The axe fell on some project offices (POs) during the last couple of years. Companies like Nortel, Hewlett-Packard and Ericsson either whacked or whittled away at previously more robust POs.
One reason stands out—ask anybody on Wall Street. For companies whose stocks nose-dived last year, the pressure pinnacled to cut costs. Anything that smacked of overhead was targeted for the guillotine, and many POs felt the brunt of the cost-slashing. Also, as business slumped, fewer projects were happening, either strategic or operational, so with withering portfolios, companies needed less support for projects, thus slimmer POs.
A subtler reason exists as well. Politics play a healthy role in the project office arena. To keep a PO alive, particularly at the corporate level, big time stakeholder buy-in is needed. In fact, a stakeholder coalition is imperative to shore up POs, even in less turbulent days.
The PO Buildup
In the late ’90s, project offices were launched as linchpins for implementing projects like the Y2K bug fix, the euro, and enterprise systems such as enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management. Others were aimed at enabling organizations to keep pace with the market cry for new and better products and services. Some have lurked in the shadows in industries such as construction for years, quietly providing support for both new and ongoing projects. In all cases, the project office has been targeted with criticism and questioning.
So, aside from this sort of specific, once-in-a-lifetime project, is there a real need for project offices? Yes and no. For companies that need to manage multiple projects but which lack procedures, methodologies, systems and trained professionals, the response is yes. If those companies look to complete quality projects consistently on time and within budget, then the probability for success is greatly boosted by a PO charged with facilitating project management and helping track results.
Since POs are particularly vulnerable in stormy times, special care is needed to ensure this important function is kept alive and active in the organization.
Companies with a high maturity level in project work—those with solid systems and project practices in place, as well as a highly projectized culture among its professionals—need little or no action from a PO. Successful construction and consulting companies are examples; systems are in place, and a project attitude flows in the veins of employees. For companies “in between”—those moving in the right direction but still short of being fully projectized—a PO is a strong plus to help nurture projects to successful completion.
Best Practices and Stormy Times
Since POs are particularly vulnerable in stormy times, special care is needed to ensure this important function is kept alive and active in the organization. If best practices are under way, the PO likely will be perceived as a mighty weapon in the battle to bring about an upturn in the company fate.
Here are some PO key practices particularly applicable for riding out an organizational storm:
■ Make sure PO efforts are bottom-line oriented. Show how the company benefits—makes more money—by having a PO.
■ Keep key stakeholders on board. Be sure that PO champions are informed and tuned in to project office victories.
■ Demonstrate how projects are completed “faster, cheaper and better” with project office support.
■ Interface politically with users and clients, so they will be allies.
■ Downplay procedures and bureaucracy (although they may be necessary) in favor of hands-on project support.
■ If a downsize is inevitable, don't resist—keep losses to a minimum and stay upbeat, showing benefit to the organization.
In its evolution, the project management boom is 20 years behind the quality movement. I foresee a future for the PO similar to that of the quality office. Some will be scratched due to failure, and others will be laid to rest because of success. Meanwhile, well-positioned project offices will make the difference between demise and prosperity for many companies in the upcoming years. PM
Paul C. Dinsmore, PMP, PMI Fellow, is the author of seven books, including The AMA Handbook of Project Management (AMACOM, 1993) and Winning in Business With Enterprise Project Management (AMACOM, 1998). He is president of Dinsmore Associates, with world headquarters based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Reach him by e-mail at [email protected].
