Mastering PMO Project Management

The most common challenges I hear about PMO project management best practices are mainly two focus areas: resource management and project prioritization. As the role of the PMO has shifted from output focused to outcome focused, the need to really get those two areas effective and efficient is key. With a greater focus on business outcomes, PMO project management best practices include strategic alignment, adaptability and business strategy execution. Resource management and project prioritization play a key role in being able to strategically deliver what the business desires, but they also play a key role in what needs to change as the business goals and priorities shift. PMO project management best practices are centered around being able to adapt quickly to changing business strategy and ensuring the right projects are in flight is important to being able to deliver the results but also ensure you have the right resources to deliver on those new requirements. PMO project management best practices challenges are rooted in flexibility, but more specifically flexibility of resources and the prioritization of projects. 

Organizations that have successfully implemented PMO project management best practices have clear priorities and have defined objectives based on the business goals. They also have conquered the feat of integrating all functions/departments and are utilizing an integrated suite of tools to consistently monitor, measure and report on. They understand that change is bound to occur and they embrace the constant evolution and utilize their toolset to deliver upon those changes with minimal disruption. 

Historically, many PMOs have had very unclear mandates.  Organizations haven’t known how to appropriately determine what they want their PMOs to deliver or how to measure that performance.  That’s beginning to change with an increasing focus on using PMOs to improve the business value achieved by projects.

But it’s coming at a time when the way those projects are being delivered is more diverse than ever.  Not only are waterfall and Agile common approaches, hybrid methods that combine elements of traditional and Agile delivery are increasingly being used.  That means that standard methodologies can’t apply.

Many PMOs emerged in an era when waterfall was the only game in town, and their processes and approaches for everything from project delivery to reporting was built on that.  To embrace Agile and hybrid they need to replace rules and regulations with recommendations – best practices.  That applies to their own ways of working and to the guidance provided to project and related work teams. 

I think we have to first define what we mean by PMO Best practices. What I mean when I say PMO best practices includes Governance, Resource Management, Methodologies, People Management to name a few. So, when you say what tools or process can improve an organizations ability to implement best practices, I will lean toward tools that can share data in dashboards and reports such as PowerBI, Tableau…etc. Those types of tools.

Unless an organization is mature in how it delivers projects it is unlikely to be stable enough in its approaches to be able to support an effective best practice model.  You can see this in organizations that have historically been focused on traditional project delivery approaches and have only recently started to embrace Agile.  They may well have mature waterfall methods and a suite of best practices that their waterfall project managers can leverage.  But in the Agile environment, they rely on standard processes with no modification or flexibility because they aren’t mature enough to embrace anything else.

That applies to PMOs just as much as it applies to the teams doing the work.  As maturity improves, so approaches are better understood and standards are replaced with recommended best practices, adjustments are made for different situations, etc.  That in turn enables faster maturity which then drives greater use of best practices.

The main goal of PMO project management best practices is to connect strategy and execution seamlessly. This means there needs to be strategic engagement and the PMO and project leaders must be results-driven and have focus and understanding of the strategic goals of the business. PMO project management best practices are designed to provide a roadmap to business success and by embracing insight-led decisions making – PMO project management best practices are bound to keep moving the business forward. 

It starts with understanding what best practices are designed to achieve.  For PMOs that’s enabling improved business performance through projects.  Once that’s understood the PMO can ask how that can be achieved.  Answering that question requires an understanding of current challenges and opportunities, as well as what is being done well.

When it comes to execution – the development and implementation of new or revised practices, the focus should always be on the improvements that are expected to occur.  For example, making changes to how resource allocations are carried out to improve utilization rates and eliminate over-allocations.  The steps that are defined, follow from the goal of better performance.

There must also be measurement to ensure that’s happening, and if it isn’t adjustments should be made quickly.  Best practices evolve, they come as a result of learning what works and what doesn’t and iterating accordingly.

