This causes considerable difficulties and threatens failure.
The vice president is not totally committed to the project, although it is important to the marketing department. It is consuming the complete attention of the order entry manager. Over time, the order entry manger understands that the project is second
priority to managing the order entry department. To a considerable extent, the project depends on the interests and attitude of the vice president of marketing, and neither the project sponsor nor the project manager is really in charge. In this scenario, which is common for many IT projects, the project manager has limited authority but still carries responsibility for the project. When the project manager tries to shift responsibility, the project sponsor and marketing vice president take umbrage by saying, “We do not understand all the technology-related issues and therefore you cannot expect us to take responsibility.”
Project managers charged with a responsibility must have sufficient authority to manage that responsibility. A PMO can ensure a project manager’
s authority.
IMPROVING PROJECT DEVELOPMENT
IT projects fail for a variety of reasons, and a common one is the lack of proper management focus and structure. Divided loyalties, pressures that lead to scope creep, and vague lines of reporting authority and responsibility — all play their part in IT project failures. When a PMO is correctly established and managed, there is no doubt about who is in charge and who carries responsibility. Of course, a PMO does not eliminate all of the political issues; but when they do arise, they can be directly addressed by a higher level of management in an organization. Because of its structure and placement in an organization, a PMO allows more objectivity to be brought to resolving project issues.
Typically, a PMO is set up with a limited time span. The office is established to manage one, or perhaps several IT projects. When projects are completed, the office is disbanded. As other projects arise, where their size warrants it, a new project management office can be created. A PMO is not needed for all IT projects and is overkill for small projects.
Previous PMOs can be used as models for future IT projects. The tools and techniques used in the past can be reapplied, perhaps on a smaller scale and with adjustments. An organization that uses PMOs can take a more controlled approach to project management. Although many organizations do not value project discipline and control, they are nevertheless keys to success.
A PMO is best suited for large, complex projects, where a number of disparate entities with differing interests must be coordinated and managed. The project manager and project management office have one goal: to succeed. Division of interests and duties is eliminated. Conflicts between IT and its customers can be resolved in a satisfactory manner that does not preclude project success.
OVERCOMING RESISTANCE TO PMOS
In many organizations, a project office is a new concept and therefore faces some level of resistance. Business customers may already be discontent with the IT section because of past projects. Although the goal of a PMO is to improve project delivery, they may doubt this and may view the PMO as one more layer of IT overhead, which cannot improve delivery of IT projects.
Members of the systems development staff may also resist the introduction of a PMO.
Employees may view it as an attempt to restrict their creativity in designing, developing, and installing projects. They may also believe that adopting a more formal approach to project management will slow the development process. If the person selected to manage a PMO comes from outside the IT department, some IT
employees are likely to be resentful.
Senior managers may be concerned about the value of a PMO. They may object to additional project expense and slower development because of this more formal approach. Also, they may not be willing to be seriously involved in a project.
A project manager and sponsor must recognize that some level of resistance is going to occur. Acknowledging that resistance is the first step in introducing a PMO. If there is resistance at the senior level of the organization, this issue must be the first one addressed. Unless the PMO concept has clear support of senior management, it cannot be viable. An IT manager must develop a strong case for a PMO and be willing to sell the concept to senior management. An outside consulting organization may be brought in to help make the case to senior managers.
Once a PMO has been approved by senior management, members of both IT and business areas must be convinced that the concept is valid. A senior manager should be made the PMO sponsor, one who clearly states upper management’
s support.
Clearly communicating this support reduces resistance throughout an organization.
The purpose and function of a PMO must be carefully explained. Doing a good job of managing the project is difficult enough without the added burden of constantly justifying a PMO. Granted, it takes time and effort to explain the purpose of a PMO
and to address questions and concerns. There may be a tendency to attempt to shortcut this process in order to get on with a project. Failing to take advantage of the opportunity to get off to the right start with a PMO is a mistake.
The most effective approach to overcoming resistance is to encourage people to express their concerns. All concerns should be addressed as openly and candidly as possible. It may be virtually impossible to gain complete support in the beginning, but candor about the PMO will make installing it less difficult.
Introducing a PMO creates change and may cause some disruption. In working to overcome resistance, PMO sponsors should not become defensive about the project office concept, but should explain that introducing a PMO is an attempt to improve the IT department’
s delivery record.
Successfully introducing a PMO is an effort to sell the process to those who are unsure of its value. However, that selling process should not be too difficult in most organizations. Introducing a PMO is typically viewed as IT’
s acknowledgment that it
must improve the manner in which projects are managed and delivered. Having come to the conclusion that improvements are required must, in itself, be seen as positive.
THE ROLE OF A PMO
Simply stated, the role of a PMO is to assume full responsibility for project success.
An argument can be raised that project managers have always had that
responsibility, which a formal PMO does not change. While a project manager may be charged with this responsibility, it does not always work that way in practice. Political issues or different agendas can get in the way and create project difficulties. A PMO
ensures that the person with responsibility for a project also enjoys the authority to manage it and can obtain proper recourse from senior management.
In a PMO, the project manager reports directly to the project sponsor. The project sponsor should be someone who has a vested interest in the project’
s success. In the
previous example, the vice president of marketing is the de facto project manager, and such a scenario is much less likely to happen to a PMO project sponsor because the sponsor has direct responsibility. Having that responsibility, the project sponsor is going to pay more attention to the work being done and to making decisions focused on the success of the project. While other agendas are still going to exist, shifting to one of those agendas at the expense of the project is going to reflect poorly on the project sponsor.
A chronic problem with the development of IT projects has been the tendency of people outside the IT department who have requested a particular project to disengage themselves from the project. Too often, the concept of the project team becomes clouded and the IT members of the team find themselves dealing with most of the issues, pushing the project forward and making many critical project decisions in a vacuum. One of the duties of the project manager working within the PMO
framework, is to make certain that all team members participate in the project.
Again, if needed, the project manager can go to the project sponsor in order to obtain support in refocusing attention on the project.
In essence, the duties of the project manager within the framework of the project office are no different than those of the typical project manager. Those employees who have management responsibilities within the project will report to the project manager. One of the advantages of working within the purview of the PMO is that the project manager will have clear authority over all members of the project team, whether they are within the IT department or in the business areas. As anyone who has dealt with IT projects can readily understand, having that kind of leverage represents a considerable advantage in terms of managing the project.
One of the first steps for the project manager will be to develop the material needed for the successful completion of the project. The significant items involved in the gathering of that material, for any IT project, will include: