The Strategic Project Office, Second Edition

368 Pages·2010·4.674 MB·English

by  J. Kent Crawford

The Strategic
Project Office
Second Edition
K11727.indb 1 8/25/10 8:00:52 PM
PM Solutions Research
Editor
J. Kent Crawford
PM Solutions, Inc
Glen Mills, Pennsylvania

The Strategic Project Office, Second Edition
J. Kent Crawford and Jeannette Cabanis-Brewin
The Strategic Project Leader: Mastering Service-Based Project Leadership
Jack Ferraro
Project Management Maturity Model, Second Edition
J. Kent Crawford
Optimizing Human Capital with a Strategic Project Office: Select, Train, Measure,
and Reward People for Organization Success
J. Kent Crawford and Jeannette Cabanis-Brewin
Effective Opportunity Management for Projects: Exploiting Positive Risk
David Hillson
Managing Multiple Projects: Planning, Scheduling, and Allocating Resources for
Competitive Advantage
James S. Pennypacker and Lowell Dye
The Strategic Project Office: A Guide to Improving Organizational Performance,
First Edition
J. Kent Crawford
The Superior Project Organization: Global Competency Standards and Best Practices
Frank Toney
The Superior Project Manager: Global Competency Standards and Best Practices
Frank Toney
Project Management Maturity Model: Providing a Proven Path to Project
Management Excellence, First Edition
J. Kent Crawford
K11727.indb 2 8/25/10 8:00:52 PM
The Strategic
Project Office
Second Edition
J. KENT CRAWFORD
with Jeannette Cabanis-Brewin
K11727.indb 3 8/25/10 8:00:53 PM
CRC Press
Taylor & Francis Group
6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300
Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742
© 2011 by Taylor and Francis Group, LLC
CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business
No claim to original U.S. Government works
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
International Standard Book Number: 978-1-4398-3812-9 (Hardback)
This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reasonable
efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the author and publisher cannot
assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or the consequences of their use. The authors and
publishers have attempted to trace the copyright holders of all material reproduced in this publication
and apologize to copyright holders if permission to publish in this form has not been obtained. If any
copyright material has not been acknowledged please write and let us know so we may rectify in any
future reprint.
Except as permitted under U.S. Copyright Law, no part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced,
transmitted, or utilized in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or in any information stor-
age or retrieval system, without written permission from the publishers.
For permission to photocopy or use material electronically from this work, please access www.copy-
right.com (http://www.copyright.com/) or contact the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), 222
Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400. CCC is a not-for-profit organization that pro-
vides licenses and registration for a variety of users. For organizations that have been granted a pho-
tocopy license by the CCC, a separate system of payment has been arranged.
Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are
used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at
http://www.taylorandfrancis.com
and the CRC Press Web site at
http://www.crcpress.com
K11727.indb 4 8/25/10 8:00:53 PM
Contents
List of figures xi
List of tabLes xiii
foreword x v
Preface xvii
acknowLedgments xxv
introduction: the Pmo concePt, then and now xxvii
the authors xlix
chaPter 1 the strategic Pmo: aLigning Projects
and strategy 1
Overview 2
The Link between Strategy and Projects 5
Strategy and Projects Research Study 7
Why Align Projects with Strategy? 7
How Alignment Resolves Project Management Problems 8
Strategy & Projects: Research Findings 8
The Strategy & Projects Framework 1 1
Best-Practice Examples 1 5
Notes 1 5
chaPter 2 Pmo business case, organization
structure, and functions 1 7
The Evolving Enterprise 1 7
Many “Ps” Make a Strong Business Case 2 7
Organizational Structure for Projects 2 8
Types of PMOs 31
v
K11727.indb 5 8/25/10 8:00:54 PM
vi Contents
Functions of the Project Management Office 3 4
Project Support 3 4
Software Tools 3 7
Processes, Standards, and Methodologies 3 8
Training 4 1
Consulting and Mentoring 4 1
Project Managers 4 2
Integration of the Project Management Office 43
Evolving PMO Functions 4 4
Notes 4 5
chaPter 3 the starting gate: assessing your
current condition 4 7
Maturity and the PMO 48
A Maturing Profession 4 8
Defining Maturity and Capability 4 8
Preassessment Evaluation 5 5
Baseline Maturity Assessment 5 9
PM HealthCheck: Understanding an Organization’s
Project Management Maturity 59
Identification of Issues and Risks 6 6
Gap Analysis 6 8
Conclusion 7 2
An Iterative Process 7 2
Talking Points 73
Notes 74
chaPter 4 Pmo PLanning, PreParation, and
strategy 7 5
The Project Charter: Agreeing on a Destination 7 6
