@PMOSIGUK

#PMOinPractice

Introduction

Stuart Dixon

APM PMO SIG Chair

A Word from our Sponsors

Practical PMO

Recognising and Demonstrating

Value

Gary Mitchell

INTRODUCTION

A bit about me and where my practical experience has been

drawn from

Structure of this presentation around key themes:

Maturity of environment

P3O Focus

Segmentation of stakeholders

A BIT ABOUT ME

My practical experience is drawn from a number of PMO

implementations – mainly in the public sector - over 17 years

BAA

Government Agencies

Canon

Office of National Statistics

Cabinet Office

I will be focusing on the first two for this presentation

PMO CONTEXT

Govt Agency PMO covers portfolio, programme and project and

more!

Mixture of centralised Management Information/Standards team

and localised hand on support

Policy, Processes, Tools, Templates, and Capability all established

PM resource and PMO (outsourced) part of same business unit but

separate

PMO supports does not manage

PMO CONTEXT

BAA PMO smaller – 3 PMO teams into one (infrastructure,

software, and networks) - Focused on IT Project level controls

Mixture of centralised Management Information/Standards team

and localised hand on support

Policy, Processes, Tools, Templates, not established

PMs separate (staff, key supplier and contractors)

PMO supports does not manage

PMO OFTEN HEARD VALUE STATEMENTS

PMOs do not add value until after a year or so

But we are more than often pressured to provide value from the

outset

Return on Investment is a key value measurement

But what do we class as returns, how should we calculate

investment?

PMO MATURITY FOCUS

PMO VALUE AND BAA

IT project focus

PMO VALUE AND BAA - IT project focus

Segmented Stakeholders values

maturity

Consistency – More of a PMO

value

Efficiency/Effectiveness (i.e.

ROI)? Not yet!

BAA Seniors value requirement Basic milestone performance – linked to bonus!

Visibility across projects – resource

management

PMs value requirement Reduce paperwork – too many reports

SUPPORT

Central/Business value requirement Reduce paperwork – IT jargon

Financials

PMO VALUE AND BAA - Keep it Simple

BAA Seniors value requirement Basic milestone performance - introduced milestone levels to identify key milestones

worth measuring, tolerance levels to reflect confidence and specific planning mentoring

Visibility across projects - developed basic project portfolio map showing projects, their

lifecycle status, budget and spend

PMs value requirement Reduce paperwork - conduct business analysis on information flows, rationalise reporting,

standardise controls

SUPPORT - provide process for PMO support resource requests and train up resources to

standard

Central/Business value requirement Reduce paperwork - as above

Financials - follow the money through dedicated resource and controls and challenge

PMO VALUE AND BAA - Project Portfolio view

PMO VALUE AND BAA - Costs and Reputation

Cost as a ‘hard’ value indicator Combining three PMOs reduced headcount and resource cost of PMO

However, more PSOs requested as reputation grew – increased resource cost of

PMO – Look at different funding models – funding responsibility moved to projects for

specific PSO

Driving consistency and promoting role developed clear identity – efficiency savings

apparent in reduced duplication, but difficult to quantify

Building positive reputation and clear identity as a ‘soft’ value indicator Co create standards (processes, templates ...) with PM community – by engaging and

involving PMs in governance development helped position PMO as active and close to

delivery rather than remote

Promoting PMO Terms of Reference – Stakeholders have a clear understanding of the

role of the PMO, helps reduce misunderstanding of value!

PMO VALUE AND GOVT AGENCY

BUSINESS FOCUS

PMO VALUE AND GOVT AGENCY - Business focus

Segmented Stakeholders values

maturity

Consistency – relaxed

through maturity – practical

value

Coherency – key value

alignment with strategy

Efficiency/Effectiveness (i.e.

ROI)? Rigorous! – Evidence

continually required

Govt Seniors value requirement Management Information

More for less

External Reputation as best for delivery

Assurance

Economies of scale and one size fits all

Annual reduction in PMO costs

PMs value requirement Reduce bureaucracy

Practical application of standards

More SUPPORT

PMO VALUE AND GOVT AGENCY - what do we do?

