Implementing an effective Project Intake Process is a key success factor for expanding the value of your Project Management Office. Your Intake Processes function as the Gate Keeper for your PMO and are the foundation for effectively managing your PMO Project Portfolio. Facilitating the process that allows your organization to define, approve, and implement within the limited resources available is a big step toward expanding the value of your PMO beyond just successful project delivery. This session will provide real life examples of a functioning Intake Process in today’s rapidly changing business environment, as well as provide high-level take-aways that you can use to improve your organizations Project Intake Process
How To Use PMO Intake Processes To Manage Your Project Portfolio
1. HOUSTON, TX, USA | 5 – 8 NOVEMBER 2017
#PMOSym
How to use PMO Intake Processes to Manage Your Project Portfolio
Don Clarke, PMP
2. Today’s Presenter: Don Clarke, PMP
• Don Clarke is a Project / Program Manager and
PMO Leader by passion. He is the the Co-
Founder of the Online PM Community - Project
Management for Today. Don brings over 20
years of Project / Program Management, and
PMO experience in a large variety of global IT
services in a broad spectrum of industries. He is
a Project Management Professional (PMP)® and
enjoys discussions on all topics regarding Project
Management and PMO Development.
2
3. Session Overview
• Purpose of PMO Governance Committee
• Value of a Structured Project Intake Process
• Detailed Overview of a Project Intake Process
• Q&A Session
• Outcome = Foundation for Effective Portfolio Management!
3
4. Purpose of a PMO Governance Committee
• Simple Relationship Definition
– The PMO is the functional and operational arm of the
Governance Committee
– Data Driven Decisions
• We provide them the information in support of data driven
decision making, and then we provide the operational
execution of their decisions
4
5. Purpose of a PMO Governance Committee
• Decision Making Authority
– Accept / Reject / Defer Project Intake Requests
– Prioritize PMO Managed Portfolio
– Escalation Path for Portfolio Clashes
5
6. Value of a Structured Project Intake Process
• Begin with the End in Mind – Stephen Covey (Habit 2)
– Begin with the End in Mind means to begin each day, task, or
PROJECT with a clear vision of your desired direction and
destination
6
Active
Backlog
GovernanceIdea
Intake Pipeline
7. Value of a Structured Project Intake Process
• Intake Process is driven by SLA for all process steps
– This establishes clear expectation management for all
process steps
– Provides clear metrics / reporting of success or failure points
in the process
7
Active
Backlog
GovernanceIdea
Intake Pipeline
8. Value of a Structured Project Intake Process
• Business Sponsor Relationship
– The ability to provide and train your Business Sponsor(s) on
their role within a structured Intake Process
– Structured Process will reduce Business Sponsor(s) stress
over the process and helps build a stronger relationship
8
Active
Backlog
GovernanceIdea
Intake Pipeline
9. Value of a Structured Project Intake Process
• Metrics Driven Reporting
– Share SLA Based Metrics on each step of your process
– Improves your PMO Transparency
9
Active
Backlog
GovernanceIdea
Intake Pipeline
10. Value of a Structured Project Intake Process
• Cost savings generated through a structured Intake Process
– The earlier a decision is made to Decline or Defer a Project
Intake Request, the lower the cost associated with early
project investment
10
Active
Backlog
GovernanceIdea
Intake Pipeline
11. Detailed Overview of a Project Intake Process
• Ideation Phase
– “the formation of ideas or concepts”
– The creative process of generating, developing, and
communicating new ideas
11
Ideation
Request
Submission
Solution
Assessment
Security
Assessment
Approval
Decision
Portfolio
Management
Active
Backlog
GovernanceIdea
Intake Pipeline
12. Detailed Overview of a Project Intake Process
• Ideation Phase
– The Process of translating “Ideas” into formal “Requests”
– Partnership between Requestor and Intake Manager
12
RequestsIdeaIdeaIdea Request
