The Strategic Project Office

The Strategic PMO: Aligning Projects and Strategy
Overview
The Link between Strategy and Projects
Strategy and Projects Research Study
     Why Align Projects with Strategy? 
     How Alignment Resolves Project Management Problems 
     Strategy & Projects: Research Findings 
     The Strategy & Projects Framework
Best-Practice Examples

PMO Business Case, Organization Structure, and Functions
The Evolving Enterprise
Many "Ps" Make a Strong Business Case
Organizational Structure for Projects 
     Types of PMOs
Functions of the Project Management Office 
     Project Support
Software Tools
Processes, Standards, and Methodologies
Training
Consulting and Mentoring
Project Managers
Integration of the Project Management Office
Evolving PMO Functions

The Starting Gate: Assessing Your Current Condition
Maturity and the PMO 
     A Maturing Profession 
     Defining Maturity and Capability
Preassessment Evaluation 
Baseline Maturity Assessment 
     PM HealthCheck: Understanding an Organization’s Project Management Maturity
Identification of Issues and Risks
Gap Analysis
Conclusion 
     An Iterative Process
Talking Points

PMO Planning, Preparation, and Strategy
The Project Charter: Agreeing on a Destination
Objectives and Milestones: The Map to Your Destination
     Specific 
     Measurable 
     Agreed Upon 
     Realistic 
     Time-Constrained
Using Gap Analysis to Set Milestones
Delivering Value with Specific Short- and Long-Term Objectives
Implementation Strategy 
     Phase I: Establish the Foundation 
     Phase II: Startup with Short-Term Initiatives 
     Phase III: Rollout with Long-Term Solutions 
     Phase IV: Support and Improvement 
     A Project Office or a Project Management Culture? 
     However … Five Ways to Fail
Measuring Success: How to Know When You Have Arrived
     Metrics 
     Communications Planning
Best Practice: Communications 
     Purpose 
     Origination and Timing 
     Project Communications Plan Guidelines
PMO Value-Adding Strategy: Rein in Runaway Projects 
     Early Warnings 
     In-Progress Problem Indicators 
     Pulling on the Reins

Establishing a Project Management Methodology and PMO Governance
Defining Our Terms
Five Steps to Establishing a Methodology
What Are the Elements of a Methodology? 
     Consistency/Repeatability 
     Scalability to Projects of Varying Size and Complexity
Overview of a Sample Methodology 
     The Processes 
     The Templates
Quality and PM Methodology 
     Quality of Deliverables: The Product 
     Quality of the Project Management Process 
     How Good Is Your Methodology?
Governance: Balancing Order with Creativity
Defining Governance 
     Process Governance 
     Methodology and Standards 
     People and Structure Governance
A Governance Framework 
     Best Practices in Governance

Project Portfolio Management and the Strategic PMO
The Evolution from Project to Portfolio 
     The Business Case 
     Overall Benefits
PPM in the Strategic PMO: Where Strategic Planning Meets Project Execution 
     The Strategic PMO: An Organizational Home for PPM
Governance and PPM
Assessing Organizational Readiness
The Fundamental Components of PPM 
     Six Key Processes 
     Four Areas of Integration
How Do Organizations Implement PPM Practices? 
     Start Small and Keep It Simple
Best Practices for PPM

The Strategic People Management Office: Human Capital and the PMO
The Resource Crunch
People Make the PMO 
Staffing the Strategic PMO 
     Strategic PMO Director 
     Project and Program Managers 
     Project Support
     Project Teams 
     Other Team Members 
     A Note on Mentoring 
     Project Mentoring
Competency Identification 
     Training and Mentoring 
     Performance Measurement and Rewards
Career Paths and Leadership Development
Best Practices for People Management in the Strategic PMO
Rolling Out the Strategic PMO: All Aboard 
     The Executive Role 
     Identifying the Executive Sponsor 
     Management Participation: The PMO Steering Committee 
     How to Select a PMO Steering Committee