Service Catalogue and Timesheets – effectiveness agenda Clarity on what we do – in order to be able to demonstrate value we had to be clear on

what we did – our services and their KPIs

Clarity on effort to do it – in order to understand how much investment was being put into

these services we introduced timesheets

Clarity on its value - and then canvas which of the services were valued the most, this

enabled us to match return on investment and adjust, add, and delete. This was critical for

us to be able to offer a degree of more for less

Tools and workflow – efficiency agenda Document review cycle – assess areas where time and effort can be measured against a

process and outputs and look to business analysis to find efficiencies. A workflow tool was

used to radically reduce the time for document reviews and the tool provided the stats

evidence to back up the efficiency claim and help reduce the annual cost of the PMO

PMO VALUE AND GOVT AGENCY - efficiencies

Business Process Automation Business Case

Headcount - Reduce R&A FTE effort by 40% (9 FTE’s down to 5.4 FTEs)

Cash back - Client investment of £309K to be paid back in 18 months – by November 2010

PMO VALUE AND GOVT AGENCY - effectiveness

Keeping close to our consumers and customers Service Delivery Certificates (SDC) – monthly reviews with Programme staff against an

agreed number of effectiveness criteria – threshold set where management action required

Satisfaction Surveys – wider review to assess the totality of service and view of

satisfaction trend

Timesheet data – records of effort to correlate with scores from SDCs. In this way we

have been able to assign resources and effort where it matters the most in order to do

more with less.

e.g. the portfolio of projects requiring support has grown but the number of PMO staff to

support them has reduced. So instead of providing all of our catalogue services per

resource, we only provide what is of most value – typically finance, planning, and risk are

most valued.

PMO VALUE AND GOVT AGENCY - insights

Operating Costs PMO - Price per report – track decreasing costs as tools and process become leaner!

Scale – costs/headcount/output over time – record the number of PMO staff and their

cost against outputs such as number of base lined documents, risk registers, plans

(activities, milestones, dependencies etc)

PPM - Price per Business Case – comparison costs for value!

Business - Cost of a programme – insight into how much change can the business really

afford. Good example of PMO analytical insight and provided value in setting benchmark

Continual Improvement (CI) Build in CI cycle/plan/list – what is valued today may not be what is valued tomorrow –

three major redesigns of PMO to reflect changing maturity and business conditions

more stakeholders required redesigned MI dashboards

focus on portfolio management

more delivery areas requiring support

reduce bureaucracy

PMO VALUE AND GOVT AGENCY - insights

Initially team size

and quantity of

reporting grow

together, once

automation kicks in

productivity should

soar.

The volume of MI

being produced

should start to

decline as reports

come to the end of

their life (the

problem they were

designed to address

has been resolved),

also there should be

consolidation and

removal of (near)

duplication.

The volume of BI

will start to build

more slowly than the

MI as it requires

more sophisticated

data analysis and

better data quality.

The reporting team

should become

more focused on

keeping reports

relevant and

analysing the data

for it's message

rather than just

reflecting the data.

PMO VALUE TAKE AWAY Providing insights based on our

unique position placed a value on the

PMO

By being clear on what we offered

helps us to adjust to maintain

maximum value (timesheets)

Keeping close to our consumers

through feedback provides evidence

of value

Showing efficiencies using Business

Case style measurements helped

bring confidence in the PMO as a

business function

Keeping different stakeholder views of

value and the maturity of the PMO in

mind when tackling value

Balanced Portfolio view

Questions

The Journey (So Far!)

Huw James

Head of Programme Management

Network Rail

May 2014

Contents

1. Context - The UK Rail Sector

2. 2010 - At the beginning

3. Project automated Reporting

4. 2013 – the formation of a P3M strategy

5. Where next?

6. Questions

Context – Network Rail

UK Rail Infrastructure

– £6.4Bn per annum

– 34 000 People

– 22 000 Miles Track

– 40 000 Bridges

– 11 Managed Stations

24/7 Operations – 50% increase in

number of trains over last 10 years

The largest investment since the

Victorian Era

Context – Organisation

Infrastructure Projects

– Enhancements and Renewals

– £4Bn + per annum

– Approximately 4000 live projects

– Business Units - 4 Regions, 2 National

Programmes, Thameslink

– Role of Head of Programme

Management

– A community of 1800 PM’s and Planners

Context – Regulation

5 year Control Periods

Transparent open book access

ORR Introduce and maintain ‘the

challenge’

ORR and DfT manage the Passenger

and Freight operator franchise's

Reputation

2010 – At the beginning

There was no PMO strategy!