Submission
13. Detailed Overview of a Project Intake Process
• Request Submission Phase
– Formal Project Request
– Submitted by Business Sponsor or Delegate
– Starts the Intake Process SLA
13
Ideation
Request
Submission
Solution
Assessment
Security
Assessment
Approval
Decision
Portfolio
Management
Active
Backlog
GovernanceIdea
Intake Pipeline
14. Detailed Overview of a Project Intake Process
• Request Submission Phase
– Focuses on three key areas of information
• Problem Statement
• Business Need
• Business Value
14
Ideation
Request
Submission
Solution
Assessment
Security
Assessment
Approval
Decision
Portfolio
Management
Active
Backlog
GovernanceIdea
Intake Pipeline
15. Detailed Overview of a Project Intake Process
• First Opportunity for Governance Engagement and Review
– Early review of the Intake Request to determine
• Is this effort part of the larger Organizational Roadmap
• Is this effort budgeted for in the Current Budget
• Does this effort deliver substantive value
15
Ideation
Request
Submission
Solution
Assessment
Security
Assessment
Approval
Decision
Portfolio
Management
Active
Backlog
GovernanceIdea
Intake Pipeline
16. Detailed Overview of a Project Intake Process
• Solution Assessment Phase
– Primary Objective is to determine the appropriate proposed
solution (technical and non-technical)
– Determine an “Initial Estimate” of effort
• Recommendation of +/-50% Contingency
16
Ideation
Request
Submission
Solution
Assessment
Security
Assessment
Approval
Decision
Portfolio
Management
Active
Backlog
GovernanceIdea
Intake Pipeline
17. Detailed Overview of a Project Intake Process
• Solution Assessment Phase
– Response should meet specific criteria
• New or current technology / solution
• CapEx / OpEx Budget Estimates
• Man Hour Estimates – Role Based if Possible
17
Ideation
Request
Submission
Solution
Assessment
Security
Assessment
Approval
Decision
Portfolio
Management
Active
Backlog
GovernanceIdea
Intake Pipeline
18. Detailed Overview of a Project Intake Process
• Security Assessment Phase
– In today’s data sensitive environments, the performance of a
formal Security Review and Assessment of the proposed
solution should be a required step in every project
18
Ideation
Request
Submission
Solution
Assessment
Security
Assessment
Approval
Decision
Portfolio
Management
Active
Backlog
GovernanceIdea
Intake Pipeline
19. Detailed Overview of a Project Intake Process
• Security Assessment Phase
– Standard Security Review Process
– Formalized Standard Response
• Even if response is as simple as “no security impact”
19
Ideation
Request
Submission
Solution
Assessment
Security
Assessment
Approval
Decision
Portfolio
Management
Active
Backlog
GovernanceIdea
Intake Pipeline
20. Detailed Overview of a Project Intake Process
• Approval Decision Phase
– Presentation to Governance Body
– Business Sponsor Presentation of Request / Solution
– Approve / Decline / Defer
– Prioritization
20
Ideation
Request
Submission
Solution
Assessment
Security
Assessment
Approval
Decision
Portfolio
Management
Active
Backlog
GovernanceIdea
Intake Pipeline
21. Handoff to Portfolio Management Process
• Portfolio Management Phase
– Active / Backlog
– Resource Capacity Planning
– Active PM Assignment
– PDLC Engagement / Requirements Definition
21
Ideation
Request
Submission
Solution
Assessment
Security
Assessment
Approval
Decision
Portfolio
Management
Active
Backlog
GovernanceIdea
Intake Pipeline
22. Action Plan for Leaders
• You’re Going Home – What Do You Do Now??
– Next Week
• Make sure you download the presentation and review
• The Presentation contains detailed speaker’s notes
– Next 90 Days
• Gain Executive Support / Sponsorship to formalize your Project Intake Process
• Evaluate your current Project Intake Process against your Goals and Objectives
• Perform a Gap Analysis (Current State / Future State)
• Evaluate your Project Portfolio and determine your specific needs regarding your Intake
Process
– Next 12 Months
• Deliver on your plan to improve / build a Project Intake Process based on the Gap
Analysis you performed
22
24. Thank You for Attending My Session
• Its been my honor to present to you today!
