What are the gaps in project management, specifically in PMO implementation? How to close these gaps? These are a couple of the key questions that we have been addressing in this series of articles on PMO Implementation, OPM, and the project management office in general.
Over the last few days (these are old articles that we are updating and re-publishing in 2018) we had published a few articles on PMO: Program or Project Management Office.
- We started by defining the acronym PMO and other related definitions,
- Next, we cover some possible functions and roles of PMO,
- The third article addressed why PMO fails, providing one of the factors leading to the gaps in PMO implementation,
- The last article, was a case study on a failed PMO implementation, giving more factors contributing to gaps in PMO and even project management in general.
With the above articles, we addressed some factors on the “gaps” and today we address closing the gaps.
Closing the Gaps in OPM System/PMO Implementation
How to close the gaps?
This is not easy to answer in a single blog article, since there are many gaps and to answer each of them requires a book; so maybe one day. We are going to simplify the discussion today and focus on the big picture.
Which is?
Project Management Maturity!
For those who have been around project management for a while, it is known that the level of project management maturity has a direct impact on organizational performance. Organizations with a higher level of maturity perform much better than those at the lower end of the scale. There have been many studies proving this finding, including from the University of California-Berkeley, PM Solutions, PMI, and many others.
What does it mean higher level of project management maturity?
It means implementing a proper, comprehensive, and effective project management “system” and continue to improve it as we travel on an exciting journey toward project management excellence.
Allow us a short sidetrack here: some organizations implement a PMO and call it “Project Management Center of Excellence”; and to me – being direct – this is an egotistical mindset … IF … the organization is new to project management. Center of Excellence is a status achieved through hard work and dedicated effort and not given just because we now have an office focusing on project management. For a new PM initiative; PM Center of Excellence must be the aspirations and what we work toward.
Building the Organizational Project Management System
Back to our main point.
Project management maturity is about implementing (Building) the project management system. By system, we do not mean IT/Software, we mean the organizational system that starts with the strategic aspects (Governance, project selection, and prioritization …). It includes other elements; such as a methodological approach for managing projects and programs, processes, competence and performance management, leadership and professional development, etc.
Then the question would be: how to build the organizational project management system, leading to a higher level of project management maturity with the ultimate purpose of reaching toward a Project Management Center of Excellence?
This is the question.
The answer? Next article
Today we give you a peek in the following graphic.
The SUKAD 7Es: The Seven Elements of Project Management Maturity