Mel Bost – PMO Expert

In a recent blog post, I discussed using “Design Thinking” principles to define complete business requirements for projects. 

Audience response to this post was extremely positive, so I recently collaborated with Wayne Thompson, the author of the very popular blog “Project Management War Stories” to develop a two-part podcast on his blog site about the “Design Thinking” topic.

Part One of the podcast covers background material on why project teams often fail to define complete business requirements for projects and are forced to rework and redo much of their planning. 

Part Two of the podcast covers the use of “Design Thinking” and other innovation principles to better define project business requirements. 

I hope all PMO practitioners, project managers, and project team members find these podcasts interesting and enlightening.  I have certainly enjoyed working with Wayne Thompson on these topics, and we are planning a new podcast for later this month on Project Lessons Learned.  Stay tuned for that next podcast and thanks for your support.

I have noticed recently, in the Discussion sections of  LinkedIn’s Project Managers, PMO, and PMO Bloggers Groups, that aspiring young project managers have been requesting advice from more experienced project managers and PMO leaders as to what steps they can take to enhance their ability to move forward in the “project community” and to advance their project management skills. 

From my point of view, having worked in several PMOs and IT Project Offices, as well as having assisted in the setup of several PMOs, I would like to offer the following advice, which follows from something I read by Jillian Michaels, the very successful coach of the hit TV show “The Biggest Loser“.

Jillian once said that individuals and organizations can accomplish anything they want to accomplish as long as they are sufficiently motivated and have the “capability” to succeed. 

My advice is focused on the aspect of “capability” because there is much that aspiring project managers can do to enhance their “capability.”  Capability means educating oneself and understanding the business context within which they are operating.

By aspiring young project managers, I actually mean project team members who are qualified to move up to managing projects but who haven’t found that right project to manage yet OR project managers who have just assumed a new project management assignment for which they must prepare themselves to fully succeed.

Here are five areas in which aspiring young project managers can enhance their “capabilities.”  These five areas will leverage your understanding of the project process, as well as increase your stature among other project managers in the “project community.”

First, volunteer to record the minutes at an important project status meeting.  Be sure to find or create a template that captures the participants, the date and time of the meeting, the agenda, the actions agreed to, the assignments for each participant as well as any completion dates, any issues that were not resolved, and the date and time of the next meeting.  Too many project teams lapse into keeping very poor documentation of their meetings and therefore, accountability for completing assignments is lost.  By volunteering for this assignment, you will provide a key document to the project team from which they can build on throughout the project.

Second, at the conclusion and documentation of the project requirements, survey the sponsor and the stakeholders to understand that they really know what requirements they have signed up for and the “commitment” that is required to carry out the project.  By doing so, you will have input into any “Scope Change” that may arise ahead of the actual requirements modification.  This will increase your understanding of the project process and your stature among other project managers.

Third, at the conclusion of the first major phase of the project, insist that the project team hold a “lessons learned” session.  They will thank you later even though you may have to drag them to the table kicking and screaming to participate in the first session.  So many things get uncovered when you “shine a little light on something” or “focus” on the actions and results at this point.  Famed UCLA basketball coach John Wooden once said “It is what you learn after you know it all that counts.”  This has terrific application in project lessons learned.

Fourth, find a key “issue” that seems to divide the project team members or the stakeholders and follow that issue by recording key actions and decisions made by the team and the stakeholders.  At an appropriate point in the project, when it appears that the project team or the stakeholders or both have reached an impasse or a stumbling point, pull out your summary of the actions and decisions and review it with the combined project group.  Some may not appreciate being confronted with the facts, others may disagree with your “facts” or your interpretation–but no one can disagree with the harmony that will result down the road when they begin to see each others different perspectives and viewpoints, and the fact that a “rational, realistic” observer brought these viewpoints to their attention.  You may have won yourself a job!!!!

Your facilitation of a bumpy issue by offering extraordinary insight and “analysis” is the key.  “Analysis is the essence.”

Fifth, practice the four communications mechanisms that I discussed in one of my previous blogs:

1.  Situational

2.  Metaphorical

3.  Empathic

4.  Resonance

I use the word “practice” here because it will take the aspiring new project manager some time to understand the situations in which these four communications mechanisms will be most effective.  But they all have a place at some point in a project.  By using these communication tools, your “effectiveness” as a project communicator will be enhanced many fold.

By the way, you won’t find this advice anywhere else–it is unique to taking a “holistic” view as to what a project is all about and to understanding how stakeholders impact projects. 

Good luck to you “aspiring project leaders.”  Yes, you are and will be leaders if you follow this advice.

The Best in all that you pursue…….

I once worked with a college professor whose reference books on his desk had notations in the margins which consisted of columns of scribbled, handwritten dates such as “8/25/1982.”   When I questioned him about the notations, some of which consisted of five or six dates in a column in the margin, he said that many of the “topics” and “subjects” were really recurring themes in his research work.  The only difference was the social or environmental or technical ”context” at the particular time he reexamined the topic.   So to remind himself of those “contexts,” he placed dates in the columns as documentation of the different perspectives he had experienced.

