Project Management War Stories

PM War Stories #39 - Creating a Project Management Office with a Grassroots Approach

Download PMW_0039_Grassroots_PMO.mp3 (22.5 MB)

Creating a project office or project management office (PMO) is often a daunting task. Complicating the process is the fact that when you try to talk to people about PMOs, there is very little continuous spectrum of understanding regarding the term PMO.  Either the project managers work in an organization which has matured to the point where they have encountered the term project office or PMO or it is a foreign term to them.

One successful approach to shedding pre-conceived notions and building consensus is to create the PMO from the grassroots – starting with a clean sheet of paper and building the PMO around the needs of the organization and the people who make it up. Taking such an approach takes into account the business context and the culture of the overall organization as you work with the individuals who have to make it all work and succeed.  This is very important from a commitment standpoint because what the individuals believe will succeed contributes substantially to their ongoing buy-in and success of the PMO.

In this episode we will examine creating a PMO from a grassroots or clean sheet of paper approach.

To do this, I’m sitting down with Mel Bost, who has over 30 years of project management experience. Mel’s entire career has evolved around project and product development, including work at Ford Motor Company, Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO), UNOCAL, Tosco Corporation, and ConocoPhillips. Mel authors the blog, Mel Bost PM Expert (available at http://melbostpmoexpert.com), based on his own experiences in developing and maturing PMO organizations with several major Fortune 500 companies.   Mel’s blog summarizes successful behaviors of project managers working in a PMO setting as well as the structure and actions of a real PMO. Today Mel will be sharing his experiences and insights on setting up a PMO from the “grassroots,” a blank sheet of paper approach.

Music Notes
1.     The opening of the show – “Highlight Reel”
2.     Interview with the industry insider – “Broadcast News”      
3.     The closing of the show – “Yearbook”

PM War Stories #38 - Creating an SMO: How to Align Operations with Strategic Goals in Small & Medium Enterprises, Part 2

Download PMW_0038_SMO_Part2.mp3 (16.9 MB)

Thank you for joining us for the fifth podcast in our series on project management offices. Today we are examining how to set up and maintain strategic management offices to provide the necessary alignment between tactical operational activities and the strategic objectives of small and medium enterprises. To do this, Wayne Thompson is sitting down with his friend and colleague, Michael Kamel, for part two of the two part series on strategic management offices.

Michael Kamel has over a decade of experience in engineering and project management. Currently he works as a Senior Manager in Strategy & Operations at Deloitte where his practice covers the domains of strategic planning, strategy deployment, innovation strategy and project management. Recently he was named President Ex-Officio of PMI Montreal. Today he will be sharing his insights and war stories on aligning operational activities with strategic planning in small and medium organizations.

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Music Notes

1.     The opening of the show – “Torn Jeans”

2.     Interview with the industry insider – “Sideman Strut”

      3.     The closing of the show – “Two Seater”

PM War Stories #37 - Creating an SMO: How to Align Operations with Strategic Goals in Small & Medium Enterprises, Part 1

Download PMW_0037_SMO_Part1.mp3 (12.4 MB)

Small and medium enterprises (SME) typically are lean, agile organizations. On one hand, functional managers of SMEs often wear multiple hats and are focused on executing the day-to-day operations to ensure their organization’s survival. On the other hand, the executives of SMEs are charged with creating a strategic vision and executing on that vision to ensure the long-term viability of the organization. And oh by the way depending on the size of the organization, the executives may also be working in the trenches as well to maximize the chances to achieve success. 

Like their larger brethren, success requires SMEs to be able to not only articulate the strategic goals of the organization, but also to capture and implement them at all levels of the enterprise to ensure that all projects, not matter how small or large, are aligned to the enterprise’s overall strategy. The lack of a middle management layer in SMEs, however, often means that there is no one in the organization to help translate the vision of the executives into operational terms so that the entire enterprise and all of its projects (i.e., tactical activities) are working in concert to achieve the same common set of goals.

Strategic management offices (SMO) represent one approach to help SMEs align their tactical operations with their strategic planning, bridging the gap between the operations management and the executive suite while optimizing resource management and minimizing waste.

In this episode, we will examine what makes strategy implementation so difficult in SMEs, what is an SMO, and how does an SMO differ from a project management office (PMO).

To do this, Wayne Thompson sits down with his friend and colleague, Michael Kamel, for a two part interview on strategic management offices.

Michael has over a decade of experience in engineering and project management. Currently he works as a Senior Manager in Strategy & Operations at Deloitte where his practice covers the domains of strategic planning, strategy deployment, innovation strategy and project management. Recently he was named President Ex-Officio of PMI Montreal. Today he will be sharing his insights and war stories on aligning operational activities with strategic planning in small and medium enterprises.

Music Notes

1.     The opening of the show – “Pursuit”

2.     Interview with the industry insider – “Sprightly”

3.     The closing of the show – “Dogma”

 

PM War Stories #36 – Driving Growth & Improving Operations through ERP

Download PMW_0036_Improve_Operations.mp3 (7.8 MB)

In this episode Wayne Thompson sits down with Blake Chadick, Parksite's enterprise systems manager, to discuss how Parksite improved its operations by transitioning from multiple disparate software systems to a single integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution.

Parksite is a wholesaler and distributor company headquartered in Illinois that offers specialized products, training, and value-added services to market segments within the building industry. It is one hundred percent employee owned, and has 14 locations and over 350 employees.

Parksite’s growth and its continued success demand that the company maintain a clear vision and well-defined goals. It already had in place the right business model, the right people, the right attitude and outstanding products and services. What it was missing was an integrated IT system to enable managers to see what was happening in the business in real time and respond in a timely and effective manner.

Parksite set out on a quest to find a software solution that provided end to end integration; the ability to customize the software to Parksite’s needs and business model (and not the other way around); and a low total cost of ownership. After doing an evaluation of enterprise resource planning vendors, Pronto Software emerged as the finalist. Today, Blake will share with us his experiences and insights of selecting and implementing PRONTO-Xi.

Music Notes

   1. The opening of the episode – “Chelsea Loft”
   2. Interview with industry insiders – “East Ender”
   3. The closing of the episode – “Torn Jeans”

 

PM War Stories #15 – Bridging the Gap Between Project Management and Operations Management

Download PMW_0015_Bridging_the_Gap.mp3(16.5MB)

Project-centric organizations are constantly balancing their attention on delivering successful short term finite projects and their attention to serving the operations piece of the business.  As projects feed the business, the integration of project management and operations management best practices is critical in delivering the most success to a project-driven organization’s bottom line.  Thus the project manager that can successfully straddle between the project management and operations management world are more likely to be viewed as strategic stakeholders that can impact the growth and success of the organizations they serve.  

In this episode we will examine the gaps and synergies between project management and operations management; and highlight a best practices approach in weaving a pilot project implementing enterprise software into the fabric of an organization’s operations.

Our show is divided into 2 segments.

In part 1, we will be talking to industry insider, Max Wideman, who has more than 40 years of project and program management experience in a wide range of projects and industries, including heavy engineering works such as hydroelectric projects and construction of major building complexes, as well as systems, social, environmental, and software projects. In this segment Max will be sharing with us his insights on the differences between operations management and project management.

In Part 2, the Technology Corner, we will discuss the top 5 issues to consider when moving from an initial pilot project, which requires project management skills, to a full roll out the software application across the organization, which requires operational skills.

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 – “Quebec” by Day Day’s
2. Interview with industry insider – “Horizon” by MNG STAR
3. Technology Corner – “Corner” by Snybone
4. The closing of the episode – “operaTion” by Iron Lion Beats

PM War Stories #12 – Taking Ownership of Strategic Objectives

Download PMW_0012_Taking_Ownership.mp3 (16.1 MB)

There is a new paradigm emerging in the world of project management.  Where at one time project managers were solely focused on the successful execution of the projects they managed, today project managers are expected to take ownership of the strategic objectives of their projects.   In the many cases where projects drive the business, project managers are in an excellent position to align both the tactical day to day activities and the overall objectives of their projects to the strategic goals of the organization.  As a result, by keeping an open mind and collaborating with team members and stakeholders responsible for the business’ strategic objectives, project managers may discover additional benefits to the project and ensure a greater and longer lasting success in the organizations’ they serve. 

In this episode, we’re talking about the importance of taking ownership of strategic objectives and how metrics can help.

Our show is divided into 2 segments.

In Part 1, we will go Roaming with the Salty Dogg and examine the Alaska Purchase.  This historical event exemplifies the importance of incorporating perseverance, collaboration and stakeholder management to achieve the one’s strategic objectives.

In Part 2, we sit down with industry insider, Steve Rollins. He is the Chief Project Strategist for the ALLPMO Network and chairs the Project Management Institute’s International Metrics SIG.  Steve has over 35 years of project management experience and is well recognized for developing and implementing organizational governance processes that lead to bottom line improvements. Today, he will share his insights and experiences

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 – “Alaska to Wichita” by WildOscar
2. Roaming with the Salty Dogg – “Seward’s Folly” by Caustic Casanova
3. Interview with industry insider – “Value” by Jimmy Targosz
4. The closing of the episode – “Immature” by Pero (418)

PM War Stories #10 – Streamlining operations to achieve bottom line results

Download PMW_0010_streamlining_operations.mp3(24.6MB)

In many cases the role of a project manager is to assist an organization in implementing new systems to streamline or improve business processes.  Having the ability to effectively track and measure a project’s progress will impact the success of these particular projects and their bottom line.  Employing a best practice methodology that captures and tracks a project’s metrics will not ensure quality assurance, but will deliver the best value in streamlining an organization’s processes.

In this episode we will be examining how the appropriate use of metrics can help an organization streamline its business processes and we will look at a case study of an electronics distributor and its experience improving its operations. Our show is divided into 2 segments.

In part 1, we will be talking to industry insider, Steve Rollins who has over 35 years of project management experience. Steve is the Chief Project Strategist for the ALLPMO Network and chairs the Project Management Institute's International Metrics SIG.  He is well recognized for providing global consultative solutions and services for businesses in developing and implementing organizational governance processes that lead to bottom line improvement. Today, he will share his insights and experiences in answering the call to deliver to a specified metric or close the department – by developing a successful PMO, Steve helped to reduce costs by over $75 million dollars and save the jobs of an entire department at a telecommunications company.

In Part 2, the technology corner, we sit down with Brian Leffler, Vice President of TTI Instruments, a wholesale distributor specializing in different kinds of industrial process controllers and instrumentation. TTI serves customers from the Fortune 500 to mom and pop shops, generating 14,000 invoices per year. In our conversation, Brian shares his company's experiences in managing the migration process from Microsoft Great Plains to Netsuite.   

Music Notes

1. The opening of the episode – "metric" by laxydactyl
2. Interview with industry insider – "Metric" by Paul Glidden
3. Technology Corner – "Wholesale Soulsale" by Jazz In V
4. The closing of the episode – "Montreal bound" by harpman64