This interview with a PMO manager, took place during the 2017 PMI® PMO Symposium® and was conducted and condensed by Kyle Brownell.
Q. This event focuses on two key topics: Agile transformation and the evolving PMO. Can you speak to the importance of those topics for PMO’s today?
A: It is important especially for me right now because my company is kind of a hybrid. We have some development projects that use the Agile method, but we use mostly utilize traditional project management methodologies with off-the-shelf software implementations. My role is often to help my company understand what all that means and evolve our PMO to the next level.
Q. Could you share thoughts on this event so far?
A: Yes, it’s been great. The first session I went to showed that no matter how big you are, whether a small, medium, large, or extra-large size organization, we all still have similar challenges. I can see that the benefits of growing to the next level are pertinent to any size organization.
Q. Are there any specific takeaways from the sessions you have attended that you will bring back to help your PMO or organization?
A: Yes! I just attended an inspiring session on the US Postal Service. What I want to do is to remove project management from being thought of or grouped with IT. Instead, I’d like to make it more central for the whole organization. After seeing what the Postal Service did, I want to retitle our PMO to a name like Strategic Management Office because that’s what we’re really doing. I think a name change like this would help our organization and others like us to understand that the project management office is not just managing IT projects. We are strategically planning and implementing things tying back to the overall plan.
Image courtesy of Kai Schreiber – CC BY-SA 2.0
Related Content
Webinars (watch for free now!):
Tactical Guide for Building a PMO – How to Run a Successful PMO
Showing PMO Love Through Monitoring and AUtomation
Articles:
Top 10 Best Practices for Managing Project Schedules Within a PMO
Your Guide to PMOs
The Tactical Guide for Building a PMO – How to Shutdown a PMO