24
• I can be reached at
– Email
• don@pmfortoday.com
– LinkedIn
• https://www.linkedin.com/
in/dsclarke/
• https://www.linkedin.com/
groups/12045579
Editor's Notes
Speaker Notes:
Personal Bio of Presenter – Don Clarke
Chose Project / Program Management as a formal career path, and has made continuous improvement in his knowledge and skills in this file a serious effort during his career.
He can be reached at:
Email
don@pmfortoday.com
LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dsclarke/
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12045579
Website:
www.pmfortoday.com
Speaker Notes:
Purpose of a PMO Governance Committee
Structured Project Intake Processes begin with the establishment of a PMO Governance Committee
Value of a Structured Project Intake Process
There a multiple ways to measure the value of your Structured Project Intake Process – In this section we will review some of those ways
Detailed Overview of a Project Intake Process
In this section we will discuss at a detailed level the steps involved in the Project Intake process
Q&A Session
Open session for Questions from the audience
Outcome = Foundation for Effective Portfolio Management
SUCCESS!! I hope we all learned something! :D – I can start breathing normally again
Speaker Notes:
Purpose of a PMO Governance Committee
My personal position of the relationship between the PMO and the PMO Governance Committee is very simple. We provide them the information in support of data driven decision, and then we provide the operational execution of their decisions
It is a symbiotic relationship that requires both partners to achieve the highest levels of success for the PMO
This provides the necessary information to support the leadership team in “Data Driven Decision Making
Speaker Notes:
Purpose of a PMO Governance Committee
The intent of this session is not to go in-depth into the role or function of a PMO Governance Committee – That can be a session all on its own.
I am starting my session with the acknowledgement that a PMO Governance Committee is a key success factor in the establishment and function of a structured Project Intake Process
The primary purpose of a PMO Governance Committee within the context of the Project Intake Process, is to function in the role of the decision making authority. Upon presentation of completed intake request to the PMO Governance Committee, it is their responsibility to discuss / debate / decide on the alignment to the strategic roadmap, the organizational budget, and resource capacity of the teams, to make the fundamental decisions on the next steps for the request
Accept / Reject / Defer – these are the normal outcomes of a decision within the committee.
Prioritize PMO Managed Portfolio – This is not just the definition of the “High / Medium / Low” priority classification of each individual project, but also the classification of the top 5 or 10 projects within the total portfolio, which becomes your first level of classification within your portfolio.
Escalation Path for Portfolio Clashes. - When multiple projects need access to the same resources, and decisions can’t be made based on other criteria, the first level of escalation for the decision making process would be to present back to your PMO Governance Committee
What is the value of having a structured and defined Project Intake Process.
Your Project Intake Process is the foundational step in effectively managing multiple areas within your PMO. From Project Portfolio Management to Resource Capacity Planning. If you don’t know what your working on, what’s coming in the future, and what the priority of all the projects are, how will you be effective as a PMO? How will you provide support and data to your Leadership Team?
IF the end game is success as a Project Management Office, then Project Intake is a beginning of that success.
Your Intake Manager / Leadership Team needs to take special care to study the organizational strategy and ensure that the governance process is facilitated with an eye on the overall organizational strategy.
Structuring your Project Intake Process with defined Service Level Agreements (SLA’s) / Operating Level Agreements (OLA’s) is a key success factor in the establishment of your process.
Defining your service agreement provides you with a variety of opportunities to show your success within this process
It helps educate your user base and set basic expectations for how long a request should take from submission to decision.
If you don’t have the ability to measure it, you can’t report on it, and you can’t show improvements over time
It will show the areas within the process that need improvement / assistance to make the full process successful
Development of a strong relationship with your project’s Business Sponsors is a key success factor in the development of a solid Project Intake Process.
Having a structured process that is clearly documented is important to development of your relationship with your Business Sponsors. Many time, your intake process will be the first point of engagement between the PMO and the Business Sponsor.
You should have a process goal that provides for the business sponsor to be the formal intake request presenter at your Governance Meetings.
Metrics are a key deliverable of your Intake Process. Knowing how long each step is planned to take, and how long each step actually takes allows you to understand the areas of delay in your process
Each step should provide metrics on:
How many intake requests are in this step
How long have they been in this step
Average time for all requests to complete this step
If you know the metrics for each step, you can then provide trends for each step an the overall process
The quicker the turn around time the higher the overall business satisfaction will be with the intake process.
