Project Management Office - PMO

As the business world continues to evolve, the approach to project management needs to evolve in parallel in order to optimize project performance. In this installment of our project management briefings series, we will introduce BwB Advisors innovative Project Management Optimization Methodology (PMOM).

Project Management Overview:

In order to stay competitive and consistently deliver quality projects on time and in budget, a strong project management structure is crucial. Regardless of your organization’s industry, utilizing the correct best practices and management methodologies can help reduce costs and risk, maximize productivity, and improve the quality of deliverables.

Before we can talk about project management methods, we must first understand the Project Management Office (PMO), an organizational group or department that oversees and supports project management activities across an organization, there can be one central PMO for the entire organization or multiple PMOs responsible for different divisions. The general role of the PMO is to define and maintain standards and best practices for project management, which encompasses tasks such as outlining parameters for using various methodologies (such as Waterfall, Agile, Six Sigma, etc.), establishing key metrics, creating documentation standards, and providing support and guidance on projects. While the PMO's general function is consistent, their operational standards and the amount of control they possess varies based on the size of the organization. In small to mid-size organizations, the PMO tends to establish more defined standards and practices, such as deciding that the organization will utilize one methodology and the accompanying best practices, whereas in larger organizations the PMO tends to provide more general guidance, such as allowing teams to pick the methodology that will be used, but providing the best practices, documentation standards, etc. that should be followed. Regardless of the organization's size, the PMO provides project managers with a strong baseline to work off of and ensures that the best tools are readily available.

Additionally, having a well-structured PMO provides benefits such as improved collaboration, more comprehensive reporting, and reduced risk. When teams are utilizing the same tools and workflows, communication becomes a lot easier meaning there will be fewer misunderstandings and therefore fewer issues and delays, and by having similar metrics, teams can more accurately gauge timeliness, milestones, etc. making collaboration between teams significantly more efficient. This consistency also makes reporting more effective as the key metrics outlined by the PMO make rolling up reports across various teams more seamless, allowing leadership to get a better overview of how projects are doing in comparison to one another. Furthermore, having best practices and documentation standards outlined significantly reduces the risk of project delays or failure. The PMO's overview and experience gives them insight into what best practices and tasks should be followed so that commonly overlooked issues can be avoided. In addition, having a PMO in place to provide assistance when issues do arise, can help reduce delays.

While the exact role of the PMO will vary from organization to organization, the coordinated and consistent approach to project management it provides helps to ensure projects are delivered on time, within budget, and to the required quality standards. In future installments of our Project Management Briefings series, we will cover some of the most commonly utilized methodologies and best practices leveraged by both PMOs and project managers.

BwB Advisors' Project Management Optimization Methodology (PMOM):

Whether it’s for a PMO structure or a single project, BwB's innovative, scalable Project Management Optimization Methodology (PMOM) provides a 6 phase process that guides organizations from identifying key best practices, tools, and methodologies all the way through their deployment so that your organization can ensure success.

Phase 1: Evaluate current methodologies and structure

The first step in optimizing project management is to evaluate the current project management methodologies and structure, gathering information such as:

• • Is there a PMO or is each project managed independently?
  • Is there a specific methodology or framework being utilized?
  • What tools are being utilized?
  • Do various teams utilize the same tools and methodologies?
  • Do specific issues constantly occur with projects?
  • What tools and processes currently work well?
  • What vendor relations do you have that could be leveraged to help implement efficient and cost effective tools/ solutions?

Once your current project management methodologies and structure is analyzed, and the driving need/ desire to adopt new tools and methodologies is identified, a solution can be tailored to your organization's exact needs.

Phase 2: Identify gaps and areas of improvement

In this phase, the information gathered in Phase 1 is analyzed in detail to identify specific areas where improvements can be made. Discussing your team’s pain points and encouraging honest feedback and suggestions from employees, leaders, and managers in each department is also crucial in this step, as different teams may be faced with markedly different issues.

