PM War Stories #25 – PMO Success: Determining the Role, Personnel, and Maturity of the Project Office

Download PMW_0025_PMO_Success.mp3 (13.5 MB)

It is not very difficult to convince project managers of the value they bring to the table.  The reality is project managers are always a piece of a bigger picture within the organizations they represent. Although many understand the the value of project management, there are equally as many within the organization that still need convincing of the role project management plays in meeting corporate objectives.  In this regard, project management offices (PMOs) all face a similar predicament from their initial establishment defining their role within the organizations they serve to reaching full maturity by securing complete stakeholder buy-in and becoming true drivers of their company's success. 

At the end of the day, like any other department within an organization, the PMO will be judged on its performance.  For PMOs this means getting the job done in a timely fashion within budget and according to specifications, while optimizing the available resources at hand.  Consequently each project success linked to the PMO will lead to perceived value and stakeholder buy-in.  In other words, a PMOs maturity is based on its history of success.

In this episode, we will examine teammates, maturity, and success in the project office.

Our show is divided into 2 segments.

In Part 1, we will be talking to industry insider, Alison Mills Long, who has over 18 years of experience in project management in the financial services industry. She is a founding member of the PMI Columbus, GA Chapter, and served as vice president of Communications & Publicity as well as Chapter President. She is also an instructor for Continuing Education and The Cunningham Center for Leadership Development at Columbus State University in Columbus, GA.

Alison is currently vice president and BankCard Services Project Office Manager for a leading financial services company.  In her current position, Alison's responsibilities include the overseeing new bankcard product launches, advancing soft skills, and managing compliance projects, as well as acquisition activities including portfolio conversions. Today she will share her insights and experiences in defining the role of the project management office, assessing organizational maturity and team skills, and measuring success.

In part 2, we go roaming with the Salty Dogg to examine March Madness  and its effect on decision making.

Music Notes

1. The opening of the episode – “Catwalk”
2. Interview with Alison Mills-Long – “Alliance”
3. Roaming with the Salty Dogg – “Collins Avenue”
4. The closing of the episode – “East Ender”

 

Comments

[Project Management]

project success based on some variation of the Triple Constraint for many years as well, some placing more emphasis or value on one of the legs or some combination of legs. On the whole, organizations have no standard measure in place for determining project success so generalizations are problematic.

[wme]

Success based on lucky too.
Personally I know too many people who`re sure in their future, but unfortunately...

[PM War Stories]

Theres a saying ... Its better to be lucky than good. Im certain thats been the case for many of us at least once in our lifetime; however, hoping or waiting for good luck to come our way is likely not the best strategy, especially when creating or maintaining a PMO. Hopefully by sharing our insights, successes and failures, we can help increase the chances of others having a positive project outcome and equally important, spare them some of the difficulties, hardships and crises along the way. If you have a story of getting it right or just being lucky, please tell us about it at info(at)pmwarstories(dot)com, and we may feature it in a future episode.