7 Responsibilities of a Project Management Office

By Alvin Soltis

PMO responsibility can vary greatly depending on who you ask. In my career I have had the opportunity to setup a few Project Offices. The first we won’t talk about, the second and third turned out very well. I am sharing some of the key routines I used below:

Manage Proposed Projects Pipeline

• Score proposals. This is a quick way to gauge the cost, benefit, and risk of the project so you know how much effort should go into it and who to involve. You also score this against other competing proposals who take from the same budget pool.
• Vet that project Business Case is sound. The bigger the project the more work in this area.
• Ensure that the project aligns to the organizations vision and strategy. It could be a great idea, but does it advance the greater goals of the organization?

Manage Project Portfolio

• Project Dashboard. This will list key metrics and is usually color coded so leadership can quickly see where to focus attention.
• Exception Reporting. This regularly goes out to all the project managers and points out anything that is missing from the project. I recommend you score the projects so ones missing a lot go red. It works wonders in getting projects in tip top shape.
• Portfolio reviews. This is done with an operating or governance committee who has the authority to move the projects through each phase and make major changes to the cost, scope, and time of the project.
• Ensure projects are following the process. This is a combination of active monitoring and reviews done at the end of each phase.

Top 10 Project/Portfolio Management Systems

The Forrester Wave: Project/Program Portfolio Management, Q4 2012, "How The Top 10 Providers Stack Up in a Newly Divided Market", by Margo Visitacion and Phil Murphy (December 20, 2012) was a very timely and useful read. Margo and Phil well capture our environment: organizations migrating through strategic analysis, supported by portfolios that are comprised of agile and waterfall projects.

They analyzed PPM (project/program portfolio management) tools that fall above the dividing line "Strategic Planning" and below the line "Work Execution". Margo and Phil highlighted the vendors that shine in both areas and commented on their wide range of capabilities. The reader will see how there is a dividing line in PPM tools and the need to consider a layered approach to mirror organizations that adopt multiple management practices.

You can download your reprint from the Forrester website.

John Curley
Director of Research
PMO Community of Practice

Gazza's Guide to Practical Project Management Online Book Study Now LIVE!

The Project Management Book Club has announced the online book study of Gazza’s Guide to Practical Project Management: Tips and Advice on Surviving the Project Management Journey. The study has been developed in collaboration with author Gary Nelson, PMP (Gazza)!

Wondering what it takes to make a successful project? The online book study will teach you the critical importance of soft skills on every project - after all, the best metrics and toolkits on the market will not help you succeed unless you work with your team and the customer to deliver a successful project. The people on your project teams are the key differentiator between a successful project and a failed one - and the difference between a high performing team and a poor performing team comes down to you, the Project Manager. The task of managing projects can seem quite daunting – but the truth is that managing successful projects can be broken down into practical, easy-to-understand concepts that will help you and your team deliver projects of any size.

Join in on the discussions at http://gazzasguide.pmbookclub.com/

Newly Updated PMI Standards Available

Announced today from Project Management Institute...

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This is an exciting time to be a member of PMI as we have released the latest editions of three key standards that have long been considered the most influential in the profession.

This month, PMI published:

• A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®Guide)—Fifth Edition
• The Standard for Program Management—Third Edition, and
• The Standard for Portfolio Management—Third Edition.

Member Access to Standards
As part of your PMI member benefits, electronic versions of these standards are now available to you on PMI.org. Access PDFs of these and all PMI global standards at http://www.pmi.org/PMBOK-Guide-and-Standards/Standards-Library-of-PMI-Global-Standards.aspx and log-in to your myPMI profile.

Exam Date Change Information
Also this year PMI will update our credentials and certifications and release 10 official translations of the PMBOK® Guide—Fifth Edition. You can find information about exam date changes and read our FAQs at www.pmi.org/standardsupdate.

Thanks to Our Volunteers
PMI is very appreciative and proud of the hard work of our dedicated volunteer committees. Our volunteers gave countless hours of their time to help PMI staff update and publish these standards during 2012. Without their expertise, knowledge and time, PMI would not be able to deliver a quality product that is the foundation of the profession.