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7 characteristics of a modern Project Management Office
Is the Project Management Office likely to keep up with today’s business trends? Multitasking and coordinating the remote work of project teams are vital features that a modern, ‘digital PMO’ should have. It is difficult to make any extensive polemic here, as the starting point will undoubtedly be implementing a good program, which will practically automatically bring a new quality to the way projects are managed and the PMO operates. Once such a tool is implemented, the Project Management Office will achieve at least two key benefits: it will gradually become digital, and its role will become more strategic. The PMO’s time acquiring information and producing reports will be replaced by analyzing, formulating conclusions, and advising project managers and executives. The office will continue to play an essential role in designing and implementing standards, spreading knowledge, and monitoring project discipline.
Key functionalities of a digital PMO
Below is a selection of functionalities worth paying particular attention to when deciding on and implementing a project management IT tool to support how a modern and digital Project Management Office operates.
- Explicitly linking the company’s strategic objectives to projects and KPI metrics. The company’s management needs to ensure that the strategy is adequately supported by specific initiatives, with a clear assignment of responsibility for their implementation and progress, which can be tracked by observing specific KPI metrics and project implementation statuses.
- A mechanism for assessing the attractiveness of project ideas (scoring system) makes it possible to select those with the most significant potential for the company’s development and objectives and facilitates board discussions. Potential project ideas can be collected in the system, which increases the culture of employee involvement in the development and continuous improvement of the organization.
- Control over changes to the project plan – a very transparent system showing the ‘evolution’ of the project from its inception ensures that projects no longer roll around indefinitely. The Project Owner authorizes every significant change to the project plan, and the history of such changes with their justification is easily accessible.
- Automatic project reviews facilitate the work of the PMO, and the company’s management board has access to statuses regarding the company’s current project situation.
- Flexible creation of any reports. Modern project management systems allow PMO staff to create any report easily.
- A good project management system should provide clear approval paths and ensure a real-time information flow, thereby facilitating rapid decision-making.
- Risk management: Recording project risks allows them to be identified in good time and early action taken to prevent risks from materializing.
Program for PMO - Project Management Office
If I were to propose any shortlist of systems that fully or partially meet the requirements described above, it would be as follows:
- FlexiProject,
- Planview,
- BlueAnt,
- MS Project,
- Workfront,
Before making a decision, your organization must identify the most significant challenges you may face in digitizing your PMO operation. This proactive approach will ensure you are well-prepared for any hurdles.
AUTHOR
Włodzimierz Makowski
CEO FlexiProject
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