Introduction
My previous article introduced you to the concept of a project management office (PMO) that is responsible for coordinating, reporting on, or mentoring and assessing project management in organizations with multiple projects. A PMO can be beneficial because it standardizes project delivery across the organization, and can help ensure that the organization is better suited to effectively deliver projects.
My friend Lola happened to read the article and e-mailed me about it. She felt that it would be beneficial to deploy a PMO in her organization, but wondered what the first step would be. She had read a number of articles about PMOs, but all of them seemed geared toward very large and very wealthy companies or organizations. She did not feel that a PMO designed for one of the large banks would work well for her not-for-profit agency. And Lola is right. It would not work well. A solution for the private sector does not always work well for the not-for-profit or public sector. The principles are the same, but the particulars are not.
In answering her question, I used a phrase that Lola would understand very well – “Terms of Reference”. To deploy a PMO, you need to start with a Terms of Reference (ToR). This article will serve as a guide to creating a basic outline for a Terms of Reference for a PMO.
Terms of Reference for a PMO
Lola is well-acquainted with Terms of References. The not-for-profit and public sectors create them all the time to define what committees will do, how a project will be structured, or for several other reasons. A ToR essentially defines what a particular group will do, how it will be structured, and what its purpose is.
The first step in creating a PMO is defining the ToR so everybody knows why you need one, what it will do, and who will participate in it.
What need will the PMO meet?
The first section of the ToR should briefly describe the need that the PMO will meet. In other words, why do you want a PMO in the first place?
Lola thought a PMO would be beneficial because several people were involved in project delivery but had little experience in project management. The quality of project delivery was limited because people were not familiar with the project management processes or how to structure a project effectively. She had identified a clear need in the organization, and knew exactly why she required a PMO. The first paragraph or two of your ToR should describe this need.
What is your vision for the PMO?
The next section should describe your vision for the PMO. How will it meet the need that you identified above? What will it do? Which type of PMO will it be?
Lola’s PMO needs to improve the quality of project delivery by providing mentorship to new project managers and introducing some standards. She reviewed the four types of project management offices that were discussed in my previous article:
- Mentoring
- Evaluating
- Reporting
- Delivering PMOs
She recognized that a mentoring PMO, with a few tweaks, would best fit her need. The second section of her ToR described briefly the vision that she had for the PMO and why a PMO with this structure was best suited to her organization’s needs.
Identify the services that the PMO will provide
Now that you have chosen the type of PMO that will best meet your organization’s needs, you must define, more specifically, what it will do. Defining the services is simply further refining the type of PMO, and will look similar to a scope statement within a project charter. It should be a list of bullet points identifying each of the activities in which the PMO will be engaged.
Lola decided that she needed a PMO that would mentor project managers and set standards for project delivery. What activities would be associated with mentorship and setting standards? One activity might be to deliver monthly workshops on a particular project management topic. The workshop would provide insight into particular project management processes such as schedule management or cost control. She might also have monthly meetings with individual project managers to assist them with any issues that they are facing in the project. Finally, she might develop a standard set of tools to ensure that all project teams are following the same process. The services that the PMO provides are based on the type of PMO and the need that it must meet.
Lola brainstormed the services her PMO would provide the organization and listed these in bullet point form in her Terms of Reference.
Roles and responsibilities
The final step is developing a roles and responsibilities chart that outlines who participates in the PMO and their roles and responsibilities. When writing this section of the ToR, ask yourself:
- Who will participate in the PMO?
- Will they be dedicated to it or have other responsibilities in the organization? What will their specific responsibilities be?
- To whom will they report?
- What authority will the PMO have within the organization?
Lola developed a roles and responsibilities chart that included a list of people in the PMO, their titles, and their roles and responsibilities. When creating their roles and responsibilities, she identified the individual to whom they would report and the specific activities in which they would be engaged. For example, one of the people in Lola’s PMO is a trainer. His responsibilities include developing training materials, planning workshops, and delivering workshops.
Conclusion
Many organizations have implemented project management offices to address issues they’ve had with standardization, coordination, and overall quality of project delivery. The first step in the implementation process is developing a Terms of Reference for the PMO that articulates what it is and how it will operate. This article gives you a simple structure for creating your Terms of Reference. Hopefully, it will assist you to create a framework that avoids confusion about what the PMO is and how it can help.
Blair Witzel (blair@mcdoane.com) is a member of the Project Management Institute and a consultant with McDonnell Doane + Associates, an information management and technology firm focusing on the not-for-profit and public sectors. His work centres on managing multi-project portfolios and working with organizations to develop project management methodologies to more effectively deliver projects.
