I HAVE ALWAYS WONDERED how project consultants approach a Project Management Office (PMO) implementation assignment. Do they immidiately recommend a standard packaged PMO implementation kit developed by their consulting company? Or, do they develop a tailored PMO proposal to assess the client's needs first?
I very much prefer the latter, even if the client decides to use the standard package at a later stage, stretching the time horizon. This is because every client who implements a PMO brings to light a unique range of functions and features that need to be included.
Your client is willing and you are keen to follow through the momentum and implement. What good does a proposal do? In brief, it clarifies the needs of the client and the approach to the undertaking, describes the deliverables to be developed, and lays down a time frame for implementation.
So, how does one go about developing the proposal? What are the key ingredients of such a proposal? Who should the sponsors of such an undertaking be?
Here are some key issues and 10 major steps to developing a proposal.
1. Identify the Needs and Perspectives of the Principal Sponsor and All Stakeholders in the Client Company. A corporate overview vision strategy is imperative. A clear perspective from the CIO, who usually is the principal sponsor in this venture, is very important. An overview of the current corporate business functions and their linkage to the use of precise project status information, the project expenditures incurred, or overall resource utilization is important for senior management understanding.
A vision of the company's growth or foray into new ventures, coupled with the overall business strategies to be used, will provide the foundation of how the PMO can be used to disseminate pertinent project information within the company.
Identify the other stakeholders, generally other organization units, and their project information needs. Understand the proliferation of projects in respective areas and the need to provide a consistent approach to implementing projects.
2. Understand the Project Dependencies. In every company, the implementation of a PMO is dependent on the presence of key organizational processes and infrastructure. The absence of such processes or infrastructure will complicate the PMO implementation, extend the overall time frame, and in general will not satisfy all the key stakeholders.
Make sure that the client has formalized organizational processes for Human Resources, Accounting, Operations/Administration, and a supporting computing infrastructure. Large companies (nationals/multinationals) are good candidates for implementing project offices because of the presence of good infrastructure. However, a lot of high-growth companies wanting to implement PMOs fall short of expectations in the above areas.
Mandayam Sriram, PMP, is an independent certified management consultant with 18 years of experience in information systems. His experience includes strategic planning, business systems modeling, methodologies, BPR, data warehousing, IT strategy, and project planning in the telecommunications, public administration, insurance, petroleum, utilities, finance, banking, airlines, retail, and manufacturing industry sectors.
Identify the dependent stakeholders and the interests they want supported by the PMO, based on what is critical to the client's revenue generation process. For example, a client whose principal business was software product development identified his most critical stakeholder as the IT organization unit, because the IT unit was the key revenue generation unit. Failure to support this unit would be highly detrimental to the success and growth of the company.
Review the list and the dependencies with the CIO and the key stakeholders. Based on their collective insight and your consulting perception, the order should be prioritized for impact. This will allow for overall requirements definition but a phased implementation of the project management database. Exhibit 1 shows a sample dependency diagram.
3. Identify the Range of PMO Functions Needed by the Client. Educate the client (the sponsor and principal stakeholders) about a PMO, its range of universal functions, and its features. Make sure the client understands the use of such functions within the corporate environment, and identify from the list only those useful for the client to implement. Identify the core critical list that will help improve project management practice within the enterprise, and then identify the remaining “nice to haves.” Review the identified list with the CIO and the dependent stakeholders to confirm their priorities and the impact to their organizational units. Review the identified list with senior management to confirm their priorities. Exhibit 2 shows the universe of PMO functions.
4. Develop the Project Mandate. The project mandate—the scope statement—should propose an evolutionary time frame of development and implementation. Three different sets of scope statements, based on different time frames, are outlined below.
The short-term mandate (next three months) should first identify overall organizational impact and develop immediate methodology needs. A review of current project management practices to identify gaps and weaknesses and other critical organizational impacts will pave the way for establishing a PMO. In essence, this mandate should assess the existing project management environment and suggest quick fixes to improve current practices.
Exhibit 1. Presented is a sample dependency diagram for a client company in the order of priority and user impact.
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Exhibit 2. Presented are the range of PMO functions that can be implemented across an enterprise.
The mid-term mandate (three to six months) should set up and roll out an operational PMO. This should include a mandate to develop and implement project management methodology, provide project consulting support, and conduct project manager assessments. A longer-term cure for all that ails the project environment in terms of methodology and support should also be developed.
