Top 3 PMO Trends in 2019

Project Management Office (PMO) is a department within an organization that defines and maintains standards for project management; gives directions to project managers; publishes project and portfolio statuses; and makes strategic and tactical decisions across all projects. I have been fortunate to run world-class PMOs for the last 10 years at Global Payments; Ministry of Government and Consumer Services (MGSC) at the Government of Ontario, Canada; and Royal Bank of Canada (RBC).

The top 3 trends in 2019 based on research and empirical data are:

1. PMOs to adopt Agile - PMOs that are agile, and implement the best practices of Agile will have a far greater impact than traditional “waterfall” PMOs. Agile PMOs focus on value-delivery while traditional PMOs insist on compliance. Waterfall is a structured software development methodology, and often times can be quite rigid, whereas the Agile methodology is known for its flexibility. Agile approach, is based on an incremental, iterative approach. Instead of in-depth planning at the beginning of the project, Agile methodologies are open to changing requirements over time and encourages constant feedback from the end users. Cross-functional teams work on iterations of a product over a period of time, and this work is organized into a backlog that is prioritized based on business or customer value. The goal of each iteration is to produce a working product. In Agile methodologies, leadership encourages teamwork, accountability, and face-to-face communication. Business stakeholders and developers must work together to align the product with customer needs and company goals.
2. PMOs to be at enterprise-level - Most PMOs are nestled and coddled in Operations or within a sub-team of an SVP or VP. PMOs can only provide value when they have an enterprise view and they have jurisdiction over how the organization does work (i.e. projects). 75% of executives expect 24/7 on-demand project data. 66% of PMOs now report to a SVP or higher. 1 in 3 CEOs believes the PMO and effective project management plays a major part in realizing organizational strategy. These are all good statistics, but the reality is different. Most PMOs have their hands tied to their backs. Executives say one thing but support another. 57% of projects fail due to “breakdown in communications”. 50% of all Project Management Offices (PMOs) close within just three years. The United States economy loses $50-$150 billion per year due to failed IT projects. If you want to operate a high-functioning team with a high throughput, executive buy-in and confidence is key. Based on my research, most PMOs will evolve into a different version of itself (for example a Value-Delivery Office, VDO) that will be enterprise in nature.
3. Strategy-driven - Most PMO leaders like to be believe that they are executing strategy. Nothing can be further from the truth. The PMO has come a long way but it is still seen as “glorified note-takers”, adding bureaucracy, siding with compliance versus results. The modern Project Management Information Systems (PMIS) - Workfront, homegrown, Clarity, Excel all count - measures and produces analytics on finance, schedule, resource, risks, challenges, etc. These metrics can help pinpoint gaps between strategy and execution and elevate the PMO from a "do-er" to a modern committee that takes up a more responsible and involved role as a mentor. This also means a conscious effort in elevating the competency level of the people representing the PMO and weeding out the “accidental project managers”. Project delivery is only as good as the people doing the delivering. A great project manager can bake a cake or build a bridge - it does not matter. Her skillset is rooted in anticipating change, bringing the best team together, enabling an open dialogue and transparency, and making decisions based on merit, not the paygrade of the requestor.

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