The Project Management Centre of Excellence at this global IT services company is all about support and continued growth—no matter the economic climate.
In business, it is not unusual to crave the spotlight. But the Project Management Centre of Excellence (PMCOE) at global IT services and consultancy Infosys Technologies Ltd. in Bangalore, India is quite content to take a supporting role.
“We are more of a supporting and facilitating PMCOE rather than a controlling type of [project management office] PMO,” says BG Jayaram, head of the PMCOE at Infosys.
Launched in 2002, the PMCOE has four primary objectives:
· Enhancing organization-level competency in the project management arena
· Building an experiential knowledge network
· Providing project consultancy expertise
· Undertaking research and analysis based on past project data and market trends
Goals for these broad set objectives are set based on environmental factors, including the economy, Mr. Jayaram says. “A PMCOE has to meet the organization’s needs, both in a high-growth business environment and also in an economy slowdown situation,” he says. “They are like two sides of a coin, but a typical PMCOE like ours has a critical role to play in both.”
The relationship between the PMCOE and the different organizational business units is more of a partnership structured on a hub-and-spoke model in which the PMCOE has its responsibility and accountability in specific areas of the organization.
In times like these, when the economy is especially unpredictable, Mr. Jayaram says the PMCOE might initiate more stringent requirements or introduce accelerated timelines to address market needs before they change again.
This requires the PMCOE to hold reviews at multiple stages to validate the need for continuing a project, as well as place extra emphasis on competency building and support.
“This is the time where we provide solutions to business units and individuals in aspects of project management expertise,” he says. For the future, Mr. Jayaram says the PMCOE needs to continue building the skills of its individual project managers and chart a path of greater influence on the role of project management in the organization.
This includes plans for communities of practices to collaborate and share knowledge about projects and methodologies. The company is also moving ahead in developing a roadmap “for enhancing risk management expertise.”
With today’s rollercoaster economy, risk management has become a priority for Infosys and companies around the globe. Mr. Jayaram says he believes these plans will contribute to continued business growth and help to meet Infosys’ customers’ needs—even in this time of economic crisis.
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