In this presentation Jo guided delegates along the evolutionary journey of the PMO at the FT, spawning from an admin to a data-driven function. Establishing new technologies and automation at its core, the PMO has filled a void between Finance and IT, with its intelligent use of data. Jo demonstrated how enhancing the communication and collaboration amongst business stakeholders, through the PMO, led to a more balanced and integrated approach in reaching business objectives and achieving greater financial transparency and performance. Jo Dourou presented at FuturePMO 2019 which is a 1 day PMO conference hosted by Wellingtone. www.FuturePMO.com

1. #FuturePMO
AN FT STORY:
THE PMO EVOLUTION
Jo Dourou
www.ft.com

2. #FuturePMO
DID YOU KNOW THAT...
“65% of the PMOs are considered ‘bureaucratic’ by stakeholders”?
(2013 Gartner PPM Summit)

3. #FuturePMO
YOUR PMO
“NICE TO HAVE?”
“MUST HAVE?”
OR

4. #FuturePMO
WHAT OTHERS THINK
“PMO.. WHAT?”
“One has not only an ability to perceive the world but an ability to alter
one's perception of it; more simply, one can change things by the manner
in which one looks at them.”
Tom Robbins

5. #FuturePMO
STEP 1
BE BOLD.
DREAM BIG.
“Never give up on your beliefs, your dreams or
your aspirations for you and your team.”
Don’t be afraid to take risks!

6. #FuturePMO
STEP 2
EVALUATE YOUR
CURRENT SITUATION
Maximise the profit of what is already in place.
Then enhance or change.

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STEP 3
IDENTIFY YOUR
CORE VALUE
“Accuracy” is our core value.
What you present is not going to be of any use unless
it’s accurate.

8. #FuturePMO
STEP 4
CREATE A VISION
“Improving the financial and benefits reporting to enable
the successful delivery of future projects through a solid
governance model and powerful data analysis.”

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STEP 5
IDENTIFY
STAKEHOLDERS &
BUILD RELATIONSHIPS
“33% of IT projects fail because senior management
doesn’t get involved and requirements/scope change
mid-way through the project.”
Source: A Replicated Survey of IT Software Project Failures by Khaled El
Emam and A. Güneş Koru, 2008.

10. #FuturePMO
STAKEHOLDERS
PMOFinance Internal
Audit
Procurement
Data
Analytics
You can’t evolve
alone
Bring stakeholders in.
Work with other departments, learn and
expand your knowledge.
To do something valuable for your
organisation you need to bring a well rounded
view of it in the discussion.

11. #FuturePMO
STEP 6
CREATE A DETAILED
PLAN
Think of the “Benefits Dependency Network”.
Pick challenging objectives.
Aim for the impossible, aim for the top.

12. #FuturePMO
BENEFITS DEPENDENCY
NETWORK
Benefits Dependency Network
QA template
improvement
Risks/Issues
going digital
Question,
challenge, action
More accurate
info Programme + Project
Managed and
Tracked correctly
More quality assurance
focused PMO
Enabling changes Business Changes Outcomes Benefits Objectives
Benefits
Framework
Targets clearly
defined
Scrutiny of KPIs:
Well defined
Relevant all year
Welcoming change
Understanding &
communicating
change in priorities
Less forecast
focused, more
outcome driven
Cost
savings/Avoidance
Improve Business
Culture of measuring
& recognising both
success & failure
Focus on measuring
progress, value and
success
PLs/POs accountable
Clearly defined
KPIs for regular &
easy reporting
Documentation
(Guides,
Policies)
Pair working
Self-development,
train ourselves
Educate Business
More professional
team
More productive and
consistent
More bonded team:
better
communication,
increased knowledge
sharing
Make PMO more agile
(internal processes)
Raise of health
score
Raise of PMO
and profile
Changing
stand-up format
System to control
and manage
changes to
KPIs/Targets
4
5
6
Highlight issue
early & escalate
12
Enablers Projects Outcomes Benefits Objectives
WHYHOW

13. #FuturePMO
STEP 7
GIVE YOURSELF TIME
Change doesn’t happen overnight;
especially good change.
Don’t stop doing, unless you stop
to think how you are doing.

14. #FuturePMO
OUR JOURNEY
PURE ADMIN FOCUSED
PMO
PPM TOOL
IMPLEMENTATION
COMPLETE
2016
2017
EVOLUTION PLANNED &
KICKED OFF/
BENEFITS REVIEW & KPIS
2018

15. #FuturePMO
OUR JOURNEY
DATA ANALYSIS,
REPORTING,
AUTOMATION OF
PROCESSES
2018
2019
RETURN ON INVESTMENT,
PROVIDING BUSINESS
EXCELLENCE

16. #FuturePMO
WE ASKED OURSELVES
What if we analysed our data in a
way that shows us which projects
have the highest ROI and the lowest
cost?
What if we analysed our data in a way
that shows where our money is spent,
why?
THE ‘WHY’ BEHIND THE SPEND
What if we could prevent unnecessary
spend by determining the “why” before
the “what”?
THE PROACTIVE INSIGHT
ROI CALCULATIONS
● Retention?
● Acquisition?
● New Revenue?
● Cost avoidance?
● Cost?
● Revenue?
● Reactive?
● Proactive?

17. #FuturePMO
HOW DID WE EVOLVE?
1
2
3
New PPM
Centralised Data
Categorisation of All Data
This was our key enabler and it allowed
us to incorporate visuals and graphics
and make the most of our data. It also
allowed us to use data from business.
We added all data in the system and
tagged projects and programmes with
every piece of information we needed for
analysis.
Analyse again and again, go back to
correct your data and increase your
knowledge every single time.
Expansion of Remit
Repeated Analysis
Our Tech & Product Admin PMO turned
into an Enterprise PMO and under our
remit of responsibility now fall Print Sites,
Facilities, HR & Finance projects.
We categorised and grouped our data, in
order to be able to compare them
properly and gain valuable insight from it.
4
5
6
Nice-to-have functionalities
Small little touches go a long way and
they make such a big difference to
stakeholders and their perception of you.

18. #FuturePMO
BENEFITS
DATA ANALYSIS ACCURACY ROI SCRUTINY
Use your data Make it accurate Focus on ROI Pay attention
172 hours/mth
of support
redirected to
analytical work
<5% discrepancy
between
forecast and
YTD spend
>80% of projects
tracked
achieved
expected ROI
PROFIT
It’s all about £
100% more
scrutiny on
projects’ KPIs
and expected
benefits
>£2m Capex
costs avoided
early and £110k
Opex saved year
on year

19. #FuturePMO
STEP 8
OFFICIALLY REBRAND
YOUR PMO
No change happens if you don’t make it official and
repeat it.
“Repetition is the mother of learning, the father of action, which
makes it the architect of accomplishment.”
Zig Ziglar

20. #FuturePMO
SYNOPSIS
“Influence is our inner ability to lift people up to our perspective.”
Joseph Wong
Be bold, find your core value, create your vision, create a plan and see it through, rebrand
yourselves and repeat what you know of you, until everyone else does too.