PM War Stories #13 - Creating a PMO from the Ground Up, Part 1

Download PMW_00013_PMO_Ground_Up.mp3 (16.1 MB)

The Program Management Office (PMO) can be defined as the organizational group, staffed with skilled professionals, that provides services in core and supporting areas during the planning and execution of a project.   As a group that services a portfolio of projects within the organization, the PMO is faced with the challenge of managing conflicting agendas, balancing different project objectives and aligning the portfolio with the corporate strategy.  Consequently, building a PMO from the ground up demands a radical change in how an organization manages its projects. 

In this episode we will be examining the business side of creating a PMO from the ground up at a services company and overlay it with a consultant’s best practices approach in PMO creation.

Our show is divided into 2 segments.

In part 1, the Technology Corner, we sit down with Elissa D'Onofrio, who has more than a decade of experience in project management and information technology. Elissa is the director of the program management office and project delivery at Aviall, a leading solutions provider of aftermarket supply-chain management services for the aerospace, defense and marine industries and a subsidiary of The Boeing Company.  In this segment, Elissa will be sharing with us her insights and war stories of creating a program management office from scratch at Aviall.

In Part 2, we will be talking to industry insider, Bruce Moore, who has over 25 years of project management experience in IT, aerospace, manufacturing, energy, government, transport, finance, and healthcare. He is the global managing principal for RCG Information Technology. In this segment he will share best practices and lessons learned in creating a PMO generally and the specific experiences at Aviall.

We hope you enjoy the show and encourage you to send your questions, issues, and war stories.

Music Notes

1. The opening of the episode – "Wake Up" by Jimmy Targosz
2. Intro to Technology Corner – "Airplane" by Black Eyed Dog
3. Intro to interview with industry insider – "Fortitude (Remix)" by Techtonic
4. The closing of the episode – "Montreal Sessions 1" by whuzzaah