There was

– A clear desire for no surprizes

– A need to reduce costs

– A need to provide accurate information to

the business and our regulator

– A need for governance and an

independent view

Change Project based on cost and risk

reduction

2010 – At the beginning

Change Project (Project automated

Reporting) based on a number of

assumptions

– Common systems were in use (OP,

Primavera, ARM etc.)

– Systems contain single point of truth and

are fully updated

– Organisation used the coding standards

and mandated finances and milestones

etc.

Project Automated Reporting (PaR)

Consistent Reporting Packs (Project and

Portfolio)

Exception based

All data extracted from source systems

Set timeline

Open Access

Governance built in to RAG rating

Tiered structure

Team set up for Independent Review

Project Automated Reporting (PaR)

Overall Summary Page

Earned Value

Schedule

Financials

Risk and Opportunity

Commercial/Claims

Safety and Environmental

Project Automated Reporting (PaR)

Issues

– Original Assumptions!

– Sponsorship

– Acceptance of common format

– Training the Users

– Training the Reviewers

– Visibility

Project Automated Reporting (PaR)

Benefits

– Project, Portfolio and Organisational view

– Ability to interrogate and make timely

interventions

– Move from ‘Red’ to ‘Green’

– Robust forecasting

– Independent review and Governance

(project and organisational level)

– Accountability still with management teams

– Cost reduction

We had created a PMO without setting out

to do so:

Portfolio covers whole organisation (£9Bn

and 4700 projects)

Consistent approach and measures

Small team to administer and analyse

Provides insights directly to the Managing

Director

Project Automated Reporting (PaR)

The formation of a P3M Strategy

3+ years to embed Portfolio management (PaR)

into the business

Professional Development of our PM Community

APM Accreditation in 2013

Involvement of the Client and Sponsorship

community - P3M across Network Rail

Approval of the Business Case

A need for a common language and

understanding

The formation of a P3M Strategy

Investment Portfolio

Business Change Infrastructure & Operational

Change Portfolios Infrastructure &

Operational Portfolio

Change Programmes Infrastructure

Programmes

Change Projects Projects

Delivery Portfolio

The formation of a P3M Strategy

Investment Portfolio

The Investment Portfolio is the totality of an organisation’s investment required to achieve its strategic objectives.

Example: Strategic Business Plan

Infrastructure and Operational Portfolio

The Infrastructure and Operational Portfolio is a segment of the

organisation’s investment required to achieve its strategic commitments that includes Operations, Enhancements,

Renewals and Maintenance.

Examples are the 8 Routes, or Functions (e.g. GBS, Property, etc.)

The formation of a P3M Strategy

Delivery Portfolio

A Delivery Portfolio is defined as a grouping of an organisation’s activities, or projects, likely to be either geographically, and/or work

type, and/or synergistically linked

Examples: Sub-regions (bundles of small projects within the work-bank)

Infrastructure Programme

A programme is a temporary structure which has been created to coordinate, direct and oversee the implementation of a set of

interdependent projects and activities in order to enable outcomes and benefits related to the organisation’s commitments.

Examples are: Northern Hub, TLP, EGIP, Crossrail

The formation of a P3M Strategy

Project

A project is a unique set of coordinated activities with definite starting and finishing points, undertaken to meet specific objectives

within defined time, cost and performance parameters.

Projects range from “Simple” (e.g. Bridge Replacement) to “Complex” (e.g. Kings Cross)

Where next?

Establishing Portfolio Management

– NR Investment Portfolio

– NR Business Change Portfolio

– Route Portfolios

– Delivery Portfolio

– Business Portfolios (IM etc.)

Measurement of effectiveness

(P3M3)

Role of the Community of Practice

Questions

Lunch

UK Submarine Dismantling Programme:

The PMO’s role in Benefits Management

Chris Mills

Managing Consultant

BMT Hi-Q Sigma Ltd

18 submarines held in afloat storage – rising to 27 as current classes are decommissioned

A safe approach for

over 30 years.

