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The second edition of this award-winning reference provides step-by-step instructions for establishing and maturing a project management office (PMO). Concise and easy to read, The Strategic Project Office, Second Edition covers the four primary areas of knowledge and practice regarding the PMO: governance and portfolio management, resource optimization, organizational change, and performance measurement.
Winner of the 2001 David I. Cleland Project Management Literature Award from the Project Management Institute, the first edition introduced the concept of PMO as a strategic resource. This second edition adds reporting on cutting-edge research on the status and roles of today’s PMO, highlights best practices, and includes case studies of award-winning PMOs. It explores the various aspects of planning and implementing the strategic PMO and provides readers with an assessment model for measuring PMO practice maturity.
New in the Second Edition:
The first edition has been the foundation for much of my thinking about initiative management, and the second edition takes thought leadership to a new level. Crawford leverages years of experience to further improve an already excellent resource. The first edition of The Strategic Project Office sits on the top shelf of my bookcase. I’m sure that the second edition will have a similar pride of place … when I haven’t loaned it out to members of my team as homework.
—Paul Ritchie, PMP, Director, Global PMO, Mead Johnson Nutrition, Inc.
Praise for the Award-Winning First Edition:
… provides a primer that is first-of-a-kind and best-of-class. Read it. Learn its lessons. Apply them. Improve your organization, your projects, and your global competitiveness.
—PM Network, Books in Focus
Table of Contents
The Strategic PMO: Aligning Projects and Strategy
Overview
The Link between Strategy and Projects
Strategy and Projects Research Study
Why Align Projects with Strategy?
How Alignment Resolves Project Management Problems
Strategy & Projects: Research Findings
The Strategy & Projects Framework
Best-Practice Examples
PMO Business Case, Organization Structure, and Functions
The Evolving Enterprise
Many "Ps" Make a Strong Business Case
Organizational Structure for Projects
Types of PMOs
Functions of the Project Management Office
Project Support
Software Tools
Processes, Standards, and Methodologies
Training
Consulting and Mentoring
Project Managers
Integration of the Project Management Office
Evolving PMO Functions
The Starting Gate: Assessing Your Current Condition
Maturity and the PMO
A Maturing Profession
Defining Maturity and Capability
Preassessment Evaluation
Baseline Maturity Assessment
PM HealthCheck: Understanding an Organization’s Project Management Maturity
Identification of Issues and Risks
Gap Analysis
Conclusion
An Iterative Process
Talking Points
PMO Planning, Preparation, and Strategy
The Project Charter: Agreeing on a Destination
Objectives and Milestones: The Map to Your Destination
Specific
Measurable
Agreed Upon
Realistic
Time-Constrained
Using Gap Analysis to Set Milestones
Delivering Value with Specific Short- and Long-Term Objectives
Implementation Strategy
Phase I: Establish the Foundation
Phase II: Startup with Short-Term Initiatives
Phase III: Rollout with Long-Term Solutions
Phase IV: Support and Improvement
A Project Office or a Project Management Culture?
However … Five Ways to Fail
Measuring Success: How to Know When You Have Arrived
Metrics
Communications Planning
Best Practice: Communications
Purpose
Origination and Timing
Project Communications Plan Guidelines
PMO Value-Adding Strategy: Rein in Runaway Projects
Early Warnings
In-Progress Problem Indicators
Pulling on the Reins
Establishing a Project Management Methodology and PMO Governance
Defining Our Terms
Five Steps to Establishing a Methodology
What Are the Elements of a Methodology?
Consistency/Repeatability
Scalability to Projects of Varying Size and Complexity
Overview of a Sample Methodology
The Processes
The Templates
Quality and PM Methodology
Quality of Deliverables: The Product
Quality of the Project Management Process
How Good Is Your Methodology?
Governance: Balancing Order with Creativity
Defining Governance
Process Governance
Methodology and Standards
People and Structure Governance
A Governance Framework
Best Practices in Governance
Project Portfolio Management and the Strategic PMO
The Evolution from Project to Portfolio
The Business Case
Overall Benefits
PPM in the Strategic PMO: Where Strategic Planning Meets Project Execution
The Strategic PMO: An Organizational Home for PPM
Governance and PPM
Assessing Organizational Readiness
The Fundamental Components of PPM
Six Key Processes
Four Areas of Integration
How Do Organizations Implement PPM Practices?