Once we observe what isn’t working, we’re able to identify what inconsistencies are in the process. Analyzing these inconsistencies and their underlining causes helps to determine the gaps that need to be filled, which will indicate the specific best practices, tools, and methodologies that will be most beneficial to your organization.

Phase 3: Identify best practices and tools

Based on the identified issues and gaps, as well as the organization’s driving factors, a generalized list of best practices, tools, and methodologies is compiled.

With an overwhelming number of project management tools and techniques available it is no small feat to determine which will provide the best advantages, and which could have negative impacts. This phase focuses on gathering a large pool of solutions that can be combined and tailored to enrich your project management structure, while eliminating solutions that would provide little to no benefit.

Phase 4: Generate executive summary outlining recommended best practices, tools, and skill-sets/ trainings.

After a list of best practices and tools is created, we identify which solutions will have the largest impact in closing gaps and optimizing processes. Through this phase, an executive summary is generated detailing the recommended best practices, methodologies, tools, and skill-sets/ trainings to be implemented. This report includes detailed explanations of what each tool/technique is, why it should be implemented, what impact it will have, and the advantages of choosing the tool/ technique as compared to other options.

By crafting an executive summary employees, leaders, and managers can easily review the best tools and techniques available, provide their feedback, and give approval to move forward with the solutions that will benefit your organization the most.

Phase 5: Develop deployment strategy and obtain executive support

Creating a well-defined plan is key in successfully implementing the new tools and techniques, and ensuring the desired outcomes. The deployment strategy covers key items such as:

• • Action Items: Establishes clear, actionable steps, making it easier to understand and implement the new tools and techniques.
  • Prioritization: Identifies critical items and prioritizes them based on the timeline and available resources.
  • Resourcing: Identifies and allocates the necessary resources including people, time, and money, and confirms that they are utilized in the most efficient manner possible.
  • Timeline: Outlines when milestones should be completed based on prioritization and resources, making it easier to track implementation progress.
  • Risk mitigation: By outlining potential risks and corresponding mitigation strategies, the risk of delays or failure is greatly reduced, helping to ensure the new tools and techniques are successfully implemented.

Obtaining executive and leadership support is crucial to the process as it ensures that the strategy is aligned with the organization’s goals and objectives, as well as verifies that there is a clear understanding of the strategy’s benefits. Additionally, working closely with leadership helps confirm that the necessary resources (people, time, and money) will be readily available during the implementation process.

Phase 6: Execute multi-stage implementation

In this final phase, the deployment strategy is executed in a multi-stage process that ensures the recommended methodologies, best practices, and tools are successfully implemented. This starts with running a pilot program and obtaining feedback from employees and leadership.

Next, the results of the pilot program are compiled and analyzed to identify any potential implementation issues or remaining gaps. By taking the time to test the new tools and techniques in a small implementation, we verify their effectiveness and can further tailor them to your organization if necessary. Additionally, this helps to identify any changes that should be made to the implementation process, such as providing more training to employees, changing the priority of tasks, etc., all of which help to ensure a smooth and successful implementation. The necessary adjustments are then made to close any remaining gaps and optimize the new tools and techniques to best fit your organization.

Finally, we provide support throughout the full implementation process helping to facilitate tasks, and taking care to monitor the implementation’s progress against the established timelines and milestones, verify that employees receive the necessary trainings, and confirm that all processes and procedures are updated as outlined. By doing this we ensure that everything is deployed according to plan, and any challenges/ roadblocks are mitigated expediently, so that your organization fully utilize the improved tools and processes to maximize ROI.

While there are a vast number of methodologies, tools, and best practices available to help optimize project management, organizations should proceed cautiously in deciding what to adopt — one size does not fit all.

Take a phase-by-phase approach with the BwB Advisors Project Management Optimization Methodology (PMOM) to optimize your organization’s PMO or Project Management Structure and ensure a successful implementation that leads to improved productivity, reduced costs, and increased project success. Reach out to us to see how our PMOM can help you by clicking here.

Jun 2023   /   Insights   /   By: Michael T. Casarona