The Technical Infrastructure: Using IT to Facilitate Project Collaboration and Performance Measurement
Why Do You Need PMO Software?
Software Functionality and PMO Complexity 
     Project Management Approach 
     PMO Level 
     Portfolio Management Software Issues 
          Additional Software Concerns
What Are the Best Practices for Selection?
Rollout: Putting the Tools to Work

Changing Organizational Culture
Climate or Culture—Which Do I Change?
     Organizational Needs: Flexibility and Creativity
Creating a Project Culture: From the Top 
     Specific Guidance on Changing Your Culture
Measuring for Results
Change Processes 
     The Scenario Approach 
     A Project Management Approach to Change
Readying the Troops for Battle
Overcoming Barriers to Change 
     People and Power 
     Organizational Politics, Roles, and Responsibilities
The Impact of Change on People
The 15-15-70 Rule
Using Language to Create Community
You Made It: Signs of a Project Culture

Knowledge Management and the PMO: Tracking Benefits and Learning from Experience
Knowledge Management: The Short Course 
     Knowledge Repositories
     Key Success Factors in KM 
     Barriers to KM Success
Capturing Lessons Learned—and Beyond
Project Closeout: The Knowledge Goldmine
     Post-project Review 
     Why Are We So Bad at This?
The PMO as a Community of Practice
Benchmarking
Tracking Performance: Knowledge Is Power 
     Where to Begin
A Model for Performance Measurement
     Developing Performance Measures
     Measurement Planning
Piloting the Measurement Program
Some Cautions about Doing Internal Research Projects
Conclusion

Appendices:
The State of the PMO 2007 to 2008
Selected PMO of the Year Winners (2007 and 2008)
Project Management Assessment and Recommendation Report

Biography

J. Kent Crawford, PMP, is the founder and CEO of Project Management Solutions, Inc. (PM Solutions), a management consulting and training firm headquartered in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania. The company specializes in applying the project management discipline throughout organizations to improve enterprise business performance. Prior to establishing PM Solutions, Crawford served as president and chairman of the Project Management Institute (PMI®). Crawford is a recipient of the PMI Fellow Award and the award-winning author of The Strategic Project Office: A Guide to Improving Organizational Performance (for which he won the 2002 David I. Cleland Project Management Literature Award from PMI), Project Management Maturity Model: Providing a Proven Path to Project Management Excellence, and Optimizing Human Capital with a Strategic Project Office. His latest book, Seven Steps to Strategy Execution, provides the framework for organizations to execute and deliver corporate strategy through the use of Strategy Performance Management.

Jeannette Cabanis Brewin is editor-in-chief for PM Solutions.

The first edition has been the foundation for much of my thinking about initiative management, and the second edition takes thought leadership to a new level. Crawford leverages years of experience to further improve an already excellent resource. The first edition of The Strategic Project Office sits on the top shelf of my bookcase. I’m sure that the second edition will have a similar pride of place … when I haven’t loaned it out to members of my team as homework.
—Paul Ritchie, PMP, Director, Global PMO, Mead Johnson Nutrition, Inc.

Written for project managers, project office directors, their managers, and executives, this volume outlines the creation of a project management center and the four primary areas of knowledge and practice regarding the project management office (PMO): governance and portfolio management, resource optimization, organizational change, and performance measurement. This edition addresses research on the status and roles of today's PMO and best practices, along with new and updated information on the use of collaborative and social media tools in project management and human resources aspects of managing project personnel; new chapters on project portfolio management and aligning projects and strategy; new information on using the strategic project office as a strategy management center; and updated content reflecting the latest standards of the Project Management Institute. A CD-ROM is included.
—In Research Book News, booknews.com, February 2011

Praise for the Award-Winning First Edition:

… provides a primer that is first-of-a-kind and best-of-class. Read it. Learn its lessons. Apply them. Improve your organization, your projects, and your global competitiveness.
—PM Network, Books in Focus, Sept. 2003