Having seen PMOs come and go through the years, we have found some traitsthat FAILED PMOs exhibit…This talk covers what NOT to do, and of course what to do, to set up, reform, or save your PMO. Prime among failed PMO traits are a willingness to get caught between sr. management and business unit projects as yet another aspect of governance gone wild. This is the kiss of death! Come hear and discuss with your peers this and other aspects of what makes great and failed PMOs. Be ready to form, recover, or simply improve your PMO and relations with functional leaders.

1. © 2004-2017
Authored by Darrel Raynor, PMP, MBA
Managing Director, Data Analysis & Results, Inc.
and the Data Analysis & Results Team
www.DataAnalysis.com DARaynor@DataAnalysis.com
Knocking the Stupid Out of ™
Your PMO - A Go or a No-Go?
It is all in your Business Plan!
An Agile & Integrated™ Approach presentation!
PMOPMO
page 1

2. © 2004-2017
Abstract
Having seen PMOs come and go through the
years, we have found some traits
that FAILED PMOs exhibit…
This talk covers what NOT to do, and of course
what to do, to set up, reform, or save your
PMO. Prime among failed PMO traits are a
willingness to get caught between sr.
management and business unit projects as yet
another aspect of governance gone wild. This is
the kiss of death! Come hear and discuss with
your peers this and other aspects of what
makes great and failed PMOs. Be ready to
form, recover, or simply improve your PMO and
relations with functional leaders.
PMO PMOPMO
page 2
A&I ™ Best
Practice

3. © 2004-2017
AGENDA
I. Introductions & Expectations
II.How to form, reform, or adapt a
PMO into a functioning unit
III.How to avoid the Six Traps of PMOs
IV.How to communicate how PMOs
should be and should not be used…
V.Pulling it all together
page 3

4. © 2004-2017
Introductions
Facilitator & Primary Author of
Agile & Integrated™ Business Analysis, Project
Management, and Leadership Courses, and
Management Advisor blog
Darrel A. Raynor, PMP, MBA
Managing Director & Founder, Data Analysis & Results, Inc.
Project/PMO Consulting, Training, Staffing, Speaking
Agile & Integrated Project Management, A&I PM are trademarks of Data Analysis & Results, Inc.
page 4

5. © 2004-2017
How to form, reform, or adapt a
PMO into a functioning unit
https://programsuccess.wordpress.com/20
14/01/01/organizing-the-pmo/
page 5

6. © 2004-2017
The ‘P5 Continuum’
page 6
Determine your organization’s
location on the continuum

7. © 2004-2017
Determine specific goals
page 7
● Create a Charter aligned with business goals
● What are your business units goals?
○ Projects coming in on time?
○ Reducing low value processes?
○ Compliance or other governance?
○ Reduce ‘Resource Roulette’ meetings?
● Let’s list a few others! What were the goals of
your organization when they formed a PMO?
?

8. © 2004-2017
Cast a Wide Net
page 8

9. © 2004-2017
Poll your stakeholders
page 9
What do they want in a PMO (if they know…)?
● Execs
● Business Unit Sr. Managers, SMEs, & Team Members
● Project Managers
● IT & other types of support Team Members
Let’s list a few others! Who are the proponents and
opponents? Who else would support?

10. © 2004-2017
How NOT to Form Your PMO/EPM…
page 10
● Executive Decree - Thou Shalt!
● Grass Roots Alone
● In a Hurry
● Without Gathering Buy-In
● Tool Instead of Process Driven
● Too Much Customization
● Assume Projects are Waterfall or
otherwise ignoring Agile...
PMOPMO

11. © 2004-2017
Stakeholders
Are Not Robots
page 11

12. © 2004-2017
Recognize Processes Are Work Too!
page 12
All Work
Process Product
1. Planning
2. Estimates
3. Requirements
4. Status & other
Documents
5. Project Meetings
1. Coding
2. Testing
3. Migrating
4. All other product
work…
The same people have to do both columns
of work. Who decides the right mix?
A&I ™ Best
Practice

13. © 2004-2017
• People, not technology, are most important
• Define your process before you commit to
a tool…
• They won’t want to…
• Constant pressure to perform
• Persuasive leadership, perhaps coupled
with direct management
• Common sense is needed
• Don’t be afraid to adapt!
Get your priorities straight

14. © 2004-2017
• Standardize Terminology and Process
• Maintains Tools, Templates, Best Practices
• Pools Project Managers in a peer group
• Educates on Project Management, Tools,
Best Practices
• Fosters Organization Improvement
• Transformation Champions
Benefits of PMOs

15. © 2004-2017
Plan & rollout your new PMO
page 15
Change Management!
● Pilot with a friendly group first
● Get some ‘Small Wins’ & Testimonials
● Roll out to groups one at a time starting with those
○ That are in trouble
○ That are new
○ That the Business Unit requested
● Document successes, failures, & all feedback
● Ensure everyone knows you are acting on that
feedback & making specific changes & tweaks

16. © 2004-2017
Challenges of Business Transformation
page 16
What efforts have you seen fail or just not caught on
that have not used much Change Management?
(Think, “Fad of the day…”)
What transformation efforts have you seen succeed and
why do you think they succeeded?
Competing methods such as Traditional and Agile...