In today’s faced paced business environment, it’s crucial to be able to keep up. PMO project management best practices have shifted as the project management office (PMO) role has also shifted from business process and governance to deliver value the business wants.  The past couple of years has taught us that change is constant and we need to be able to adapt. The PMO plays a huge role in being able to do that quickly and with minimal disruption. PMO project management best practices like continually re-evaluating your portfolio of projects to ensure strategic alignment with the business is crucial to delivering business results. PMOs executing best practices also understand available and constrained resources in real-time. Without that visibility organizations won’t be able to support the strategic goals of the business with their most valuable asset – their people. Lastly, PMOs executing best practices are adapting to change quickly to ensure strategy value is ultimately delivered. A PMO that is focused on PMO project management best practices is in my world, a Results-Driven PMO.

The most critical element of a PMO project management best practice framework is the area that framework focuses on.  Each practice must be geared towards optimizing business performance.  Too many PMOs concentrate on trying to streamline reporting, reduce schedule variance, etc. without considering whether that has any material impact on the benefits that projects are able to achieve.

Secondly, the framework has to address all areas of focus for the PMO and project delivery.  Even if standard methodologies are the recommended approach, if stakeholders are looking for a framework of best practices they expect it to be complete

Thirdly, the framework must be actively managed.  There should be regular reviews and updates, even if those updates are only to validate that those best practices are still valid.  And finally, it should be collaborative.  PMOs achieve their success by working with a number of varied stakeholder groups – delivery teams, sponsors, executives, etc.  All of those people must engage with and accept the best practices.

The best objections I hear why we can’t improve on PMO best practices is time and value to the organization. Many individual contributors in the PMO feel like they are too busy managing programs and projects and improving the PMO is really administrative work that is not valued. This has been something I have been dealing for over 20 years and something that I have put best practices in place to ensure I do get PMO process improvement projects setup in my organization.

The steps organizations can take to solve for PMO project management best practices all starts with understanding where they are now. By being able to accurately benchmark their performance today with those PMOs best in class, organizations are able to identify quick wins for improving PMO project management best practices. Next, organizations should consider establishing a strategic PMO framework that is focused on delivering on strategic business priorities, but gives the flexibility of continuous adaptive planning. By doing this with the right insights in mind, organizations are then able to report in a way that allows them to make insight-led decisive, and empowered decisions that will ultimately drive the business forward. Lastly, organizations have an integrated mindset for all functions and tools to ensure those insight-led decisions are all encompassing of the pulse of the business in real-time. 

This is a mistake that many organizations make.  They look for best practices online, or they bring in external consultants to help them develop approaches, but those best practices don’t reflect where the organization is in its maturity journey.  You can’t expect someone who has just started to play piano to master a Beethoven symphony, and PMO project management best practices are no different.

As organizations mature, so their best practices will evolve with them, becoming more sophisticated, nuanced and refined.  In low maturity organizations the focus should be on keeping it simple, things won’t be perfect but they will be better – and that’s what’s needed.  More mature organizations have already addressed the low hanging fruit and will need to apply more complex approaches to see material improvements – and that’s OK.

There are a lot of things out there for PMO – frameworks, trainings, etc. What you need to look at are good and right practices. Every business is different and every group of people are different. You need to define the PMO mission and objectives. It’s not just a department to provide some governance around project management. It’s something else. That’s that I talk about when I talk about the next generation project management office is how you can be the strategic project management office that deliver value consistently. Established governance is important and established standard processes. Tool are available, including software, artificial intelligence, that are available so you can be more agile and deliver more value faster for your organization. Training and support is also important. A good team is always training and getting better. Establishing KPIs and measurements that progress and you track that allow you to focus on continuous improvement. There is always opportunity to do it better. That’s what I can see as the things needed to improve PMO project management best practices or the right practices that you need to put in place to have a great PMO in your organization. 

