establishing a program management office

Establishing a Program Management Office

Agenda

Why companies need Program Management 3

Objectives of Program Management 4

Program and Project Management definitions 5

Program Management infrastructure 6

Portfolio Management 7

Implementation of a Program Management Office 8

Project Methodology 9

Key Deliverables 10

Execution Monitoring 15

The Litcom Approach 16

• They need a clear set of criteria to prioritize projects within a decision making process

• They need to communicate how their projects map to their vision and goals

• They need to communicate the status of their projects in areas other than dollars

• They need to understand the effect of their projects on their resources and schedules

• They need more accountability to obtain the value / benefits from their initiatives

Why companies need a PMO to support it’s projects.

Ad Hoc PM Processes, Lack of Communication

Objectives of Program Management

• Program Management objectives

Create a framework for project execution

Validate and coordinate methodology, tools, techniques, and knowledge management to project teams

Facilitate integration and coordination between projects

Effectively deploy organization and external resources

Allow project managers to lead, and focus on issue resolution

Focus project teams on deliverable production

Reduce project cycle time

Mitigate project risk

Time-box implementation

Program Management

Project 2

Project 1

Project 3

Project N

Project 1

Project 2

Project 3

Project 4

Project 5

Lack of program management promotes redundant efforts, inconsistency, waste of resources and poor communication among projects, leading to time and budgetary overruns because of unrecognized or missed project interdependencies and quality issues.

By instituting program management with a formal infrastructure, coordination and communication (among other benefits) can be established between projects

The objective of program management is to manage risk and facilitate project coordination by providing a framework for project execution.

Definitions

Program Management

Project Management

• Program Management

• The coordination of diverse projects that either address common business issues or processes, or are funded as a unit

• The process through which a series of projects are coordinated, controlled, managed

• The methods in which communication occurs and knowledge is distributed across multiple projects

• Project Management:

• The management of a set of related activities which, when completed, will achieve a specific objective.

• The process by which a project is initiated, controlled and brought to successful conclusion.

Program and project management differ in their objectives and relationship. • A program defines the rules, approaches and relationships among projects. • Project management functions under the guidelines of a program to control the outcomes of a

defined set of activities.

Program Management Infrastructure

• Project alignment– Strategy– Process

• Prioritization criteria• Resource allocation

• Process for management:

– Structure– Plan– Assess change– Report– Control

• Deliverable focused• Pre-determined and

common roles

• Flexible and scalable• Route driven• Deliverable driven• Process mapping

consistency• Readily available• Change management

built-in

• Knowledge management process:

– Accesses; – Acquires; – Develops; – Categorizes, stores,

packages; and – Disseminates

information

• Plan communication– Plan and structure

to specific audiences

• Use communication– Provides awareness– Promotes success

• Select medium– Electronic media– Meetings

Portfolio

ManagementProject Management

Methodologies, tools and techniques

Knowledge Management

Communication

To execute a successful program, a formal infrastructure needs to be established. This infrastructure represented by a program office will provide projects with arbitration, repository and dissemination mechanisms for priorities, management processes, rules, learning and information. It will also assist with establishing overall Detailed Statements of Work, relationship and contribution value management of external service, product and resource providers. Program management infrastructure has the following management dimensions.

Program Management Dimensions

Portfolio Management

• Projects should be prioritized based on pre-determined criteria that enhance value to the organization and measure dependencies among initiatives

• Projects should be aligned and integrated along processes to assure the achievement of desired objectives and pragmatic functionality

• Once prioritized and integrated, projects should be managed as a portfolio of investments

To effectively coordinate projects, they must be aligned to processes and prioritized according to the organizations’ desired objectives. Once prioritized and aligned to processes, diverse projects can be managed as a portfolio of investments with appropriate resource allocation.

ERP

SCM GPS

RFID

CRM

Program Office

?

• Reports to the CEO

• Initially, the PMO scope includes all cross functional, strategic initiatives

• Evolution:

Implementation of a PMO

Initiate Plan Monitor

• Project definition and monitoring templates defined• Initial projects identified• Executive sponsors identified• Chartering & Planning

initiated

• Planning for initial projects completed • First executive dashboard

presented•Weekly project monitoring

Initiated.

