5 reasons why PMO’s fail
Many organisations now run an annual change budget. This means that it is very common for the majority of change projects to mobilise in the first quarter (Q1) of the year. This in turn means that this is the time that many PMO’s that are dedicated to support the change activities are formed. So if…
PMO RAG status levels
It is expected that every project will report progress and status on a regular basis. The reason for this being that the sponsor and other stakeholders want the comfort of knowing they have visibility of progress. This helps ensure that there are no nasty surprises and, if the project is having challenges, it ensures that…
PMO frustrations
Following on from the last blog that covered dealing with difficult project managers, it is topical to spend some time considering PMO frustrations. Followed by some thoughts around the reason for the frustrations and proactive steps to address the, Frustrations to the PMO There are a number of common themes Project report submissions late Constantly…
Engaging with difficult project managers
One of the hardest aspects of the role of the PMO manager is getting project and programme managers to act and respond to the requests from the PMO. Requests for updates are issues, followed by gentle reminders, a phone call, a visit to their desk, a more direct e-mail, a more direct telephone conversation, etc.…
PMO mandate
A common, even number one reason that so many project management offices fail is because they are not given the right mandate. A decision may be made to form a PMO or, even worse, it is more of a suggestion that a PMO is formed. Unfortunately, as one of the duties of a PMO is…
More PMO template design tips
The recent blog post about pmo template design included guidance on designing templates. However, there are some additional tips that are worth considering so as to avoid mistakes that could impede the benefits of the templates. Use of Macro’s and complex formulas Our good friends at Microsoft have done a fantastic job of delivering a…
5 tips on PMO template design
PMO templates are the core tools used by most project management office’s. A number of processes need to be implemented to capture, analyse and monitor data and the mechanism for the standard capture is usually templates. This post will share 5 tips that will help when it comes to designing templates so as to ensure…
PMO performance – make sure you are measuring success
A common argument from project managers and senior management is that a PMO does not add value and creates bureaucracy. This than can make it very difficult for the PMO to make progress, which results in limited value that can lead to the PMO being closed. Obvious choice if you are a senior management, why…
PMO RAG status for reporting
As mentioned many times before on this blog, reporting is one of the most important activities performed by a PMO. The PMO usually provides: Status reporting of projects Status reporting of programmes Status reporting of portfolios Within these, there is then reporting of: Milestones Scope Schedule / timeline Costs Benefits The Issue Given this diverse…
Simple PMO dashboard
The post PMO Dashboard, used the analogy of how a car dashboard to help think about the design of a PMO dashboard. The key principle being, make sure that you have the dials and gauges that provides the information required. The post also went on to provide an example of a heat-map to demonstrate how…
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