The Core P3M Data Club was formed to create a data standard for portfolio, programme and project management. This enables us to more effectively deliver business integrated governance for Business as Usual and Change. This means our journey from Main Board objectives, targets and challenges can be delivered through portfolios, programmes and projects in the context of finance, management teams, support and assurance more easily and effectively. This will deliver more strategy outcomes, greater business agility, lower management overhead and efficiency benefits. This document outlines the assumptions we make around how Business Support Teams collaborate to provide support for portfolios, programmes and projects alongside commitments for business as usual activity. Rather than prescribe what a “PMO” should do, we offer a process that covers current state assessment, vision and strategy for governance support overall. We can then define service definition on from that starting point – rather than going through a “standard” PMO services catalogue and cherry-picking things we think we might need and trying to somehow accommodate competing / duplicate functions. We offer a discussion of change and sustainment and the conclusion is Our conclusion is that for Business Integrated (P3M) Governance, support needs to be harmonised and coherent across the business. For a high res version click here - https://1drv.ms/w/s!AscRj7Bfp6vQgoke5om0XaDvrmBpTg?e=3RzN0N Find out more and collaborate here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13651399/

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Business Support
Business Supportisakeyelementtothe operationof IntegratedP3MGovernance. Itmay
alreadybe provided formallytoa degree inatleastsome partsof the organisation.Business
Supporttypicallyhelpsindividual domainsfunctionandbe accountable more easily.
Thisguide offersassumptionsaboutwhatisneededinsupportforBusinessIntegrated
(P3M) Governance tofunctionandfor the Core P3M Data Model to be reliable.Italsooffers
a discussionof howtoattain it.It isnot a definitive guideonP3Msupport/assurance as
there are more extensive publicationsthatcoverthese topicse.g.P3O® andPraxis.
Assumptions– BusinessSupport
Withinthe example scenario,SupportFunctionsmayexistall overabusinessandbe
providingclearlocal service levels.Businesssupport maybe providedthroughone ormore
groupswhichmay be:
 a low-level supportfunctionsupportingprogress/performance measurement
 a high-level decisionsupportgroup,understandingachievement/outcome
 Focusedon
• Strategyplanning, BAUworkplanningonly orProjects/Programmesonly
• Work packageswithTasks/resources/finances
 Distributed/centralised/joined-up/disjointed
• Embeddedwithinspecificbusinessareas/functions- autonomous
• Or across all work,all areas – via “huband spoke”arrangements
From APMDirecting
Change

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WithinanorganisationseekingtoadoptBusiness
Integrated(P3M) Governance, itmaynot be clearwho is
providingwhathelpandpromotingwhichtools/methods
and where – isthere overlap/gap/duplicationinsupport
provision?Forexample:
 Projectsandprogrammesmay have local PMOs to
supporttheirsmoothoperation
 Portfolio/strategyplanningteamsmayhave
planningsupport
 Manufacturingmaybe supportedbyproduction
planning
 Engineeringmayhave amanagementsupport
function
 Logistics– logisticsplanning
 IT – and IT Deliveryoffice
 LeadershipMIsupport. It issometimesthe case thatthere isa gap betweenoperationalsupportandleadershipsupportcharacterisedbythe
followinganecdote:
“ReportingSolutionsare characterisedbydeliveryteams pushingdata,ratherthan businesses pullingupinsight– so a PMO mayfeel like its
reportsare not read, andthe execmayfeel thatitdoesn’tgetinsight,justdetailedprogress mumbojumboratherthan what are the options.”
Support Needed
Business Integrated(P3M) Governance needsalignedandcoherent support, assistingwithplanningandresourcing,change control,change management,
operational reporting, governance support,commercial assistance,andof course,integrationwithleadershipprocessesandsome independent validation.
Supportcan be providedcentrallyorlocallytoa knownservice level inpursuitof local operationalneedsandof governance operationobjectives.
Inevitably,anexistingPMOispart of this - sometimeslowerlevel deliverysupport,some programme support, afewprovide portfoliosupport,lessstill
mainboard support. Some offerfinance andresourcingsupport.

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As the service mustbe coherent, thisimplies itis(ormustbe) “designed”.If startingfromscratchthisis not a problem,butif startingwithanexisting
service levelprovidedoutof disconnectedteams,service level gaps/overlap/contentionmustbe identifiedandresolved. The resultmustbe harmonious,
coordinated governance operations tomeetBIGobjectives.
For an organisation thatalreadyexists,itismostlikelythe overall supportmodel wouldbe re-engineeredtosupportthe organisation’sdevelopingvision
for BusinessIntegrated(P3M) Governance.Asthe visionemerges,the service andorganisationdesigncandevelopinresponse tothe informationneedsfor
the governance operation.Thismayextendto review/redesignof process,standards,tools,reports,andcapability withinthe business forportfolio,
programme, project,finance andresource managementoverall. Itisa choice to designsupportto provide deepservicestocarry out a lotof P3M activity
because the organisation doesnothave widespreadcapability orprovide alighttouchsupportfunctionbecause ithasdeepcapability. The designdepends
on the vision andthe currentstate.
Current State Assessment
It isimportantto understandthe currentlevel andbreadthof BusinessSupport
inand aroundP3M Governance.The followingquestionsprovideexamplesof
whatneedsto be understood:
 All areasneedsupport – but isthe supportharmonisedandintegrated?Is
the right level of skill/capacityprovided?
 Is there one functionthroughwhichdecisionsonprojectsare taken?Is
there a corporate body?Are there alsodepartmental functions?Where ishelp
providedfrom?
 How manyversionsof “excellence”are there?Doesone size fitall?Isthere
a trainingfunction?Are there manytools andtool supportproviders?
 Shouldgovernance be local toprojects/programmes?Isitpartof a
departmentbusinessmanagementoperation orprovisionedcentrally?
 Shouldsupportbe local to projects/programmes?Isitpartof a department
businesssupportoperation? Cana projectsupportresource be provisionedcentrallyandprovidedasaservice?
 Is there a functionthroughwhichprojectsdeliver?A headof projects/programmes?Orare projectswhatyoudo throughoutthe business?What
aboutproducts/assets?
How does thismap to your organisation, and how shouldit? Who isaccountable for the service level andvalue itprovides?Whoconnects this together?

