Many organizations now have PMO’s operating to bring consistency in planning and project management, help support business investment decision-making and develop new leaders. Getting the most out of a PMO though is often an evolutionary process that takes the PMO through stages of maturity and capability.
It can be highly beneficial to periodically take stock of where the PMO is in its lifecycle and determine what to focus on to take it to the next level of capability. With so much investment on the line, it is a sound business decision for companies to periodically assess the PMO for needed adjustments and improvements.
Challenges a PMO Faces
- The PMO has been in place for some time and may be doing a great job at putting basic project management practices in place, but the PMO is finding it difficult to address the needs of the CXO level in the company.
- The CXO finds it difficult to align strategic and operational investments with strategy.
- PMO support of CXO strategic planning processes is not helping to identify and prioritize the right initiatives to invest in.
- The business finds it difficult to track benefits of investments in projects.
- There is difficulty getting believable metrics that show how well projects are supporting the business.
- It is difficult to accurately and objectively predict how much a program or portfolio of projects will actually cost.
- It’s hard to get believable insights from “what if” analysis of the projects in the company’s portfolio.
Ten Six PMO Pulse Check
The Ten Six PMO Pulse Check is a rapid assessment to determine how well senior leadership is being served by the PMO. During the Pulse Check we review the following:
- PMO structure
- Initiation, planning, monitoring and control, and closeout processes
- Information flow for senior leadership decision making
- Project metrics
- Schedule quality
- Risk management
- Capacity to respond to executive level requests.
This is typically a 5 to 10-day on-site review of relevant project and business information combined with interviews of key managers, program/project managers, and stakeholders. Once we have completed our Pulse Check we debrief senior management with actionable findings and recommendations.
The Benefits
- A benchmark against which changes and improvements can be made.
- A road map for senior leadership and the PMO to address the findings and recommendations.
- Better alignment of the business drivers with programs and projects.
- Deeper understanding and insight by the PMO and project managers of how the PMO supports senior leadership and business decisions.
Call us today (703) 910-2600 or email us at [email protected] to discuss how Ten Six’s PMO Pulse Check can improve your PMO’s focus, capability and value.