There are enormous benefits for an organisation to have a PMO that is both well run and provides a fit-for-purpose set of services and capabilities to meet the organisation’s project requirements.
However an Enterprise PMO (EPMO) that is supporting a business-as-usual slate of projects may not have the levers required to help an organisation deliver a transformational program of work.
Organisations embarking on a large transformational program of work need to undertake a gap analysis to ensure the EPMO is set up to function as a Transformation Office to support the transformation.
Defining the organisational structure for EPMO
Consideration should also be given as to where the EPMO sits in the organisation during the transformation. EMPOs can sit under Finance where cost savings are driving the portfolio of projects or under IT where large scale IT upgrades and infrastructure projects dominate the program of works.
However, where the business is truly transforming it works best sitting under a Transformational Governance Board that ensures alignment of CFO, COO, CIO and CEO – each of whom have different drivers. To achieve transformation goals this group needs to be aligned and make enterprise decisions brought to them by the EPMO.
While it is not an exact science and each organisation will have different areas of emphasis, there are potential service areas that EPMOs should be providing or have significant involvement in to make sure that a transformation program is properly constructed and managed.
Provide a Portfolio View
Transformation programs typically attract much greater interest at the executive level where access to a portfolio view of interrelated programs and projects is required. The EPMO needs to create consistency and visibility of reporting including inter-dependencies, dependencies, constraints and resource allocation across the portfolio as well as identification of key risks and issues facing the Transformation Program. Utilising a Master Scheduler can be a powerful way to achieve this.
Furthermore, there is solid logic that the EPMO also manages the view of the Organisations Resources as well. Managing change is complex and often the same resources are needed for competing projects.
By having centralised visibility of the capacity of the organisation, the Transformation Governance Board can make informed decisions and prioritise which project(s) get which resources and when or if they need to be externally funded and sourced resources to address gaps.
Create stage gates for an Enterprise Design Authority
Before any approvals are given to solutions that deliver components of the Transformation Program, there should be an early stage gate whereby an Enterprise Design Authority (or similar body) ensures the solutions are compatible with the long-arm architecture of the organisation.
This will help guard against execution of projects that work at cross purposes with each other or are difficult to integrate and support within an organisation’s IT architecture. The EPMO should help manage and control this gating process to ensure it is set up, is well understood by all participants and outcomes regularly tracked and reported against.
Focus on the Business Case template and processes
With transformational programs there is often significant blue sky in the estimation of the benefits. An organisation is typically executing new types of projects and for that reason they are harder to estimate the exact costs and benefits as accurately as a BAU project that has been delivered in the past.
Furthermore there is increased competition from projects all wanting access to the same funding from the transformational funding pot.
It is important that during a transformation program the Business Case template and processes are well thought out, easy to use and have the ability to generate diagnostics that allow decision makers to confidently select the right projects to include in the overall program.
Utilise existing PMO services, capabilities and levers
The list above is not an exhaustive one and all organisations have their own delivery DNA – the things they do well, or not so well, and different areas of focus. Moving your EPMO to support a transformation program requires that you take stock of the services and capabilities currently provided by the PMO to ensure the right levers are in place for the transformation program’s success.
We believe that quality thought leadership is worth sharing and encourage you to share with your colleagues. If you’re interested in republishing our content, here’s what’s okay and what’s not okay.
To speak to our team about how we can help your business deliver better projects, please contact us.