Influence the need for progression - "People first approach to PMO"
Influence : “ the power to have an effect on people or things, or a person or thing that is able to do this ”
Moving forward with good practice in Portfolio and Programme management is not always obvious, but necessary. The PMO has a responsibility to assess and anticipate the Project Management needs of the organisation and present to stakeholders a compelling case for change. This change can be in the form of new a delivery model or target operating model, corporate project management tools, services or a change to governance. Influencing change can be informal over a regular tea break, lunch or one to one with stakeholders. Or it can be more formal using a proposal format or business case, sometimes you can use both formal and informal approaches to ensure a clear mandate is agreed. Either way, what is being proposed should be associated with the vision of the senior responsible owner SRO, Portfolio Director or Office of the CEO.
Influencing change should be proactive, stemming from the PMO, leading from the centre of excellence for project management across the organisation.
Influencing the need for progression among your stakeholders should always be on the agenda when considering continuous improvement. Collaborating with people, teams or organisations (3rd parties) that share the vision, or who can partner and share risk, is good business practice that can be applied within the PMO context.
At Agility X we do this by presenting and marketing a compelling case for progression with our stakeholders, partnering with SMEs or groups to help identify and execute the efficiencies, benefits and value that change presents to the organisation, its stakeholders and even customers. (This would be the custom when presenting a new project or idea for investment that can cause “positive disruption”).
Ideas for influencing change from a PMO perspective includes
New delivery model and training for the hybrid environment of Agile and Waterfall projects
New collaboration and reporting tools for all projects across the organisation utilising Power BI for output
Internal training programme for budding Project Professionals to Portfolio Directors – “Project Management, Talent Management”
Be the change agent don't sit on your laurels as a PMO professional, be positively disruptive, make change happen, investors are waiting for you to influence the need for progression!
Eugene James
(PPM Director , Agility X)