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7/22/2009

Report #1: Start With the End in Mind The Rapid PMO: Strategic Steps from A to Z

Hass Howard

Hass Howard, 2009

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Report #1: Start With the End in Mind The Rapid PMO: Strategic Steps from A to Z

Where to Begin? When designing your Project Management Office (PMO), it is a good approach to start with your end goal(s) in mind. The establishment and continuous growth of an effective PMO is a journey. Just like with any journey, the bumps along the road are easier to consume if you know the end destination. Identifying the mission, vision, and goals of your PMO is an excellent start that lays the foundation for a smooth journey.

Now, any sort of organizational change will encounter its fair share of obstacles. Erecting a PMO is no different. However, clear communication of the PMO’s purpose, and its benefit to various members of the organization, shall reduce reluctance to its implementation. By first defining the Mission and Vision of the PMO, selection of the PMO type becomes a fairly easy task.

Defining the PMO Mission and Vision Mission and vision statements are common vehicles for communicating the overall purpose and future intended state of an organizational unit. The eventual users of your PMO are not foreign to the intent of mission and vision statements either, as these tools are used quite frequently in strategic plans, on company web sites, and in a multitude of business communications to establish a common perception of a goal or business entity. Launching your PMO without these two pieces of the big picture in hand does not necessarily translate into disaster, but it definitely increases the obstacles along your path.

Hass Howard, 2009

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For the purposes of this report, we will concentrate on forming an information technology (IT) centric PMO for a company with operations throughout North America. By first defining the mission of the PMO, we establish a shared understanding of the PMO’s purpose. Provided below is the sample mission statement that we will use for this fictional PMO.

There are a few elements of the mission statement that you should take notice of, particularly its clear expression of the PMO’s major intent, “Establish excellence in the management of IT projects”. Users of the PMO are also identified, “…project management services to the enterprise.” How the PMO contributes to the IT Division’s achievement of the company’s strategic goals is also addressed, “…successful completion of IT Initiatives on time and within budget where customer requirements are consistently met or exceeded.”

Establish excellence in the management of IT projects by offering project management support services to the enterprise, enabling the successful completion of IT initiatives on time and within budget where customer

requirements are consistently met or exceeded.

The Enterprise IT PMO empowers project managers, and anyone involved in the administration of an IT related project, to leverage a set of

proven project management best practices, tools, and processes to consistently deliver projects on time and within budget, maintaining no more than a +/- 10% variance between actual and estimated projects’

costs and durations, where customer satisfaction ratings are routinely 95% or greater for all initiatives contained within the IT Project Portfolio.

Hass Howard, 2009

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Using the above mission statement, we will use the following vision to articulate the future goal-state of the PMO.

Even in this brief example, the linkage between mission and vision are clear. While the mission emphasizes the aim of the PMO, the vision inspires the members and customers of the PMO by depicting the increased capabilities and efficiencies that everyone will benefit from once the mission is realized. As you construct your mission and vision statements under this rapid model, consider them to be conversation catalysts that you can quickly employ to engage all levels of staff in the PMO design and implementation discussions.

PMO Mission and Vision Examples There are many techniques that your organization can leverage to quickly generate a mission and vision statement for your PMO. Mind Tools, a leader in the skills building field, provides a very effective and straightforward seven (7) step process for defining a mission and vision statement (see figure A). This is one of many practices that you can follow. Throughout the Internet there are also many good examples of PMO mission and vision statements that your organization can use to guide the creation of its own PMO mission and vision.

Mission Statement Creation

1. To create your mission statement, first identify your organization’s “winning idea”.

2. Next identify the key measures of your success. Make sure you choose the most important measures (and not too many of them!)

3. Combine your winning idea and success measures into a tangible and measurable goal.

4. Refine the words until you have a concise and precise statement of your mission, which expresses your ideas, measures and desired result.

Vision Statement Creation

1. First identify your organization’s mission. Then uncover the real, human value in that mission.

2. Next, identify what you, your customers and other stakeholders will value most about how your organization will achieve this mission. Distil these into the values that your organization has or should have.

3. Combine your mission and values, and polish the words until you have a vision statement inspiring enough to energize and motivate people inside and outside your organization. (Mind Tools Ltd., 2008)

Figure A

Hass Howard, 2009

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When visiting the State of North Carolina’s Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO) web page, the mission and vision statements are two of the first items you view on their home page. Similar to our fictional mission and vision, the State of NC EPMO employs brief paragraphs to communicate its mission and vision.

The University of North Texas uses a briefer, yet still effective, vision statement for its PMO.

Mission Example

“To provide leadership for the improvement and expansion of Project Management across state government through coordination and communication, standardization and measurement, and mentoring and coaching.” (State of NC EPMO)

Vision Example

“The EPMO provides professional oversight to facilitate successful IT projects through assessing projects and facilitating resolution of issues, risks and roadblocks and by providing early warnings if a project is likely to fail. The EPMO does this through applying professional experience and best practices and by providing full and complete information to the SCIO to ensure the SCIO can respond appropriately. (State of NC EPMO)

”

Mission Example

“To enable successful completion of projects and realize their benefits, the PMO will:

• Collaborate with State agencies to help ensure achievement of their project goals and objectives.

• Conduct project tracking, review and oversight on behalf of the Legislature.

• Encourage adherence to repeatable project management processes with established standards and measurement criteria.

o Provide sustainable project management methodology and best practices tools.

o Coordinate statewide project management training, coaching and mentoring programs.

o Actively participate in project governance.

(Office of Enterprise Technology)

Vision Example

“Create a foundation within CITC for enhanced awareness and collaboration, increased efficiency, and more consistent delivery of the right projects at the right time with the right resources.” (U of North Texas PMO, 2008)

Hass Howard, 2009

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Bullet points are also another practical vehicle for publicizing your PMO’s mission and vision. The State of Minnesota combines brevity and bullet points to articulate its PMO’s mission.

The style of your mission and vision statements should resemble the culture of your company. Some organizations compose missions and visions that span several pages. With the objective of this undertaking being to establish a PMO of value as expeditiously as possible, I caution the use of lengthy mission and vision statements. Besides, it is much easier for people to remember concise mission and visions that are very compelling.

What’s Next? Establishing a mission and vision without any measurement goals is akin to planning a trip without any target travel dates. Forming the picture of what you seek to accomplish is only part of the equation. To truly energize the enterprise around project management maturity, tangible goals and strategies should accompany the PMO mission and vision. Individual, team, and departmental contributions can then be continually assessed against the achievement of the stated goals and strategies.

Next in the Series:

Report #2: Adding Teeth to the Mission and Vision

Hass Howard, 2009

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Works Cited Mind Tools Ltd. (2008). Mission Statements & Vision Statements. Retrieved January 7, 2009, from Mind Tools Web site: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_90.htm

Office of Enterprise Technology. (n.d.). PMO Mission and Vision. Retrieved January 7, 2009, from The Office of Enterprise Technology State of Minnesota: http://www.state.mn.us/portal/mn/jsp/content.do?subchannel=-536890651&programid=536910278&id=-536890276&agency=OETweb

State of NC EPMO. (n.d.). Enterprise Project Management Office, State of North Carolina. Retrieved January 7, 2009, from Enterprise Project Management Office, State of North Carolina: http://www.epmo.scio.nc.gov/

U of North Texas PMO. (2008, April 18). University of North Texas PMO. Retrieved January 7, 2009, from University of North Texas Computing and Information Technology Center: http://pmo.unt.edu/