Tips for the successful implementation of P3O
P3O provides good guidance on how to implement or re-energize a P3O. Here are 6 key areas to focus on:
Pro-active high level sponsorship
Directors must be a key role in the organization and the P3O must have backing and support of executive management. The directors must champion the efforts of the P3O and provide ongoing support
P3O focus for the director should mainly be on the highly visible projects where Executive decision-making is needed on a regular basis or the business is extremely critical to the organization
The Organization must value the P3O and its services for it to be effective.
PMO Promotion and support
It is the responsibility of the P3O leadership to properly promote the P3O and help ensure its viability and visibility. Its viability is maintained by doing the following:
- Implementing proper and repeatable processes to consistently and successfully support programmes and projects.
- Implementing consistent templates for supporting programme and project reporting status to customers and executive management.
- Hiring competent, experienced P3O staff to support the portfolio.
- Implementing adequate training and on-boarding programs and processes to ensure that P3O staff are not seen as admin people.
High P3O visibility and perceived value.
Reporting portfolio status on a regular basis and in a meaningful and useful format so that executive management realizes the P3O's value.
Implementing solid P3O structures to ensure that the high-visibility customers are happy and that high-visibility programmes/projects are successful with P3O credit being assigned.
Inviting executive leadership to regularly attend P3O meetings and sit in on programme/project status meetings for the critical, high-visibility projects.
The P3O sponsor, as the leader of the P3O, must be a strong leader with influence inside the organization to ensure that these things happen. Otherwise, the PMO runs the danger of becoming obsolete or, at the very least, insignificant.
Simple effective structures
All successful P3O models feature four basic components:
- Executive level organization support
- Pro-active high level sponsorship from a senior director of the company is a pre-requisite for implementing a successful P3O
- The right processes and templates.
- Keep the templates simple and concise. Engage with programme and project manager to tailor templates and processes to keep simple effective structures in place. This avoids duplication of effort and makes sure the data is relevant, accurate, timely and informative and will be used.
The right tools
Make sure you match the sophistication of the tool, with the level of maturity of the organization and concentrate on adding value to the organization and not the features of the tool.
The right people
Make sure you invest in the P3O staff so as to provide qualified individuals in the roles. This will give credibility to the P3O within the organization.
