Nr. 2-2004 omslag - Norsk senter for prosjektledelse - NTNU

Achieving Project and Organizational Success:The Role of the Project Management OfficeMore and more people are working on projects and are using project management processes and tools.Everyone wants to improve project success, but many struggle to achieve the desired results. Formalliterature and anecdotal data present many examples of cases in which projects fail to meet expectationsin one or more of the triple constraint items or in terms of overall client satisfaction. Many projects arecompleted at twice their original budget and at twice their originally anticipated duration.By Dr. Ginger Levin and Dr. Parviz F. RadIntroductionSuccess is contingent on being able tomake predictions and meet commitmentsrelative to products and services.With projects increasingly a way of lifein today’s organizations, how do youknow if your projects are truly contributingto the success of your organization?How do you know if the projectmanagement methodologies, tools, andtechniques that you are using are effectiveones?In recent years, many organizationshave established a Project ManagementOffice (PMO) as the entity that providesservices and an organizational focusin core and supporting areas of projectmanagement. The PMO provides aninfrastructure for tools and expertise inthe area of project management. Thispaper presents a description of thePMO in terms of the enterprise-relatedand the project-focused functions that itcan perform to contribute to the futuresuccess of the organization.PMO FunctionsThere are many descriptions for thefunctions of a PMO. As noted by theProject Management Institute in its AGuide to the Project Management Bodyof Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide 2000Edition, page 21) “There is a range ofuses as to what constitutes a projectoffice.” It operates on a continuum,from providing support functions forproject managers to being responsiblefor the results of the project.One way to consider the PMO is interms of a series of levels, similar tothat of a staged maturity model. Undersuch an approach, a level-one PMOwould support only one project. Alevel-two PMO would support severalprojects under the same program, alevel-three PMO would support a divisionor department in the organization,a level-four PMO would support theorganization in all of its projects, and alevel-five PMO would be placed strategicallyat the executive level of theorganization supporting strategy decisionsand enterprise resource planningand allocation.PMO functions can be classified asones that assist specific projects andones that provide support to the entireenterprise. If the project-focused functionsare complemented by enterpriseorientedfunctions, then the resultingPMO will be an exceptionally effectiveunit in facilitating higher profits and inmaintaining the competitive advantageof the organization. The PMO thenacts as the interface between the projectmanagers and the organization and servesas a change agent to focus the entiredirection of the organization onenterprise project management.Project-Focused FunctionsProject-focused functions are ones thatgenerally have a short-term impact on aspecific project with emphasis on waysto assist the project in terms of meetingits project cost, schedule, and qualityobjectives. Augmentation is the mostdirect route for improving project performanceas the PMO can provide per-sonnel to the project team to performcertain tasks. Here, the PMO is similarto that of a “temporary” agency in thatit provides personnel of various skills tothe project in order to fill any shortfallsthat may exist. If the organization hasan enterprise-focused PMO, the PMOstaff members can also serve as a conduitfor best practices to follow in projectmanagement.The PMO also can mentor project staff,working side by side with novice teammembers to ensure proper execution ofcertain tasks. This solution is for asituation where the project has the rightnumber of staff members but the teammembers do not possess the competenciesrequired to carry out their respectiveproject duties. The PMO then canassign an experienced staff member toprovide assistance.Additionally, the PMO can provideconsulting services with occasional problem-solvingideas in all areas of projectmanagement. In this situation,team members feel comfortable performingmost of their duties and use thePMO staff to validate the correctness ofanalyses and the viability of assumptions.The PMO can provide a number ofdirect project tasks as follows.Establish Standards for ManagingProjectsIf the organization does not have astandard project management methodologyin place, each project team must16Prosjektledelse Nr 2-2004