5 main problems to be solved to Design and Implement a successful PMO in any Organization.

Over the years when I talk to PMO Sponsors, I have detected many things in common even in such different countries. I am not only talking about companies in Spain but I can also include companies from LATAM as well as some cases that I have personally met from the USA, Canada and UK.

For this reason, for this occasion I am going to share from my experience the 5 main problems to be solved to Design and Implement a successful PMO in any Organization.

1. Lack of Professional Training: Despite all the efforts made by large organizations such as the PMI at a global level or other more local ones such as the IDB or PM2, just to mention two, in organizations we detect that there is an enormous lack of awareness of professionalization in project management. We can detect this because the percentage of companies that do not have professional training (not the 15-min e-learning course on the corporate intranet) in project and product management for all their teams is much higher than we can imagine.

On the other hand, the PMO Sponsor must be aware that the training must be for the entire team and not only for the 2-3 project managers who have strategic projects.

2. Lack of Strategy PMO: It is evident that when an organization has been working in a certain way for years but the global environment moves faster, there is a tremendous space to solve the problems of correct management of a global portfolio.

There is no clear strategy on how to solve this problem, since despite needing help with another way to solve it, they still want to solve the problems of years of their portfolio but acting with the same actions as always and that for me is an evident lack of strategy of leading a global portfolio.

The PMO Sponsor, together with the PMOfficer and/or the PMO Consultant, must develop the PMO strategy aligned with the strategic objectives of the organization, on an annual basis and delivering value over time.

3. Lack of Specialization in PMO: Of course, if there is no professionalization in project and product management, we are not capable of understanding in its global dimension how a PMO can help the organization to efficiently manage its portfolio.

This becomes even more evident when the sponsor (C-Level) does NOT hire 100% proven specialists in PMO solutions, if they do not continue to apply the same formula as always, that is, hire the same consultants as always, with the same forms. of always working (but seasoned with ways names that sell more although in the background they mean exactly the same) and of course in the end delivering the usual results.

Many big consulting firms (yes, a very large firms) do not have experience in the Audit, Design, Implementation, Leadership and Continuous Improvement of a PMO, and that is very easy to detect by the PMO Sponsor (if he has the appropriate knowledge and if not, he can support with an External PMO Consultant).

4. They do not invest in training: They have no intention of training their teams, "now there is no time, that will be for later".

I usually hear this phrase in practically all organizations that have urgency in delivering results that are required by the Steering Committee.

On the other hand, when they launch a call to hire a professional in the JD (job description), they put an endless list of requirements between training, knowledge, experiences and/or certifications, both technical and management issues, without counting several languages, it seems that they are asking for a Nobel Prize with one Engineering Diploma from NASA and of course paying the bare minimum some even adding the "Jr" for clear, paying less at least in the country where I live Spain.

5. Lack of Medium-Long Term Vision: They do not define an annual budget because they think that "it is only managing projects-products".

Another phrase that I hear "almost" every day and unfortunately more than it should be, but there is no way to prevent C-Level that a PMO as a structure and team sees it as "Expense" instead of an INVESTMENT.

Investment because among many advantages we can mention Top 3:

1) You avoid duplication of work between the same teams or other external ones (good practices).

2) You solve problems, which is the same as saving money (every problem costs money).

3) You save time solving problems by avoiding duplication of work, which is the same as saving money (A LOT of MONEY), where all the teams are clear as Swiss machinery (Governance).

Final note:

For me, today, without exception, all the problems of a global portfolio in an organization have a solution, that is the good news.

The bad news is that the vast majority of C-Levels have not yet understood it, or have not been able to explain it to them.

The Master PMO: is the learning path from scratch for every member, consultant and/or future leader of a Global Portfolio of Projects and Products (PMO or any name the organization determines, that is, an xPMO).

More info at https://digital.pmoacademy.org/shop/