Enterprise Project Management Offices are positioned to change the landscape of companies everywhere. They bring many values to the organizations that implement them. There are several key steps necessary to make a ePMO work for your organization. The payoff, however, is well worth the effort.
Values That PMOs Bring
In today’s complex world of of IT projects, many companies are ill-equipped to handle the ever-changing tasks necessary to a company’s health. The solution lies in an ePMO, or Enterprise Project Management Office. First of all an ePMO creates a database of all projects and initiatives in one place and highlighting inter-dependencies, if any. Second, an ePMO creates a blueprint that aligns the structures and goals of each initiative in the organization to its larger strategic objective. Finally, the ePMO enforces and maintains best practices bringing consistency to project management and reporting. An ePMO also lists project directions and statuses in one convenient place.
ePMOs benefit the organization in the long-term by providing tangible and consistent results. The group integrates the data and information into company processes. This helps improve the company’s effectiveness.
According to Craig J. Letavec, the most important values of an ePMO are best summarized by the PMO Value Triangle (PMOVT)™. The three core areas, or points of the triangle, include standards, consulting, and knowledge.
ePMOs help companies by establishing and maintaining standards, policies, and procedures. These standards will improve the group’s consistency.
They also manage the recording and dissemination of knowledge. ePMOs provide a source for company knowledge and help improve trainings.
The last of the core value areas is consulting. This value affects the implementation of projects. The ePMO provides expert guidance that otherwise would not exist.
Many organizations recognize the potential value of ePMOs. Without proper goals and framework, however, fifty percent of PMOs fail.
How to Make a ePMO Work For You
To create an effective ePMO, your company needs to first develop a concise mission statement. This statement should capture the reason why you’re launching the office and summarize what you hope the ePMO will achieve. The goal for this mission statement is to guide the programs and activities your organization undertakes.
A mission statement alone will not lead to a successful ePMO. Your next step should be to create meaningful value measures for the ePMO. Even with a great mission statement, your ePMO will fail without proper framework.
First ask your team what challenges exist in your organization and how the ePMO will address them. Determine which challenges and opportunities are priorities for your organization. Then record how the ePMO will help overcome these challenges. Make sure to keep a consistent record of this information. Secondly, empower the head of the ePMO to communicate directly with executive management. This provides an enterprise-wide view, instead of a vertical function view. Only when management can see the enterprise-wide, cross-functional initiatives and challenges, can the organization as a whole move forward.
Only after you determine the opportunities and challenges can you decide specific steps for how the ePMO will address them. You should establish a time frame for each issue, and then outline each step.
An increasing number of companies are recognizing the values that ePMOs offer. When ePMOs are implemented correctly, they will help increase your organization’s effectiveness and profitability.