Start Small and Keep It Simple
Best Practices for PPM
The Strategic People Management Office: Human Capital and the PMO
The Resource Crunch
People Make the PMO
Staffing the Strategic PMO
Strategic PMO Director
Project and Program Managers
Project Support
Project Teams
Other Team Members
A Note on Mentoring
Project Mentoring
Competency Identification
Training and Mentoring
Performance Measurement and Rewards
Career Paths and Leadership Development
Best Practices for People Management in the Strategic PMO
Rolling Out the Strategic PMO: All Aboard
The Executive Role
Identifying the Executive Sponsor
Management Participation: The PMO Steering Committee
How to Select a PMO Steering Committee
The Technical Infrastructure: Using IT to Facilitate Project Collaboration and Performance Measurement
Why Do You Need PMO Software?
Software Functionality and PMO Complexity
Project Management Approach
PMO Level
Portfolio Management Software Issues
Additional Software Concerns
What Are the Best Practices for Selection?
Rollout: Putting the Tools to Work
Changing Organizational Culture
Climate or Culture—Which Do I Change?
Organizational Needs: Flexibility and Creativity
Creating a Project Culture: From the Top
Specific Guidance on Changing Your Culture
Measuring for Results
Change Processes
The Scenario Approach
A Project Management Approach to Change
Readying the Troops for Battle
Overcoming Barriers to Change
People and Power
Organizational Politics, Roles, and Responsibilities
The Impact of Change on People
The 15-15-70 Rule
Using Language to Create Community
You Made It: Signs of a Project Culture
Knowledge Management and the PMO: Tracking Benefits and Learning from Experience
Knowledge Management: The Short Course
Knowledge Repositories
Key Success Factors in KM
Barriers to KM Success
Capturing Lessons Learned—and Beyond
Project Closeout: The Knowledge Goldmine
Post-project Review
Why Are We So Bad at This?
The PMO as a Community of Practice
Benchmarking
Tracking Performance: Knowledge Is Power
Where to Begin
A Model for Performance Measurement
Developing Performance Measures
Measurement Planning
Piloting the Measurement Program
Some Cautions about Doing Internal Research Projects
Conclusion
Appendices:
The State of the PMO 2007 to 2008
Selected PMO of the Year Winners (2007 and 2008)
Project Management Assessment and Recommendation Report
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Author(s)
Biography
J. Kent Crawford, PMP, is the founder and CEO of Project Management Solutions, Inc. (PM Solutions), a management consulting and training firm headquartered in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania. The company specializes in applying the project management discipline throughout organizations to improve enterprise business performance. Prior to establishing PM Solutions, Crawford served as president and chairman of the Project Management Institute (PMI®). Crawford is a recipient of the PMI Fellow Award and the award-winning author of The Strategic Project Office: A Guide to Improving Organizational Performance (for which he won the 2002 David I. Cleland Project Management Literature Award from PMI), Project Management Maturity Model: Providing a Proven Path to Project Management Excellence, and Optimizing Human Capital with a Strategic Project Office. His latest book, Seven Steps to Strategy Execution, provides the framework for organizations to execute and deliver corporate strategy through the use of Strategy Performance Management.
Jeannette Cabanis Brewin is editor-in-chief for PM Solutions.
Reviews
The first edition has been the foundation for much of my thinking about initiative management, and the second edition takes thought leadership to a new level. Crawford leverages years of experience to further improve an already excellent resource. The first edition of The Strategic Project Office sits on the top shelf of my bookcase. I’m sure that the second edition will have a similar pride of place … when I haven’t loaned it out to members of my team as homework.
—Paul Ritchie, PMP, Director, Global PMO, Mead Johnson Nutrition, Inc.Written for project managers, project office directors, their managers, and executives, this volume outlines the creation of a project management center and the four primary areas of knowledge and practice regarding the project management office (PMO): governance and portfolio management, resource optimization, organizational change, and performance measurement. This edition addresses research on the status and roles of today's PMO and best practices, along with new and updated information on the use of collaborative and social media tools in project management and human resources aspects of managing project personnel; new chapters on project portfolio management and aligning projects and strategy; new information on using the strategic project office as a strategy management center; and updated content reflecting the latest standards of the Project Management Institute. A CD-ROM is included.
—In Research Book News, booknews.com, February 2011Praise for the Award-Winning First Edition:
… provides a primer that is first-of-a-kind and best-of-class. Read it. Learn its lessons. Apply them. Improve your organization, your projects, and your global competitiveness.
—PM Network, Books in Focus, Sept. 2003