These range from the simple PMO that focuses on organization-level consolidated reporting, up to the PMO Resource Center, where the project managers and teams report into the PMO. PROJECT MANAGEMENT TRAININGProject Management BasicsProject Management Software Tool Training Leadership Training Advanced PM Skills Development PMP Preparation Business Alignment Training

PMO STAFFING AND DEVELOPMENTPMO staffs have considerable experience10 years on average; and almost half (45%) have PMPs

implementing PM standards and policies, monitoring performance, and coaching and mentoring are the top functions performed by the PMO.

TOP 10 PMO FUNCTIONS Project/program monitoring and controlling PM methodology, standards implementation/ management Project policies, procedures, templates implementation/ management PM coaching and mentoring Project/program initiation Project/program planning Project/program closing Multi-project coordination Portfolio tracking (performance monitoring) Alignment of projects with strategic objectives

TOP 5 PMO CHALLENGES/CONSTRAINTS Organizational resistance to change 51% PMO processes seen as overhead 47% Having enough time/resources to devote to strategic activities 45% Demonstrating the added value of the PMO 43% Inadequate resource management capability 43%

TOP 5 PMO PRIORITIES OVER THE NEXT 12 MONTHS Implement resource planning and forecasting process 58% Implement / enhance reporting, analytics, dashboard tools 57% Implement / enhance core PM processes 57% Implement / enhance portfolio management process 55% Implement / enhance governance process 54%

In general, the value of a common project management process includes: Reduced cycle time Reduced delivery costs Improved quality of project deliverables Early identification and proactive management of project issues and risks Better containment and management of project scope More opportunities to leverage and reuse knowledge Improved accuracy of estimates Better communication with clients and stakeholders Improved perceptions of your organization by your clients Improved people and resource management Reduced time to get up to speed on new projects

The PMO builds or licenses a common set of project management processes and templates, which saves each project manager or organization from having to create these on their own. These reusable project management components help projects start-up more quickly and with much less effort. After the project management processes are deployed the PMO enhances and supports them over time. As new or revised processes and templates are made available, the PMO deploys them consistently to the organization. The PMO facilitates project communication by defining a common terminology. There is less misunderstanding and confusion within the organization if everyone uses the same language and terminology for project related work. The PMO sets up and supports a common repository so that prior project management deliverables can be candidates for reuse by similar projects, further reducing project start-up time. The PMO provides training (internal or through vendors) to build core project management competencies and a common set of experiences. If the training is delivered by the PMO, there is a further reduction in overall training costs paid to outside vendors. The PMO delivers project management coaching services to help apply good practices on specific projects. Coaching services can help project managers understand and apply the practices more quickly. Projects at risk can also be coached to help them complete successfully or at least ensure that they do not get any worse. The PMO tracks basic information on the current status of all projects in the organization and provides project visibility to management in a common and consistent manner. The PMO tracks organization-wide metrics on the state of project management, project delivery and the value being provided to the business by project management in general, and the PMO specifically. The PMO acts as the overall advocate for project management to the organization. This includes educating and selling management and team members on the value gained through the use of consistent project management processes.

Low-Tech TemplatesMost of the templates in PMOStep are simple MS Excel and Word documents. The templates are in this format so that you can easily see what information is on them and what the value of the information is. The templates do not have to be implemented in this format in your organization. First, if you use Excel, you will likely want to combine a number of related templates into multiple tabs in one spreadsheet. Second, if your organization has access to more sophisticated tools, you can implement the templates in that technology instead. For instance, many of the templates would be good candidates to place in MS ACCESS, Lotus Notes, HTML/web, etc.

1. PMOStep sees the deployment and support of project management processes and discipline within an organization as a culture change initiative. That is, you are asking people to change how they do their jobs. The PMO will help people in the organization be more productive and help project managers complete projects within expectations. The overall success of the PMO will hinge on how well the use of the consistent project management methodology is integrated into the culture. In other words, if the PMO rolls out a project management initiative, but the staff members do not internalize project management into their normal routine, the PMO will not be successful. Likewise, if the central PMO is disbanded (for whatever reasons) without the project management processes being integrated into part of the culture, the PMO will not be successful. 2. Because implementing project management is a process and not an event, the PMO should be established with a long-term horizon in mind. Of course, business conditions change, and PMOs are not immune to cutbacks. However, if the PMO is established with a short-term deployment mindset, and not a long-term culture change mindset, it will ultimately be unsuccessful.