PMO zero or PMO hero – Understanding maturity in your PMO

Do you have a Programme Management Office (PMO) which isn’t delivering value?

The investment you made in establishing your PMO as the hub for delivery governance and controls isn’t paying off? Maybe you’ve inherited a PMO team who aren’t supporting your change agenda. Your PMO might just not be bringing the right rigour and diligence to your change portfolio. If this is the case, you may have an immature PMO. A PMO delivering near to zero value. If this is the case, you’re not alone. Your PMO can be transformed into heroes. 

PMOs are becoming increasingly common. More and more organisations are establishing the function hoping to bring control to change and maximise the value from their deliveries. Your PMO could be the heroes helping you drive the change portfolio forwards. However, when immature PMOs are left unsupported they can rapidly degenerate into administrative overheads, or cottage industries which don’t help delivery, don’t increase change control and end up holding back your business from realising its full potential. 

A mature PMO can transform your organisations delivery capability. Bringing the right tools, templates, processes methods and governance. Supporting teams through coaching, guidance and assurance. Informing leadership and decision makers with the right data, insights and council at the right time to make the best decisions for your organisation. Transforming from an immature to a mature PMO is a journey requiring diligence, experience and expertise.  

Understanding maturity and the gap 

Recognising that the PMO isn’t delivering the value you and your stakeholders want is an important first step in the journey to create PMO heroes. Recognition alone isn’t enough though. You will need to understand where the PMO operate well, and where they’re lacking. You need to assess your PMO’s maturity. You could call on a simple scale like this for measuring maturity across individual PMO capabilities, and the whole PMO function: 

• Ad-Hoc: The PMO lacks any standardised practices, processes and templates for the capability. PMO capabilities may be delivered in an improvised way without any consistency across the portfolio and significant gaps in controls. 

• Established: A level of rigour is established with some delivery management processes and tools in place. Adoption of standard practices may be limited and gaps in capability in controls remain.  

• Defined: PMO processes, procedures and tools are in place for the required areas of delivery control and are accessible to the delivery community. Roles and responsibilities are defined and understood. Majority of deliveries are adopting controls, though some inconsistencies remain. PMO provides training to the PM team in governance and controls.  

• Managed: PMO is more proactive. Adherence and effectiveness of controls and processes are monitored across the portfolio assuring consistency. Metrics are used to identify trends, weaknesses and opportunities in delivery outcomes. Best practice tools, templates and guidance are provided, and coaching support given to delivery teams. 

• Optimising: The PMO operates well and is an ally of delivery. Teams are coached, trained and guided in the well understood, standardised delivery controls. Processes are being continuously improved in a managed, controlled way. Lessons are learnt and best practices enhanced and shared.  

Experienced PMO add value while building maturity 

Calling upon PMO experts you will be able to quickly assess strengths and weaknesses of the existing PMO. With experience and real-life understanding, PMO specialists know how PMOs operate, what works well and what less so. They can quickly identify where value already exists and can be enhanced and amplified, where controls are lacking and at worst, where PMO processes are stifling delivery. A clear understanding of current PMO maturity is key to transforming your PMO into a value adding function which will help drive your change agenda forwards. 

Understanding where you are now in terms of PMO maturity will show you strengths and weaknesses right across the PMO. Understanding current maturity gives your PMO development journey a good foundation. We know that the potential scope for PMO is vast. Every delivery process and capability can fall within the scope of your PMO. These capabilities can be called upon at enterprise, portfolio, programme and project levels. You will need to consider which levels of PMO function and which capabilities matter most for your organisation, and which are less important for the PMO function you need. 

A PMO with top rated maturity across every level of the organisation and every possible PMO capability is unlikely to be what your organisation needs right now and would be time consuming and costly to establish and operate. You don’t need every aspect of the PMO to be at peak maturity for your PMO to be delivering value. If the PMO is providing support, insights and the controls you need to deliver your change agenda, it may be mature enough. It may have some weaknesses or gaps which can be addressed and developed. Knowing what matters to you will help target these improvements. 

With clarity of current PMO maturity, and the needed level of support, controls and governance to make your PMO value adding heroes, you can start the journey of climbing the maturity curve. You’re ready to develop your PMO. 

Read part two of our PMO zero to hero series here.

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theteam@projectone.com