UK policy is to

progress nuclear

decommissioning as

soon as is reasonably

practicable.

Costs are rising as

the submarines age

and increase in

number

Management of decommissioned nuclear

submarines in the UK

47

A nuclear waste management problem

48

Diagram courtesy of the MOD

External forces

Challenges to SDP arise from all dimensions:

Political

UK and Scottish political landscape

Economic

Affordable value for money in time of austerity

Sociological

Interactions with local communities

Technical

Meeting the regulatory requirements

Legal

Possible challenges to decisions

Environmental

Responsibility for managing waste liabilities

49

Solution is to move to a programme

management approach

Use of MSP framework to deal with

uncertainty in the change programme

Programme boundary to deal with

external environment, stakeholders &

comms

Projects to focus on output delivery

Interdependencies managed within

programme environment

Programme intermediate steps aligned

with MOD approval requirements

Can differentiate between ‘change’ and

‘steady-state business’

After a successful assessment phase

using a project approach, now have

an increased set of challenges:

Increased volume and complexity of

integration between workstreams

Multiple outputs across dispersed team

with increased supplier involvement

Greater exposure to complex, diverse

and influential stakeholders

Need for consistent and co-ordinated

communications with stakeholders

Uncertainty – need to maintain flexibility

and focus

Long timescales for disposing of all 27

submarines

Why a programme approach?

50

HINT #1

The PMO can help define a programme

approach with an integrated framework

for managing risks, issues, assumptions,

benefits and requirements.

A PMO-defined framework

52

Strategic

Programme boundaries and approvals

Influenced by/affect other PTs & key external stakeholders

L1

L0

L2

L3

Programme

Overall programme definition and inter-project boundary

management

Project

Focus on delivery of individual project outputs and

support to programme outcomes

Supplier

Specific project work packages

Supplier activities

Defining the change programme Focus on what is required – bound the change

– The entire scope of the SDP challenge consists of several key elements

– The change programme is the change of state – not the eventual submarine disposal

– Approach provides focus and clarity on the new state

53

Medium-Term

Change Programme

Short-term

intermediate

step-changes in

capability

CURRENT STATE

(afloat storage)

FUTURE STATE

(planned disposal)

Long-Term Submarine Disposal

Steady State Programme (27 submarines)

Facility

Decommissioning

(dismantling & storage)

ILW DISPOSAL

IN GDF

HINT #2:

Identify how the PMO will integrate

services with the programme and project

teams

An integrated offering

55

In Service Submarines Team

MOD SDP

Programme

Team

MOD SDP

Project

Teams

SDP PMO

Tech

Support

1 Finance

Cost

Suppliers

Tech

Support

2 PM Strategy,

Plans,

Controls,

Benefits,

Comms

Tech

Support 5 Technical

integration

&

Nuclear

Waste mgt

Tech

Support

4 Safety &

Regulatory

Strategies

and plans

Tech

Support

3 Benefits

Decision

analysis

MOD

Comms,

Finance,

Business,

Quality,

Environmnt

PMO services SDP - Programme and Projects

Programme Office

Project

1

Project

2

Project

3

Project

4

Project

5

Approvals

Governance, Strategy & Planning

Controls

Requirements

Integration Management

Stakeholder & Communications

Environmental Co-ordination

Benefits Management

Finance & Commercial

Options Analysis

Legal & Regulation

Quality Management

HINT #3:

The PMO needs a common purpose to

provide a focus for an integrated service.

57

The SDP PMO Mission statement

The SDP Programme Office is a central

resource that underpins both the

Programme and the constituent

Projects.

It supports the Programme Manager

through its work in Governance,

Integration, Controls and Assurance.

It provides a strategic overview as well

as support and advice to Projects,

health checks at Programme and

Project levels, sharing knowledge and

expertise throughout the team and

enabling the governance framework to

operate effectively with robust decision

making.

58

HINT #4:

An integrated PMO can champion a

benefits-led approach.

