LIOF 2017 Максим Бардега "If you don't have PMO - create, if you have - disband"

1. If you don't have PMO -
create, if you have - disband
KIOF2017. Maksym Bardega

2. Agenda
• About me
• What we define as PMO today
• Some boring statistics
• What are advantages of PMO and why company should create it
• Transformation of PMO
• What are disadvantages of PMO and when company should
disband it
• Are there other options?
• Happy end

3. About me
• 8 years in IT
• Both product and outsourcing
companies
• Small, medium and big companies
• Companies with and without
formal PMO
• No silver bullets or ultimate truth -
only my own experience
• All ongoing information is IMHO
(may differ from company attitude)

4. What we define as PMO today
• PMO is a group or department
within a business, agency or
enterprise that defines and
maintains standards for project
management within the
organization. The PMO strives
to standardize and introduce
economies of repetition in the
execution of projects. The PMO
is the source of
documentation, guidance and
metrics on the practice of
project management and
execution.

5. Some boring statistics
• The percentage of organizations that report having a PMO remains flat at
69 percent (PMI, 2014)
• Success is not about having PMO but about maturity of PMO (Accenture,
PMI)
• Only 33% of organizations reports that their PMO has fully realized their
potential to bring business value (PMI)
• Only 58% of high-performing PMOs have the right skill base (PMI)
• Only 42% of high-performing PMOs have adequate number of people (PMI)
• Only 27% of high-performing PMOs report directly to top management
(there is strong correlation between success and reporting to top
management)
• 50% of all PMOs close within just three years

6. What are advantages of PMO and why should
company create it
• Developing PM processes within company
• Developing unified PM processes within company
• Single source of truth for PM
• Competence development
• Controlling project execution
• Wide knowledge base
• Benchmarking PM
• Replication of PM success
• Building company culture

7. Transformation of PMO and it’s consequences
• More mature people within PMO
• Higher distance from the ‘battlefield’
• Artificial separation from delivery organization
• Obtaining non PMO-specific functions
• Processes over result
• Box thinking
• Great thinkers, not so great doers
• More and more bureaucracy
• Lack of real help for projects

8. Are there other options?
• Involve into PMO life to understand it’s current methods and goals
• Rotate people from PMO to Delivery and vice versa
• Create separate departments for non PMO-specific responsibilities
• Define PMO strategic goals for mid-term period (12-18 months)
• Substitute PMO with different communities
• Don’t treat PMO as single source of truth
• Transfer responsibility about project results on PMO
• Give PMO really narrow functions and power
• Give PMO widest functions possible
• Constantly redefine PMO functions

9. Happy End
• High-performing PMOs are perceived as an integral part of strategy
implementation
• Effective organizations are often those with confident PMOs and that
are keen to act on advice to continually improve the processes that
underpin success in PM and drive business results
• PMO is still evolving (and I hope this evolution won’t stop)
• Chance of companies with high-performing PMO to gain success is at
least twice higher comparing to companies without PMO (Gartner)
• This presentation was reviewed by PMO Director and I’m still alive 

10. Thanks!
Maksym Bardega
Skype: m.bardega
E-mail: maxbardega@gmail.com
LinkedIn: Maksym Bardega