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Visionand Strategy
As mentionedpreviously,thereare plentyof goodpublicationswhichcoverPortfolio,Programme andProjectManagementOffices,andthese provide
great reference.However, BusinessIntegrated(P3M) Governance extendsbeyondtraditional PMOdomains,andmayencroachonFinance functions, and
supportfunctionswithin Manufacturing,Marketing,Engineering,IT,andStrategyareas. In orderto deliverIntegratedGovernance integrateddatais
needed,andthe chancesof that increase withconnected operationsandsupportfunctions.
Witha clearpicture of the current state of support,anda developingvisionforBusinessIntegrated(P3M) Governance,avisionforthe overall support
operationcanbe made.Asthe Core Data Model Principlesare applied andintroduced,supportmayneedtobe reconfiguredtooperate inajoined-up
approach,witheach supportnode followingcore principles:
 Instrumentof integration - partof or the central integration
 Customerfocused - providingalevel of assurance
 Single source of the truth – usingthe Core Data Model
 Enablingcapability - sothatGovernance can operate
 SupportingaLearningOrganisation - tomaintainbenefits
There shouldalsobe clarityonwhat the objectivesof integratedsupportare NOT(foravoidance of doubt)
 An additional bureaucracy. An aspectof support mustbe compliance management, butthe purpose isto enable requiredgovernance andtobe
leaninapproachingthis.If there isany change incompliance relatedresources, itshouldbe areduction,notanincrease.
 More detailedplans.Businessesrequire alevel of planningtoenable finance/resource planninganddependencymanagement.BIGwill focuson
plansneeded,and If there isanychange inplanning,itshouldbe a simplification andaharmonisation,notanincrease inthe overall complexity.
 Adoptionof “one size fits all” tools/process.Toolsenable enterprisedatatobe gathered/managedmore easily.Onetool wouldprovideasimpler
support/maintenance task –but if the tool isnot adopted, there islessbenefittoit.The BIG approachis to pull throughdatafromstakeholder
groups,and to use toolsandprocessessuitable forthe worktheyhave –if the BIG data needsare serviced.
 BIG Bang. Making substantial changescausesdifficultdesign work, alotof communicationsactivity,difficultstakeholderengagementscenarios and
mistakes.BIGBang ishighrisk. The onlywayto approachBIG sensiblyisto take a phasedapproach,releasingintospecificareasthatcan be
supportedtoa depththat can be adoptedand sustained realistically.

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Change and Sustainment
Dependingonthe currentstate the depthof the visionandthe time periodforstrategydelivery, anorganisationwillruna backgroundimprovement
activityor setup a change programme to deliverBIG. Anearlydecision willbe the nature of the leadershipforthe programme,and forthe operationthat
the programme delivers. Forexample:
 Is the bestapproach to supportthe existingPMOwitha change programme,andextenditsintegration capability–to improve the collaboration
rather thanchange the organisation of supportfunctions
 Create a newfunctionata higherlevelinthe organisationandset upthe PMO as a team withinit,changingthe organisationof supportfunctions
 Is itledby the future ownersof the newfunction?
 Is itledby a temporaryteamwhichwill hand-overtothe future owners?
 Is itledby the one of the currentteams(e.g.PMO)?
 Who isgoingto ownthe vision,and advancement/sustainmentof the vision?
There isno rightanswerto presenthere.
Conclusion
Our conclusionisthatfor BusinessIntegrated(P3M) Governance,supportneedstobe harmonisedandcoherentacrossthe business.
The Core P3M Data Clubdoesnotoffera specificmodel forsupport butrespectsexistinggoodpractice course forP3 support,andrecognisesthe
organisation,service levelsandoperationalfacilitiesneedtobe designed.
A PMO may be one of several supportfunctions,anditmay be a suitable startingpoint forthe harmonisationprocess –but thisdependsonitscapability
and locationinthe organisation. Itmaybe sensible togrowthe BIG Supportcapability outof the PMO, to subsume the PMO,orreplace the PMO depending
on currentstate. As the ownersof some of these supportfunctionsmaybe underseparate BusinessHeads notinthe P3Mdomain,thismaynot be easy to
dictate and isperhaps giventoa COO/CFOto accomplish?
Resources
Thissectioncontainslinkstodetailedpresentation/backupmaterial tothe narrative above.Linkstoassumptionsandderivation are available uponrequest.