Benefits management

Benefits

Management

Strategy

Benefits

Report Benefits

Profiles Benefits

Realisation

Plan

Identification,

analysis &

Results

Detailed

definition of

individual

benefits

Tranches,

projects,

outcomes &

intended

transitions

Why we

need to do

BM & how

we set

about it

What we did to

identify the range of

benefits & underpin

the decision making

process and confirm

against the user

requirements

What the

benefits

are in

detail

PMO support

How and when we

intend to achieve the

Benefits. Includes the

Benefits map.

Benefits realisation

Project

execution

Project

outputs

New /modified

capabilities

Programme

outcomes

Benefits

realised

• Assurance that the

integrated system

meets its requirements

• Objective evidence that

the needs of the

stakeholders are met

Integrated verification and

validation:

Integrated Test,

Evaluation and

Acceptance Plan

Benefits

Realisation Plan

PMO-led benefits mapping

Outputs Outcomes High level

benefits

Key user

requirements

Corporate

Objectives

62

Expected accumulation of benefits

SDP-BEN-5

SDP-BEN-6

SDP-BEN-7

SDP-BEN-8

SDP-BEN-9

SDP-BEN-10

SDP-BEN-11

SDP-BEN-12

SDP-BEN-4

SDP-BEN-3

SDP-BEN-2

SDP-BEN-1

Sustainable, Safe Removal and Storage of ILW

Sustainable, Safe Removal and Disposal of LLW/VLLW

Sustainable, Safe Removal and Disposal of Hazardous Waste

Sustainable, Safe Removal and Disposal of Non-hazardous Waste

Optimise Direct Financial Impact

Optimise Indirect Financial Impact

Optimise Socio-Economic Impact

Improved Public & Stakeholder Confidence

Minimisation of Operational Impact

Maintenance of UK Industrial Capacity

Minimisation of Health and Safety Risk

Optimise Environmental Impact

Operational

Impact

Financial Impact

Deliverability

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

Tranche 1 Tranche 2 Tranche 3 Tranche 4

HINT #5:

The PMO can track and report benefits

delivery through programme schedule

integration

Key Milestones

Inputs

Outputs

Activities

Example Milestone

Example Input

Example Output

Example Activity 1

Example Milestone

Example Activity 2

Link to external

successor (other

EPM project)

Link to IMS

milestone

summary

Link from

external

predecessor

(other EPM

project) Project schedules are

set up to provide the

links and

interdependencies

necessary for

programme coherence

Outputs, outcomes and

benefits delivery are

shown in the integrated

master schedule (IMS).

Schedule Integration

65

Link from

other project

output

Link to IMS

milestone

Link to other

project

output

A Programme approach requires thought and

agreement about the vision, the future state and

benefits to be delivered;

PMO can play a pivotal role in benefits-led

programmes; – Provides the clarity needed to understand relationship between

strategic, programme and project management;

– Leads, identifies and tracks benefits as an integrated process;

– Benefits measurement can be difficult and stakeholders may

need to be convinced of its value;

– Defines and agrees the benefits baseline.

Summary

Questions

Project Definition

Emma Arnaz-Pemberton

European PMO Manager

Office Depot PMO: An Overview

Po

rtfo

lio F

un

ctio

n

• Portfolio Build

• Prioritisation

• Planning & Estimating

• Pg & Pj setup & closure

• Performance Monitoring

• Communications De

live

ry F

un

ctio

n

• Monitor, Review, Report

• Risk & Issue Management

• Finance Control

• Quality Assurance

• Information Management

• Transition Management C

en

ter

of E

xce

llen

ce

• Standards & Methods

• Internal Consultancy

• Organisational Learning

• Knowledge Management

• Training & Coaching

• Change Management

• Best Practice Sharing

Office Depot PMO: Real Results • Full visibility of portfolio

• Independent project spend analysis

• One version of the truth

“We don’t know what projects are going on”

• Globally subscribed Community of Practice (200+ members)

• SME’s for PMO developments

• Volunteer event facilitators (Champions)

“I don’t get Project Management or PMO”

• Fully integrated business partner

• Genuine and credible internal consultancy

• Supporting Project Managers to do better “PMO are the Police”

• Balanced Scorecard measuring circa 60 KPIs

• Development via dedicated career path

• Owners of the financial approval processes

“What’s the point of PMO?”