There are four major areas that I think PMO leaders should look at when considering effective PMO project management best practices. The first is goals and objectives. This might seem obvious, but there are still PMO leaders that are operating without clear goals and objectives defined by the business. These goals and objectives are important for number 2 – strategic priorities. Organizations must consider the goals and objectives of the business when solidifying PMO best practices supporting strategic priorities. The PMO must have a clear focus on the strategic priority of the business to ensure they are operating utilizing PMO project management best practices. In addition to that, PMO leaders must have KPIs and OKRs that align with the strategic priorities of the business via the goals and objectives. It’s the trifecta for PMO project management best practices. Lastly, the trifecta is not set in stone, so PMO leaders need to remain agile and adapt when necessary to changing business priorities and goals. 

The PMO must own its own best practices.  I have seen organizations where external stakeholders – executives in the organization, external consultants, etc. mandate the best practices that PMOs have to leverage and apply, and it just doesn’t work.  Unless there is a sense of ownership of the practices by the PMO, they simply won’t stick.

Some common pitfalls of ineffective PMO practices are largely focused on whether or not the right tools and KPIs are in place. That said, many PMOs struggle to implement best practices due to the lack of clarity of business objectives and goals and ultimately the lack of support for the PMO from executives. This often leads to PMO practices being under supported and underfunded including the funding of the right people for the job that have the skillsets needed to accomplish the goals of the business as well as the wrong tools to execute. This leads to inappropriate focus for the PMO overall and ultimately a PMO that is set up for failure.

The right approach to PMO project management best practices can impact a business in many ways including:

1. Improved project delivery
2. Better alignment with business goals
3. Increased efficiency and productivity
4. Improved governance and risk management
5. Improved collaboration and communication
6. Better decision making

With a project portfolio management tool you are able to improve overall PMO project management best practices because you have access to the insights needed to make strategic decisions for the business. A PPM tool enables PMO leaders to define and measure based on 100% top down strategic goals set by the business. A PPM tool not only allows you to get the right portfolio in place to deliver on the business goals, but it also allows you to adapt when needed as the needs and goals of the business change with decisive adjustments based on real-time portfolio, resource and project data. This continuous loop of adaptive planning is only achievable with a robust and comprehensive PPM tool.

Common objections organizations face regarding PMO best practices include:

1. Resistance to change
2. Lack of buy-in
3. Lack of resources
4. Complexity
5. Resistance to standardization
6. Perception of additional bureaucracy

Getting buy-in for PMO project management best practices is absolutely crucial to achieving PMO success. Getting buy-in requires a very focused vision based on the strategic goals of the business laying a roadmap to delivering on those goals with clear priorities and defined objectives. Without the team bought into the goals and objectives, you’re bound to have disconnect between strategy delivery and project execution. It’s important to remain aware that getting buy-in at the start of implementing some PMO project management best practices is great, but that relationship between you, the PMO leader, executives, team members and all key stakeholders is important to nurture and continue to engage them to optimal results.

The biggest obstacle PMOs face is that they often lack the skills and experience to know what ‘best’ looks like.  They implement practices and approaches that are better than what existed before and assume that constitutes a best practice because they don’t have any terms of reference to tell them whether they are operating at 100% of potential, or considerably lower.

PMOs often also don’t have the ability to determine whether changes will actually improve things.  So they change processes or approaches and then measure to see if things are better or worse.  There needs to be improved analysis and understanding of proposals before they are implemented.

Related to that previous point, improvements are frequently assumed.  PMOs often lack the ability or inclination to measure actual performance to see whether it is better or worse than before. 

PMO project management best practice decisions should include a number of different stakeholders. The main stakeholders that should be driving those PMO project management best practices include the leader of the PMO and the program/portfolio managers that are overseeing the different portfolios and programs in flight for the organization. This doesn’t mean that others shouldn’t be included. Another key stakeholder that should be involved in someone at the executive level. As many PMO leaders know, without executive support or an individual at the executive level’s support, it makes it very hard to create the business impact that PMO leaders should be striving for today. PMO project management best practices are crucial to delivering business results for organizations and involving the right stakeholders is a critical piece of that pie.