Throw the decision making process of a structured Intake Process. You can generate cost savings for your organization.
Cost Savings Opportunities:
The earlier a project is declined or deferred is a proven cost savings opportunity
Preventing duplication of efforts is a proven cost savings opportunity
Ideation Phase is the initial engagement of a project sponsor with the structured intake process. This is where they enter the process and begin the discussion and formulation of their idea. This is where your intake team engages with the business and while maintaining a “high-touch” relationship with the business, helps develop the early stages of the business case, and Intake Request Submission
Through the partnership of the business and the Intake Team members, you manage the process to translate the business “Ideas” into formal Intake Requests.
By partnering with the business, the Intake Team can make recommendations on projects being combined into larger projects or programs to save duplication of effort
The intake Request Submission should follow a standardized process. Every submission should contain a minimum amount of information.
Submission of the completed Intake Request Form – starts the formal SLA for this process step
There are multiple ways to structure an Intake Process. I am a believer in keeping the intake process focused on three key areas.
Problem Statement
What is the problem being solved by this request? What process is in need of change or improvement?
Business Need
Why does the business need this specific request? New Software? Product Upgrade?
Business Value
What value is being delivered by the successful completion of this request? What is the success criteria for completion? What does success look like?
There are multiple ways to structure an Intake Process. I am a believer in keeping the intake process focused on three key areas.
This is part of the value of the structured process. By having governance review of the initial submission. Governance can make an intentional decision as to the value of the effort. This approval initiates the next step in the process, which is the solution assessment phase.
By allowing the Governance Committee to review early in the process, you can save considerable effort and costs by not moving the request into more labor intensive steps. This cost savings brings value in both dollars and resource capacity
The purpose of the Solutions Assessment phase, is to develop a propose solution that meets the business needs and business value, as well as determining the best solution within the boundaries of existing or new technology, that meets the needs of the business.
Recommendations:
Standardized Solutions Assessment team – the same team should develop the proposed solution for all requests
Every solution should be presented with an Initial Estimate of effort and cost
The Effort should include a high contingency – consider +/- 50% contingency
WHY?
The solution is done at a very high level. You have not invested time and effort into full requirements definition. As a result, any attempt an accurate estimate would be difficult, without the full knowledge of detailed requirements.
Creation of a standard solutions assessment response template is suggested. It should include a variety of information
Formal security reviews are of every project effort are becoming more common.
Does the project touch any sensitive data?
Does the project store data off site
This Intake Request should now be reviewed with the original Project Sponsor, prior to review and decision making actions by the governance committee
Presentation of the Intake Requests should be done in a structured and formalized meeting.
Expectations of this meeting should include:
Project Requestor / Sponsor presentation of the request
Review of the Proposed Solution / Budget
Question / Answer – open discussion of proposed solution
Decision on Request
Approved – Request moves forward
Decline – Request is declined and does not move forward – appeal process is available
Deferred – Project is deferred for a specific window of time and is represented to the governance committee to be reapproved.
Governance should also provide a “Priority” to the approved projects, in review of the current active portfolio
Approved projects would then move to your Portfolio Management Processes
One additional consideration is to have the project represented to governance for review after full requirements are defined, and your contingency can be reduced to +/- 10% - giving the governance committee one final opportunity to review the value and take an opportunity to change decisions.
Action Plan for Leaders
Learning new information / skills is great, but now its times to put them into practice.
Next Week
Download this presentation and review the content again. Different items will trigger your memory and help you with the next steps in this process
Next 90 Days
Gain Executive Support / Sponsorship for the new Project Intake Process
Evaluate your existing Project Intake Process and perform a Gap Analysis on the current state and future state
Develop a plan to move from Current State to Future State, based on the Gap Analysis
Run this effort like any other project
Education of the process is a KEY SUCCESS FACTOR
Next 12 Months
Deliver on your plan
Run prototype project intake efforts – single project efforts
Test your data collection process – insure you have the right information
Partner with your PMO Governance Body to imp