The long-term mandate (beyond six months) should have a fully functional PMO in operation. It should encompass a mandate to train project managers fully, develop and implement a project portfolio database, automate report production and distribution, offer complete administrative support, and support project management training. In addition, the real long-term scenario should demonstrate the overall effectiveness of operating a PMO within the client environment.
5. Describe the Project Approach. Based on the project mandate identified earlier, describe a detailed step-by-step process to implement each of the three different mandates. Organize the description in concise terms and crisply elucidate key points. The approach should outline the methods, tools, and resources that will be utilized for the development and implementation of the deliverables.
Identify the overall organizational structure, the location of the project office both organizationally and physically, and a staffing plan.
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Exhibit 3. A list of deliverables differentiated by time frames is valuable.
Identify key benefits for each approach time frame, and describe how it will benefit the client's existing project environment. Any improvement to the current project management practices should be highlighted and communicated. Benefits should include cost reduction; profitability; information dissemination efficiencies; staff professionalism in project management; predictable, reuseable project management tools and techniques; and global recognition.
All risks that may be incurred for each approach time frame should be described in terms of time, cost, personnel, productivity, and any other tangible issues affecting the client industry. They should also be classified according to the degree of impact—high, medium, or low.
6. Outline the Project Success Criteria. In order for any major project that impacts the entire organization to succeed, it is important to outline a list of project success criteria or critical success factors.
For the successful planning and control of project deliverables, a committee of senior management members and project managers should review the overall plan of approach, and provide commitment to the initial direction that has been set. They should review the progress periodically, and guide the project on an ongoing basis. Further, any other project independent of this venture that has a direct impact on this project should be identified early so that any adverse effect can be mitigated.
The successful development of project deliverables should depend on the availability and coordinated use of identified personnel with proper skill sets. This should achieve optimal organizational effectiveness. Also, proper tools should be used to develop the necessary end product.
The quality of the project deliverables should be assured by the thorough review for quality and preciseness before implementation by a qualified set of assigned individuals. Some deliverables may need to undergo a pilot before implementation. Adherence to ISO standards should also be looked into closely.
All deliverables should be implemented in a phased manner to achieve optimal impact and effective evolution for the successful implementation of project deliverables. Team members involved in the implementation of the deliverables should provide total support to the project to resolve any unforseen issues.
One final key factor for project success is to assure flexibility for the client to define and change the course of action, depending on external market factors. This will allow the client some maneuverability in changing the project's time frame and milestones.
7. List the Recommended Deliverables. Prepare a complete list of deliverables organized in a tabular format and differentiated by the three time frames (short-term, mid-term, and long-term). Along with the list, identify the key personnel involved in the planning and control, development, quality assurance, and implementation of the deliverable. Also identify the organizational impact within the client company for each deliverable. Exhibit 3 shows a list of deliverables.
8. Develop Project Implementation Time Frames With Resource and Budget Figures. Develop a project plan in the form of a Gantt chart for each of the three time frames, depicting the tasks, resources, and estimate of the budget cost based on resource utilization. Provide a milestone chart to indicate the key deliverables that will be delivered according to plan. Also, provide an estimate of the maintenance cost for running a project office for the next two years.
The plan should consider the availability of key client personnel at different periods, the client financial year for budgeting and planning purposes, and any other major implementations that may affect the implementation of this project. Allocate a contingency time and cost estimate for each time frame (short-term, mid-term, and long-term). Further, provide information on how progress will be communicated periodically to the sponsor and the stakeholders of the project.
The cost figures presented should not be confused with the overall project cost estimated by the consulting company based on its own confidential business proposition.
9. Present the Proposal to the Client and Review Thoroughly to Confirm and Win Acceptance With the Approach. The proposal should be delivered to the client CIO first. Based on discussions with the principal stakeholder, it should then be distributed for a thorough review to the other stakeholders. Then set a date for a detailed review and discussion of some of the key points with the client management.
The presentation and review should revolve around the impacts within the organization, a confirmation of the project mandate and the deliverables (identify the difference between the client's tailored PMO kit and the consultant's standard PMO kit, and obtain consensus on the essentials), and satisfaction with the approach and approval of the overall time frame for implementation.
Satisfy all client clarifications and doubts completely to provide a comfortable feeling. Obtain closure on all pertinent questions that the client may have and any that you may have raised.
10. Begin the Implementation. Now that you have done your homework thoroughly, anticipated the entire complex inquisition from the client, and finally gained the client's approval, trust, and confidence, embark on the PMO implementation with your best foot forward. ■