• Independent communications

• Launch and promotional events

• Regular touch points with Sr Leadership

“I don’t know what PMO do”

Project Definition: Most Frequently Asked…

When is a project a

project, and when

is a project a

project that needs

governance?

How is it possible

to have one

process to

categorise

projects?

Project Definition: What is it?

The process of defining workload for the

purposes of identifying the level of

governance, structure and expertise required

to successfully deliver the expected outputs Office Depot

Project Definition: Why Bother?

BaU pieces of work could be delayed by unnecessary process

Scope can become unmanageable

Unable to really prioritise if we don’t know how complex the work is

Incorrect expertise levels can be assigned to the work

Incorrect level of visibility – see too much or too little!

Pitfalls

Identify where structure is required for pieces of work

Support can be provided to Project Managers when the level of work is known

Supplies the business with clear visibility of its Initiatives

Can provide a direct link to budgeting processes

Appropriate Governance levels and expertise can be applied

Benefits

Project Definition: When is a Project a Project?

Differentiate

• Business as Usual (BaU) from project activity

• Unstructured and structured activity

• Simple from complex work

Governance

• When BaU needs to be structured

• When a project is a PRINCE2TM project

• Provide a choice of methods for management

Categorisation

• Based on size and complexity

• Align to current & proposed budget processes

• Define project characteristics in project type

Project Definition: OD Project Categories

Versatile - <6 months

- Financial approval

- Structured BaU

Quick & Small - < 1 month

- No additional money

- Business as Usual

Implausible - Estimation incomplete

- Blue Sky Thinking

- Feasibility Study

Fast & Reliable - < 1 year

- Financial Approval

- Standard Project

Big & Dependable - < 3 years

- Experienced Associates

- Complex Project

Heavy & Inflexible - >3 years

- Significant Investment

- Programme of Work

Project Definition: Tooling Stage 1: Identify non-project work

1 2 3

Will this piece of work

produce a specific

deliverable, by a set date

(or in a set timeframe)

Do you require capital

investment, outside of

your functional budget?

Will this activity bring

about a benefit or change

that can be measured?

Stage 2: Initiative Size 4 5 6

Work effort -

Months

How much

investment will be

required?

Benefit Type

C

7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

FTE # Functions Current

Capability Complexity

Deployed

Where How Impact Who Changing a..

Project Definition: Real Life Benefits

Common Language

Higher Adoption

Enhanced Portfolio Visibility

One way of working

Project Definition: The Future

• Lean Six Sigma adopted

• Inclusion into existing method

• New tooling

• Approach based on project nature

• Cross-skilled Project Managers

• Resource allocation based on skill & experience

• True blended approach

Project Definition: The Take-Away

To develop something like this in your

organisation you need to consider the

following:

Innovative

Organisation? Reinventing the Wheel?

Adoption History

Who Needs to be On-Board?

Do you have the Skills?

Project Zoo

Interactive Session

Close

Stuart Dixon

APM PMO SIG Chair

How to contact us:

pmosig@apm.org.uk

http://www.apm.org.uk/group/apm-

pmo-specific-interest-group or

http://www.pmosig.co.uk

@pmosiguk

APM PMOSIG group

Chairman’s Report 2013-2014

Events held

Full Conference

– Assurance and its relationship with the

PMO – March 2014

Local events:

– World Café – Manchester – February 2014

– World Café – London – October 2013

– The practice of planning and the PMO –

July 2013

– Ahead of the Curve PMO – July 2013

APM activities

APM Competence Framework

– Attended sessions for Project,

Programme and Portfolio competencies &

PMO involvement

– Reviewed competencies from PMO

perspective

PMO role profiles

– Developing 5 role profiles for PMO staff

aligned to APM competence framework

Other activities

Regular newsletters +

P3O® manual – 2013 refresh

PMO Manifesto

PMO conference – June 2014

Summary

Challenging year

– lots of committee changes

Successful events delivered

PMO involvement across APM

Making a difference for our members

This presentation was delivered

at an APM event

To find out more about

upcoming events please visit our

website www.apm.org.uk/events