Objectives and Milestones: The Map to Your Destination 7 7
Specific 77
Measurable 7 7
Agreed Upon 7 9
Realistic 7 9
Time-Constrained 79
Using Gap Analysis to Set Milestones 8 0
Delivering Value with Specific Short- and Long-Term
Objectives 8 1
Implementation Strategy 81
Phase I: Establish the Foundation 8 2
Phase II: Startup with Short-Term Initiatives 8 3
Phase III: Rollout with Long-Term Solutions 85
Phase IV: Support and Improvement 8 6
A Project Office or a Project Management Culture? 8 6
However … Five Ways to Fail 9 1
K11727.indb 6 8/25/10 8:00:54 PM
Contents vii
Measuring Success: How to Know When You Have Arrived 9 3
Metrics 9 3
Communications Planning 9 4
Best Practice: Communications 94
Purpose 9 6
Origination and Timing 9 7
Project Communications Plan Guidelines 9 8
PMO Value-Adding Strategy: Rein in Runaway Projects 9 9
Early Warnings 99
In-Progress Problem Indicators 100
Pulling on the Reins 101
Notes 103
chaPter 5 estabLishing a Project management
methodoLogy and Pmo governance 105
Defining Our Terms 105
Five Steps to Establishing a Methodology 107
What Are the Elements of a Methodology? 109
Consistency/Repeatability 110
Scalability to Projects of Varying Size and Complexity 114
Overview of a Sample Methodology 116
The Processes 116
The Templates 119
Quality and PM Methodology 119
Quality of Deliverables: The Product 122
Quality of the Project Management Process 124
How Good Is Your Methodology? 130
Governance: Balancing Order with Creativity 131
Defining Governance 133
Process Governance 134
Methodology and Standards 134
People and Structure Governance 135
A Governance Framework 135
Best Practices in Governance 136
Notes 137
chaPter 6 Project PortfoLio management and the
strategic Pmo 139
The Evolution from Project to Portfolio 139
The Business Case 142
Overall Benefits 147
PPM in the Strategic PMO: Where Strategic Planning
Meets Project Execution 147
The Strategic PMO: An Organizational Home for PPM 148
Governance and PPM 151
Assessing Organizational Readiness 152
K11727.indb 7 8/25/10 8:00:54 PM
viii Contents
The Fundamental Components of PPM 155
Six Key Processes 156
Four Areas of Integration 157
How Do Organizations Implement PPM Practices? 166
Start Small and Keep It Simple 166
Best Practices for PPM 168
Notes 169
chaPter 7 the strategic PeoPle management office:
human caPitaL and the Pmo 171
The Resource Crunch 171
People Make the PMO 172
Staffing the Strategic PMO 176
Strategic PMO Director 177
Project and Program Managers 184
Project Support 185
Project Teams 186
Other Team Members 187
A Note on Mentoring 188
Project Mentoring 189
Competency Identification 189
Training and Mentoring 191
Performance Measurement and Rewards 195
Career Paths and Leadership Development 197
Best Practices for People Management in the Strategic PMO 200
Rolling Out the Strategic PMO: All Aboard 2 01
The Executive Role 201
Identifying the Executive Sponsor 2 03
Management Participation: The PMO Steering Committee 2 05
How to Select a PMO Steering Committee 2 08
Notes 208
chaPter 8 the technicaL infrastructure: using
it to faciLitate Project coLLaboration
and Performance measurement 211
Why Do You Need PMO Software? 212
Software Functionality and PMO Complexity 215
Project Management Approach 215
PMO Level 216
Portfolio Management Software Issues 220
Additional Software Concerns 222
What Are the Best Practices for Selection? 224
Rollout: Putting the Tools to Work 228
Notes 230
chaPter 9 changing organizationaL cuLture 233
Climate or Culture—Which Do I Change? 234
Organizational Needs: Flexibility and Creativity 235
K11727.indb 8 8/25/10 8:00:54 PM
Contents ix
Creating a Project Culture: From the Top 236
Specific Guidance on Changing Your Culture 236
Measuring for Results 242
Change Processes 243
The Scenario Approach 243
A Project Management Approach to Change 244
Readying the Troops for Battle 245
Overcoming Barriers to Change 247
People and Power 247
Organizational Politics, Roles, and Responsibilities 249
The Impact of Change on People 250
The 15-15-70 Rule 251
Using Language to Create Community 252
You Made It: Signs of a Project Culture 253
Notes 254
chaPter 10 knowLedge management and the Pmo:
tracking benefits and Learning from
exPerience 255
Knowledge Management: The Short Course 255
Knowledge Repositories 257
Key Success Factors in KM 258
Barriers to KM Success 259
Capturing Lessons Learned—and Beyond 261
Project Closeout: The Knowledge Goldmine 264
Postproject Review 265
Why Are We So Bad at This? 266
The PMO as a Community of Practice 268
Benchmarking 272
Tracking Performance: Knowledge Is Power 275
Where to Begin 275
A Model for Performance Measurement 277
Developing Performance Measures 278
Measurement Planning 279
Piloting the Measurement Program 283
Some Cautions about Doing Internal Research Projects 284
Conclusion 286
Notes 287
aPPendix a: the state of the Pmo 2007 to 2008 289
aPPendix b: seLected Pmo of the year winners
(2007 and 2008) 295
aPPendix c: Project management assessment and
recommendation rePort 301
index 317
K11727.indb 9 8/25/10 8:00:54 PM