between projects

I recommend listening to the podcast from Enterprise Leadership (http://tinyurl.com/dzk8am) Accelerating IT Initiative Despite Tough Economy - Tim Shaefer, Northwestern Mutual’s CIO

Tim relates three investment initiatives which are driving them forward.  He also relates their governance model and staffing strategy.  Many fascinating insights. Well worth a listen.

PMO - Project, Programme or Portfolio Management Office

Well, what is in a name? PMO is one of those acronyms which gets used to mean different things.

On an individual project it refers to the Project Management Office.
On a programme of work, it generally refers to the Programme Management Office (also used in some firms to denote a centralised Project Management Office function).
For many firms, it denotes the Portfolio Management Office - often organised as a matrix with a small central "hub" and individuals from various functions reporting into it (both IT and Business change managers).

Recently, there has been a rise is the usage of Change Management Office. I'll park this one for the moment as I believe it could have a different remit from a PMO.

So what does the PMO do?

Generally speaking, the PMO defines and maintains the standards and process associated with project management in an organisation. These standards can include a wide variety of processes from planning techniques to documentation structures for project deliverables. Usually they include the management reporting and supporting documentation - proect plans (baseline and updates), RAIDS (Risks, Assumptions, Issues and Dependencies) information, financials, governance, status reports, change management, and project deliverables. Many also prioritise projects and manage the resource allocations to projects.

Have I missed anything burning issues the PMO needs to cover - please post your thoughts.

If you want to read more, here the wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management_office

Welcome to All Things PMO

Welcome to the All Things PMO blog - a respository for information, links, observations, tips and techniques.

My aim is to build a community with access to a respository of knowledge to help you get the best out of your PMO - whether you are just starting out or a seasoned veteran.

Please contribute for the greater good. I think we all have something to learn along the way.

Alison