When I thought back on this situation, it occurred to me that a topic I had written about during my days in the ConocoPhillips Program Management Office (PMO), and which was published in the company’s newsletter several years ago, had even more significance to the project community now than it did when I originally wrote it.  So, I decided to resurrect this topic, which roughly can be termed “Change Creates Opportunity.”

You see, in the turbulent times in which we find ourselves today, with uncertainty at every turn, and no assurance that a well-intended decision-based action will, in fact, create the significant long-lasting result that were intended at the outset or at the decision point, we need a “theme” around which to rally our efforts.

I have worked for five major petroleum companies over a twenty-five year period, and I was involved in at least three major mergers.  Accordingly, I often have thought that my middle name is “transition.”

Here are some resources that I used to adapt to the changed, post-merger environment during those transitions. 

These concepts were introduced by William Bridges in his book JobShift: How to Prosper in a Workplace without Jobs. You may also be familiar with Bridges as the author of Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes, a highly acclaimed book which discusses how people respond physically, emotionally and intellectually to the transitions and changes in their lives.

The approach set out by Bridges takes advantage of your unique skill set and competencies; tools that you can use to contribute to your PMO’s success.

Bridges’ main theme is that “change creates opportunity.”  While change does tend to destroy old opportunities, the bigger implication for you, personally, is that change creates new “needs” within an organization. Many of these needs go unmet until someone recognizes them and takes action. Change relocates the opportunity by changing internal customer needs and the terms under which success is possible. 

What does this mean?

 An employee should consider the workplace as a “market” with supply and demand forces at work.  By looking at the “supply of” and “demand for” services and needs on a continual basis, you can determine what roles and skills are necessary and act accordingly.

In this type of market environment, you must learn to find the needs that are not being effectively or economically met by others–both inside and outside the organizational boundary (because external contractors and vendors can and often do meet these very same needs). This shift in thinking replaces the idea that job roles are restricted to only their formal definitions, and allows an employee more autonomy and ownership of their contributions to the PMO.

Change also creates new interfaces. These interfaces may be a face-off between two organizations, between a business and its environment, between two patterns of experience and expectations, or between new technologies and users of old technologies. 

Because interfaces juxtapose value systems, assumptions, needs, and languages, they create “unmet” needs. They demand workers who are good at brokering, translating, interpreting, training, linking, facilitating, negotiating, and servicing. These activities bridge the gap in comprehension and familiarity created by the interface. For example, your group may need assistance from the Global Internal Audit group to assess standards and processes in your work area or your project, but no one may be assigned to provide this linkage. The first step would be recognizing the need.  The second would be assessing what type of skill or competency is required to fill the gap. The third would be effectively closing the gap.

So, what does this imply for your day-to-day activities within the PMO?

Continually scan the environment for these unmet needs that define the marketplace for your group.   Be aware of what skill sets and competencies exist in your group for satisfying a variety of these needs.  Act as a facilitator or provide the linkage (REMEMBER THE LINCHPIN?) whenever possible to close the supply and demand gap for services.

Remember: “Change Creates Opportunity.”

The market will continually change but, by developing skills to recognize, adapt to, and fill the market’s changed needs, you add value for yourself and the PMO.

Is your PMO ready to meet the “unmet” needs in the marketplace?  Is is ready to react to a change as large as a corporate takeover? 

The rate of change is increasing. 

Today, there is a ”groundswell” of needs being satisfied through social media by varied stakeholders (rather than the traditional supply route of institutions).  New external requirements, such as Smart Grid, or Sustainability, or Carbon Footprint, or “the Green Movement”,  are other examples of forces requiring a change response within the PMO organizational framework. 

I encourage you personally to think about the concept of “Change Creates Opportunity.”  It is a perspective that creates win-win solutions.

If you have other changes you have experienced in your PMO, please share them with our project community through the Comments.

Thank you!!!

Recently I collaborated on a podcast with Wayne Thompson, the host of the very popular blog “Project Management War Stories.” 

Wayne wanted a topic that would continue the theme of PMO structure, organization, and function within a larger enterprise.  We decided to revisit the topic of building a PMO from the “grass roots level”, which many of you will recognize from my previous posts as taking a clean sheet of paper as the starting point.

In this podcast, you’ll learn about:

1.  The importance of  “commitment” vs. “compliance” in the design and success of a PMO.

2.  Issues of  “accountability” vs. “authority” in PMO organizations.

3.  Designing a PMO for a small entrepreneurial organization vs. designing a PMO for a larger, more disciplined, bureaucratic organization.

4.  The importance of including all Stakeholder voices to the design and success of a PMO.

5.  Building “capability” as a critical success factor in the design of a PMO.

Thanks to Wayne for directing this effort–the resulting podcast is now ready for your listening enjoyment on the “Project Management War Stories” blog site.   

Thanks so much for your attention.  As always, your comments are welcome.

The usual way that Program Management Offices (PMO) impact the firm’s strategy is through the execution of their “value proposition.”  The execution of projects yields tangible, concrete assets; new processes; or principles of operation that guide the firm and add long term value to the shareholders.  This blog post addresses how PMOs can more effectively deliver long term value and create a competitive advantage for the company. 

In recent blog posts, I have discussed:

o  “Best practices” in a project context

o  “Evolution” of PMOs from a “cost center” IT PMO perspective to enterprise PMOs to specialized PMOs to satisfy specific special business/functional needs in an organization

o  “Reframing” project scenarios to ensure we are tackling the right problem with a project; and

o  Design of PMO structures and functions using a “clean sheet of paper” approach

In this post, I want to leverage the insights of Professor C.K. Prahalad, a management and strategy guru who was recognized worldwide for his strategic intent, core competency and “bottom of the pyramid” theories, who died suddenly on April 16th.  He was a university professor in the Ross School of Business at The University of Michigan (which was my MBA program). 

In an April 2010 article/column entitled “Best Practices Get You Only So Far,” Prahalad discussed “innovation” in corporations from the perspective of looking beyond “best practices” to find what he termed ”next practices,” those cutting edge initiatives that will lead to sustained competitive advantage in a changing world and marketplace. 

This blog is in a sense a tribute to his contribution to strategy and management practice as I apply his principles to the Program Management Office (PMO).

Prahalad argued in this HBR column that today’s top management is too narrow in its focus to see “best practices” and must refocus their initiatives to uncover “next practices.”

He advocates that top management ask six questions in this search for “next practices:”

1.  Is the problem widely recognized?

2.  Does the problem affect other industries?

3.  Are radical innovations needed to tackle the problem?

4.  Can tackling the problem change the industry’s economics?

5.  Will addressing this issue give us a fresh source of competitive advantage?

6.  Would tackling this problem create a big opportunity for us?

In an earlier blog post, we cited the fact that Progress Energy–the utility that serves portions of North Carolina and Florida–had launched a Smart Grid Program Management Office (SGPMO). 

Why did they do this?

The logical answer was that they anticipated that the interest in Smart Grid would result in major project initiatives, not only for their own organization but for other contributing and supporting organizations such as General Electric.   Smart Grid would touch the lives of not only the electricity community but the customers and all stakeholders who have an interest in the application of SG technology.  Smart Grid would be an “evolving” concept because “the more you learn about what you don’t know about it, the more inclined you are to change direction with regard to subsequent actions.”

In other words, the six questions that Prahalad proposed we ask of a “problem” facing an industry and its stakeholders would surely lead to competitive advantage for someone–why not Progress Energy?

So defining a Smart Grid Program Management Office (PMO) was a very “smart” thing to do when faced with all the unknowns about how Smart Grid would play out.

The same could be said of Apple creating a PMO for its financial organization, reporting to its CFO.  The rapid product development that Apple has undertaken in recent years, including the recent introduction of the iPad, meant that the “problem” was how to mass produce sophisticated products that could still meet low cost requirements and a margin that would sustain Apple’s viability.

Many organizations engaging in a ”next practice” analysis will find that establishing a PMO will provide them with a long term competitive advantage.

So what are we saying here? 

Those of you who would seek to plan the next generation of PMO need to look to the six questions that Prahalad succinctly stated in his HBR column.  Finding that “NEXT PRACTICE” will become standard management practice if companies want to succeed.

Your comments are welcome.

“Best Practices” is a term which is used very loosely in project as well as other business contexts. Often people use the term when they mean those practices which can be employed with high probability of success across organizational or company boundaries.

But the real context of the application of Best Practices is within a single organizational context itself. Harold Kerzner, a recognized project management authority around the world, has defined Best Practices as “those processes, procedures or practices which a company or project applies to other similar situations because they have proved to be valuable or successful in the past and they can be assumed to be successful again in the future.”

Let me give you an example from real life that may bring this meaning home. My wife and I usually divide up the laundry duties. She starts the washing machine and I dry and fold the clothes in the dryer. Our daily wash load usually consists of two or three bath towels, four hand towels, four wash clothes and various other white goods. Now, from my experience with folding the dryer load many times, I have developed a practice whereby I always fold the bath towels first. Why? Because, removing the largest load items from the dryer makes it easier and more productive to fold the remaining clothes. It is faster. I have established this as a Best Practice within my household context.

Now, if I were to tell my neighbor on our cul-de-sac that he could employ my “Best Practice” to speed up his laundry process, I may or may not be correct. My “Best Practice” may not apply equally across the board to others. Why? Because he has a different laundry context. He may have a different size or composition of laundry load which doesn’t yield a faster operation because of its unique context.

That is why we must be careful not to assume that one project’s or company’s Best Practices might be applied equally well to another context. It is only after repeated application of the “Best Practice” in a similar project or business context that we can define it as a true Best Practice.

Of course, some basic business practices like using a template for notes for a meeting might be applied across the board as a Best Practice because of the tried and true nature of using such a template in many contexts.

I hope this has cast a new light on project Best Practices for you.

Mel Bost