•Weekly project status reporting•Weekly review of executive

dashboard with CEO• Issues escalation / risk mitigation

processes implemented

Project Methodology

Discovery Initiation Planning Execution Closing

• Project Approved• Project Manager

Assigned

• Team Members Identified

• Hold Kick-off Meeting• Initiate Planning

• Project Charter Created

• One Page Project Plan Created

• Detailed Project Plan Created

• Project Milestones Achieved

• Weekly Project Reporting Completed

• Sponsor Sign-off• Lessons Learned

Documented• Benefits Realization

Follow-up Planned

Gat

es /

Del

iver

able

s Gate 1 Gate 2 Gate 3 Gate 4

Do

cum

ents

/ P

roce

sses

Executive Summary

Business Case (if required)

One-Page Project Plan

Detailed Project Plan

Project Charter

UpdatedDashboard

Weekly Updates to PMO

Bi-weekly Updates to Executive

PMO Project Manager

Lessons Learned

Benefits Realization

Sign-offDocumentKick-off Meeting

Minutes

Weekly Updates

• Documents and communicates the project goals, objectives, scope, resources, cost / benefits, risks and milestones.

• Defines the project so that the requisite project reviews and approvals can occur.

• Created by the Project Manager, reviewed by the PMO and approved by the Executive Stakeholders.

• A project charter is attached.

TABLE OF CONTENTS (Example)

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

2. PROJECT DEFINITION

2.1 PROJECT PURPOSE AND GOALS2.2 STRATEGY2.3 SUCCESS CRITERIA

3. ROLES, RESPONSIBILITIES & ORGANIZATION

3.1 PROJECT ROLES

4. PROJECT COSTS & BENEFITS

4.1 PROJECT COSTS4.2 PROJECT BENEFITS

5. CONSTRAINTS, RISKS & ASSUMPTIONS

5.1 CONSTRAINTS5.2 RISKS5.3 ASSUMPTIONS5.4 CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS

6. PROJECT GOVERNANCE

6.1 PROJECT MILESTONES6.2 PROJECT PLAN6.3 PROJECT MONITORING & CONTROL

7. ACCEPTANCE & SIGN-OFF

Key Deliverables – Project Charter

• Projects are developed by the Project Manager and reported to the PMO using a “One Page Project Plan”

• Every project has 5 essential elements

• Each project may have a more detailed project plan (Excel, Microsoft Project, etc.) that meets its unique requirements

• An example One Page Project Plan follows (complete set of current project plans are attached).

Key Deliverables – One Page Project Plan

Tasks CostBudget vs. Actual

Objectives

TimelinePlan vs. Performance

Owners

• Produced by the PMO on a weekly basis.

• Tracks, at a high level, the progress of projects.

• General status is color coded to identify projects that:– Are on track (green)– Have issues, but there is time to recover (yellow)– Are in trouble and require intervention by senior management (red).

• Also communicates the following for each project:– Alignment to company objectives– Capital budget tracking– Expense budget tracking– People involved– On-time vs. lateness– Assigned project manager– Executive team responsibilities– A consolidation and summation

Key Deliverables – Executive Dashboard

• Status update by Project Manager to PMO

– Is project on time and on budget?

– Are the required resources available to the project?

– Are the project benefits on track to be achieved?

– Do any issues require escalation? If so, to whom?

– Are all project risks mitigated?

• Review of project status with Executive Sponsors and CEO

Execution Monitoring

The Litcom Approach

For organizations looking to take their planning and management of IT-related projects to the next level, a PMO is a critical piece of the puzzle. Litcom’s project management team has the depth of experience and has been involved in numerous strategic projects where the establishment and operation of a well-running Program Management Office is the linchpin for the success of the IT function.

At Litcom we understand that each organization has its own unique culture. We will adapt our services to best suit your needs. As your project management partner, we will bring solutions to help you organize for change through the effective use of project processes, technology and people. Whether you are seeking guidance on a new or current project; an assessment of your project management capabilities; training of your project teams or staffing of qualified project management personnel, Litcom can help.

To learn how we can help your organization with its IT needs, please contact us at: [email protected].