A Different Approach to Project Management



Successful Project Management: It Can Happen

Sep-Oct 2008  Print

Nearly 70 percent of projects aren’t successful due to budget overruns or failure to stay within the allocated timeframe due to poor planning, poor communication or poor resource allocation, according to recent research.

And when a project fails, there’s little doubt that the Project Management Office (PMO) will feel the brunt of the blame.

But the PMO plays a critical role when it comes to executing against the corporate strategy. It is responsible for implementing key components of a strategy which ultimately helps the business achieve its goal.

So why then, is there such a stigma attached to the PMO and what can we do to change this?

According to DDLS there are three reasons why PMOs are fated for failure:

1. History repeats itself: the historical baggage associated with project management naturally leads to an increased expectation of failure. If an organisation has a history of project failures, typically it is very likely those failures will continue unless changes are made to project management structures

2. Communication barriers: PMOs often work across a number of departments, yet typically do not have access to senior decision makers such as the CEO, CFO or CIO. As a result, they are viewed as being project-focused, rather than strategy-focused, and there is a perception that they can exist in a vacuum

3. Lack of management expertise: project managers need to more effectively manage their PMOs to ensure they drive their team to an optimum level of performance

 

Successful Project Management Through Change Management

A good PMO will own more than the project – they will own the business strategy. Successful PMOs are structured so they can cause positive change by embodying the culture and context of their organisations.

For example, a PMO charged with implementing a new Content Management System (CMS) within an organisation will go beyond the implementation to look at broader issues such as:

▪ Do we need to improve efficiency? If so, how will we do it and why?
▪ Who are the key stakeholders in the project?
▪ What are the different needs for each stakeholder for the CMS?
▪ How will this implementation align with our corporate goals?


Despite the current negative perception of PMOs, it is important for project teams to realise that project management can be a fulfilling and successful role. As the following graph suggests, there is an optimal state of change management within organisations:

 

emotion

 

This basic, but very applicable graph shows how human nature will resist change early in a project implementation and will then embrace it as time goes by. The optimum state for change management is in the right hand side of this graph.

It is possible to build the perfect project management role through effective change management. And effective change management can only be achieved when the PMO constantly interacts and evolves with the broader organisation.

Download the Whitepaper, “The Reality on Project Management Offices”, for additional ideas on how to structure a PMO. The Whitepaper also includes the results of a survey which analysed the roles of PMOs within organisations.