Program Office Assessment & Implementation

The Challenge

As your business evolves, so does the complexity of your organizational initiatives. Internal teams may face multiple projects and priorities, each with varying goals, timelines, budgets, requirements, geographies, resource needs and more. Without the proper structure or support in place, juggling these projects effectively becomes extremely challenging, often leading to decreased project success, overextended budgets and reduced overall business performance. So, how do you ensure your projects are set up for success? Through a well-designed PMO.

What is a PMO?

A PMO, or Program Management Office, is a group or department within an organization that manages all processes, methods and technologies used for the successful planning and execution of programs and projects. PMOs control project documentation, governance standards and more.

Why Establish a PMO?

Establishing a PMO can be instrumental in helping to manage project costs, optimize and measure project performance and ensure projects are aligned with strategic goals. By providing centralized management of the tools, technologies and processes needed to support projects at each stage, PMOs successfully alleviate administrative burden from project teams, establish financial controls and provide structure that allows teams to effectively and efficiently do their jobs.

How Can a PMO Benefit My Organization?

Effective PMOs help make projects easier to manage, measure and evaluate on performance.

Benefits of a PMO can include:

  • Better alignment of projects with strategic goals
  • Consistent and reusable project templates and governance structures
  • Increased financial controls to ensure projects stay within defined budgets
  • Improved reporting across projects
  • Greater visibility of delivery metrics to enable better decision making
  • More projects meeting return on investment estimates
  • Faster speed to market
  • Optimized resource utilization and allocation
  • Tighter governance and internal audit credibility
  • Higher project success rates
  • Smarter project managers and leaders

 

Best Practices for PMO Leaders

While PMOs can be key to a business’s success, they can also fall short of their potential due to a lack of effectiveness or an inability to showcase their value. Below, we’ve outlined seven best practices employed by the most successful PMO leaders.

  • The right people make all the difference. Hire individuals who have the knowledge, experience and people skills to drive strategic change and influence stakeholders.
  • Never neglect the “easy wins.” Building up a successful track record takes time, which is why it’s crucial to identify and quickly deliver upon a few visible projects to demonstrate PMO value and bolster stakeholder support.
  • Be strategic with reporting. While many PMOs regularly report on the status of projects or programs, it is only valuable to business leaders if it aids in decision-making for the organization.
  • Build a framework for success. Effective PMOs are able to define and share a clear, strategic framework that showcases their ability to evolve with organizational goals and objectives.
  • When it comes to data, less is more. Many PMOs make the mistake of trying to prove value by overloading senior managers with details, when what they’re looking for are short, concise reports.
  • Don’t be modest. Share the successes of your PMO with the rest of the organization, especially when they relate to tangible business benefits, such as time and money savings.
  • Evolve with the times. Successful PMOs adapt service models to support technological changes, ensuring that processes and capabilities align with current business needs and focus.

AXIA PMO Solutions Offer Support at Every Stage

Whether you are in need of PMO creation, management or performance evaluation, AXIA offers comprehensive services to help organizations at every stage of the process. Our Program Management Practice works with your team to understand current business goals, processes, supporting technologies and resources. By serving as an extension of your team, we collaborate with you to develop sustainable solutions that help you tackle your toughest PMO challenges and achieve your business goals.

Our PMO services include:

  • Establishment of Portfolio and/or Program Management Office
  • Management and execution of existing Portfolio or Program Management Office
  • Current state analysis, desired state assessment and gap analysis of PMOs in various levels of maturity
  • Training, coaching and mentoring of organization staff
  • Assistance with PMO and PM software tool selection
  • Design and definition of metrics to measure appropriate success factors for PMO and C-Level leadership

Learn how we can put our PMO expertise to work for you

Connect with one of our senior consultants at 877-292-5503