17. © 2004-2017
How to avoid the Six Traps of PMOs
page 17
PMOPMOPMO

18. © 2004-2017
How to avoid the Six Traps of PMOs
page 18
PMO
Trap #1: Remember why we are doing this…
Trap #2: Build Analysis Time In…
Trap #3: PMO pulling in same direction
Trap #4: Governing or Directing through the PMO
Trap #5: Making a PMO Kingdom - Empire Building
Trap #6: Not specifying benefits
PMO

19. © 2004-2017
Situation: CHAOS
• Don’t know project
costs/ROI
• Can’t validate future
estimates
• Over-commitment
• Under-pricing
• Inability to repeat
success
• Agile Transformation
Trap #1: Remember why we are doing this...

20. Document Best Practices
→ Reduce Duplication ←
WEDIAKPO2! TM
• Create All Documents at start of project
• *No Versions
• No Meeting Minutes
• No Email w/Content
• No Email Attachments
• Update Documents in Meetings
• Traceability
• Robust set of Project Logs
I *Except baselines...
Agile & Integrated Project Management, A&I PM are trademarks of Data Analysis & Results, Inc.
A&I ™ Best Practice

21. © 2004-2017
Trap #2: Build Analysis Time In…
A&I ™ Best Practice
If it is worth doing, it is worth:
• Measuring
• Reporting & analyzing…
• Implementing corrective
actions…
You know you want it!!!
Build time into your schedule!

22. © 2004-2017
Trap #3: PMO pulling in same direction
page 22
● If your PMO is hampering your
Business Units, guess who will
‘win’ in the long run?
● If your PMO is trying to force
process without high and
recognized ROI
● Traditional and Compliance
vs Agile Just-In-Time
A&I ™ Best Practice

23. © 2004-2017
Trap #4: Governing or Directing
through the PMO
page 23
● Executives should direct their Business
Unit people on mandatory processes
● Executives should not direct their PMO to
force or cajole Business Unit people to
perform mandatory processes
● Set up your PMO as support or the
answer, not the Process Police...
A&I ™ Best Practice

24. © 2004-2017
Trap #5: Making a PMO Kingdom
- Empire Building
page 24
● PMOs serve Business Units, and should
not compete with them in any way
● PMO goals should help, not hinder,
Business Unit goals
● The death knell of a PMO is the first hire
that does not work directly on projects,
especially a Communications Specialist
or PMO staff other than working PMs
A&I ™ Best Practice

25. © 2004-2017
Trap #6: Not specifying benefits
page 25
● $ Saved or $ Earned - ROI
● More Done With Less
● FTE Savings
● Customer Satisfaction
● Organization Efforts Helped
● Compliance and other Risks
What else is there?
A&I ™ Best Practice

26. © 2004-2017
Trap #6: Not specifying benefits
page 26
Speed, Consistent Speed!
● Providing the RIGHT Information
● To the RIGHT People
● At the RIGHT Time
Yielding Better Decisions
● Quality
● Doing the RIGHT Projects
● Doing the RIGHT Tasks, Better
A&I ™ Best Practice

27. © 2004-2017
Trap #6: Not specifying benefits
page 27
The Early Win: Reduce Your Number of Projects:
Reduce distractions! This is a big win…
Assign Resources to Higher ROI Projects instead of Lower
ROI Projects. THIS is the huge win!
Refocus Organization on what is Important Instead of Pork
Barrel (Special Interest) Projects and Project-Like Efforts
that may have Been “Under the Radar”…
A&I ™ Best Practice

28. © 2004-2017
How to communicate how PMOs
should be and should not be used...
page 28

29. © 2004-2017
page 29
A Little
Some
More
A Lot
Use your ‘Slider’ for tailoring the
number, depth, and content
of all your project processes…
Negotiate, Not Mandate, Processes
A&I ™ Best Practice

30. © 2004-2017
page 30
• Negotiate in ‘contract’ with staff and vendors
• Reduce other overhead to compensate
• Reward, don’t punish, when data is
provided…
• Record which PMO and other projects come
in at what percentage of Time and Budget with
fewer Risk events…
Negotiate, Not Mandate, Processes
A&I ™ Best Practice

31. © 2004-2017
page 31
Negotiate, Not Mandate, Processes
• Adapt your processes to
provide the data you need
• Set thresholds to take
action
• Define ‘Default Corrective
Actions’
• Reward, don’t punish, when
data is provided…
A&I ™ Best Practice

32. © 2004-2017
Negotiate, Not Mandate, Processes
page 32
● Which are needed?
● How does their specific value
measure against time and skills
available?
● What level of effort or results for
each?
● Don’t hide behind ‘Compliance’...
For Every Process Negotiate
with your Key Stakeholders
A&I ™ Best Practice

33. © 2004-2017
Organization
Chart
Non-Optimal
page 33
A&I ™ Best Practice

34. © 2004-2017
Organization
Chart
Optimal
page 34
A&I ™ Best Practice

35. © 2004-2017
Pulling it all together
page 35
PMOPMOPMO

36. © 2004-2017
Pulling it all together
page 36
How to form, reform, or adapt a PMO into
a functioning unit
How to avoid the Six Traps of PMOs
How to communicate how PMOs should be
and should not be used...

37. © 2004-2017
Good Luck &
Thank You!
page 37

38. © 2004-2017
A&I™ Courses & Support
A&I™ Consulting, Training, Speaking, and Staffing Information on
www.DataAnalysis.com
Contact us for customized, lean, project Consulting & Staffing
+1-512-850-4402 / Info@DataAnalysis.com
Read and subscribe to The Management Advisor™ blog
visit: www.dataanalysis.com/blog
Agile & Integrated Project Management, A&I PM are trademarks of Data Analysis & Results, Inc.
© 2004-2017
page 38