This document provides guidance for project management offices (PMOs) to be successful in large projects. It discusses that a PMO's responsibilities can range from providing project support to direct management. Key skills for a PMO include understanding projects at a high level, identifying issues and risks, and mapping stakeholders. The document also outlines the components of a PMO's toolkit such as templates, a risk register, and status reports. It emphasizes the importance of removing ambiguity by not accepting "to be determined" tasks and by clearly communicating the true status of projects and issues. Finally, it presents secrets to PMO success including focusing on scope, time, costs, risks, and communication while prioritizing, supporting the project manager, and interpreting

1. A guide to
be
successful
in large
projects

2. Topics
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
What is PMO?
Pushing and controlling skills
PMO´s Kit
“TBD” dilemma suffered by PMO
Removing rugs
The PMO Fighter secrets
The successful formula

3. What is PMO ?

4. Definition
Objective: support and administrate Project Management efforts in
organizations.
A Project Management Office (PMO) is a management structure that standardizes
the Project-related governance processes and facilitates the sharing of resources,
methodologies, tools and techniques. The responsabilities of a PMO can range from
providing project management support functions to actually being responsible for the
direct management of one or more projects.(PMBOK, 2013)
PMO is an organizational entity responsible for integrate projects and
provide products/services in the Supportive, Controlling and Directive
levels.
References:
Project Management Office
Program Management Office, Project Support Office
Excelence Center in Project Management
Project Control Office

5. Pushing and
controlling skills

6. Becoming familiar with the project
"If you are not crazy pushing and controlling, you can be anything but
a PMO“
understand
the project
at the
highest level
learn how to
manage
through an
unfamiliar
project
identify action
items,
conflict of interest,
main delays
PMO´s
Duty
find out how to
ask information
and advice
identify
milestones, top
issues and risks
map
stakeholders

7. PMO´s Kit

8. Kit
1 Templates
have meeting minutes, status
report, organizational structure,
action items control
2 Contacts List
from main managers and directors
3 WBS
understand fastly the work to be
done in the project
4 Risk Management
create a probability and impact
matrix of project´s risks
5 Roles and responsibilities matrix
avoid problems between PMOs
and PMs
6 Action Items Control
have only 1 owner with due date
7 Follow-up process
make sure that checking out the
pending activities is part of your
routine, whether daily or weekly
8 Critical Path
keep close tabs to make sure the
activities will be done by the
deadline
"The PMO´s biggest mission is to keep an eye on the upcoming
“tsunamis” that might ruin the project"

9. Kit
9 Status Report
report achievements, top issues &
risks, action plan
10 Meeting Minutes
register decisions, risks and action
items
11 Schedule
have a real vision of the project´s
progress
12 S Curve
helping to predict/foresee a
direction change
13 Macro planning
create “project stages vs. working
fronts” through a timeline
14 Dashboard
easily shows the team
project/working fronts status
15 Visible Management
making visible and easily
understood the working
front/project status
16 Working Tools
automate content and project
management

10. “TBD” dilemma
suffered by PMO

11. Leading with famous “TBD”
"Accepting and reporting TBDs might be a PMO’s risky behavior, because it
might become a “lifestyle”. Suddenly all deadlines are missed …”
Do not accept TBD
Remove
…
“TBD”
Request TBD date
Establish the date

12. Removing rugs

13. Removing rugs
"Try helping removing the “rugs” to show the truth and help the
manager with the critical points and delays"
• Making complex
charts simple,
consolidating them
with number charts
• Showing pending
matters
Simple
Critical
High
level
True
• Complex schedules
into a few lines and
some important
milestones
• To be impartial
and
communicate
the true

14. The PMO Fighter
secrets

15. The secrets
Scope
Time
Costs
Risks
Communication
Procurement
Stakeholders
Integration
Quality
PMO´s
Focus

16. The secrets
Scope
Time
• know the scope of the project
PMO is in charge of
• define reach and deph (macro
planning)
• control CRs
• detail work fronts
• consider assumptions and
restrictions to define project´s
scope
Risks
• map risks
• create probability and impact
matrix
Costs
• have budget skills
• separate technical approvals
from commercial approvals
• avoid commercial and technical
solutions cost discussions
Communication
• listen more and talk less
• confirm understanding
Procurement
• know about negotiation
process
• define what and how to
communicate
• plan the steps
Stakeholders
• map stakeholders
Integration
• Identify the integrator
• Identify level of influence
• push hard about positioning
and sidelines control
Quality
• ensure best practices,
standards and procedures
• Define mitigation actions with
PM
• manage conflicts

17. The successful
formula

18. Results
"They know that the best PMO is not the one that hit stronger, but
the one who receives the strongest hit and keep motivate to work"
Push and Control
Remove rugs
Remove “TBD”
Prioritize
Support to the PM
Status interpretation
Success
Time to market
Escalation

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