MPMM Method123 Project Management Methodology

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Project Management Office

If you want to set up a project management office or project support office and you need a methodology, templates or practical examples to help you do it, then MPOM will give you everything you need. Here is a sneak preview of the content, explaining the PMO life cycle...

PMO Life Cycle

The PMO Life Cycle is a series of phases undertaken to initiate, plan, execute and improve a PMO. The Method123 Project Office Methodology (MPOM) helps you do this, by completing the four phases:

PMO Initiation

To initiate a PMO, the team must first define the role of the PMO and obtain sponsorship. These first steps are formalized in the Business Case and Charter documents. The team then secures funding and a steering committee is appointed which ensures the complete support of the PMO across the organization. The physical location for the PMO is established, roles are defined and staff are appointed to those role to complete the Initiation phase of the PMO life cycle.

PMO Planning

The next step in the life cycle is to create a high-level execution plan. The execution plan lists the services that the PMO will offer during the execution phase and the timeframes for their introduction to the organization.

Once the execution plan is prepared, the PMO selects the methods, standards, processes and tools that the organization will adopt. The following activities are completed:

	Adopt methodology. The project management methodology is an overall framework for project management which includes a life cycle appropriate to the organization.
	Adopt standards. Standards are the rules to be followed when running projects. They must conform to professional, governmental and industry requirements.
	Adopt processes. Processes are the specific instructions detailing how projects will be executed.
	Adopt tools. Tools include templates, checklists, forms and flow charts.
	Adopt software. This includes software for project management and executive dashboards for status reporting, as well as risk management tools and other software systems.
	Adopt knowledge base. The knowledge base is a library of all current and historical project management information.

PMO Execution

The execution phase is the ongoing operational phase of the PMO. During this phase, four types of services are offered:

	General services are offered by almost all PMOs.
	Supportive services provide support to managers and teams.
	Controlling services assess, review and audit project status.
	Directive services are used to directly manage projects.

PMO Improvement

After a PMO has offered these services for a reasonable period of time, it is ready to expand and improve. This is done by:

	Improving the PMO operation. The PMO improves its own operations by measuring its effectiveness, implementing changes to existing services and adding new services. The PMO may also need to update its charter.
	Improving PM maturity. The PMO can assess the overall capability of the organization to reliably deliver acceptable project results on time and within budget. It can then develop and implement a long-term plan to improve that capability.

The improvements identified are more extensive than the minor, routine improvements to each service that are built into the PMO Execution Phase. PMO Improvement requires additional planning and a commitment of additional resources to undertake the extensive amount of change required to continue to improve the overall level of project management success in the organization.

Featured Tip / Hint

22 August 2008
Project Management Office Maturity Levels
Project Management Office Maturity LevelsThe formal levels of maturityOPM3 uses four maturity levels, and where CMMI uses five. They have a simple relationship described in this table: Note the f...
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