PMO & PPM
PMO & PPM: Visibility, Productivity, Governance,
& Control
By: Dr. Maurice Thomas
Visual Connections Sr. Director / Corporate Program Governance
This is the second in a series of Visual Connections blogs focused on exploring the changing environment of today’s PMO. Our goal is to share industry best practices, help you reduce costs, and increase your return on investment (ROI) potential.
PMO & PPM are a relationship between program management, projects, and portfolios.
It is common practice to view the Project Management Office (PMO) as a place and Project Portfolio Management (PPM) as a process. However, in today’s evolving PMO environment the lines can often get blurry. How does PMO & PPM work together? To answer this question, let’s look at the relationship between program management, projects, and of course, portfolios. Here are some clear definitions for each:
Program Management is defined as the process of managing various ongoing inter-dependent projects while enhancing strategic goals and the business value of an organization.
Projects are defined as a series of planned activities that have a defined start and end, with clearly defined deliverables.
Portfolios are defined as a collection of programs and projects with management and strategic oversight that determines project funding, sustainability, and yes or no decisions.
Project Mix: You must balance low, medium, and high-risk project investments.
While the PMO is focused on ensuring that selected projects are completed successfully leveraging the right processes, technologies, and methodologies, by contrast, PPM ensures that the organization has chosen projects that are aligned to business priorities, goals, and projected ROI. Your PPM will address critical questions such as:
Do we have the right mix of projects?
Is the mix balanced with low, medium, and high-risk project investments?
Do we have the right resources? And how are they allocated?
If our strategy changes, how do we shift priorities?
How do you create a harmonized balance between your PMO & PPM that allows greater visibility, governance, productivity, and control throughout your organization? Let’s consider the following ideas:
Define the scope of your PMO. This will help shape the day-to-day functions.
Gain Executive Support by aligning both your PMO and PPM with corporate priorities.
Establish meaningful and clear metrics and reporting. The key is to keep things simple and not over-engineer processes.
Define a meaningful set of SLAs, in addition to a limited set of KPIs that are proactively monitored and in alignment with the corporate objectives.
Use the urgency and complexity of programs and projects to adapt and modify your focus.
By adopting and coordinating an effective PMO/PPM strategy, you can substantially improve decision making, determine balanced resource utilization, accelerate repeatable success, reduce risk and exposure, and ultimately, establish buy-in from critical stakeholders.
Other Blogs in this PMO Series
Leading Barriers to PMO Success
Dr. Maurice Thomas
Dr. Thomas joined Visual Connections in 2016 and is responsible for directing Visual Connections’ Corporate Program Management Office known as the “Community of Practice.” He brings more than 25 years’ experience in program and project management, providing governance, cadence, and best practices.
Dr. Thomas’ experience includes directing and managing contracts in the areas of systems and infrastructure development, business intelligence, and support services. He also brings commercial contracting experience in the real estate, legal, and corporate banking industries. He has supported various initiatives with the D.C. Superior Court, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S. Postal Service, U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. State Department, Internal Revenue Service, and the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.