This presentation tells the story of a Confluence makeover that involved taking a failing, misused wiki and transforming it to support the needs of an evolving Project Management Office (PMO). From this case study, themes emerged that illuminate the practices which turn a wiki from the wrong side of the tracks to an indispensable resource for the PMO. I align features (and plug-ins) in Confluence with the practices I learned that will make projects run smoothly. I describe how Confluence can be used to enhance the mission of the Project Management Office (PMO). I identify different PMO value models and outline the major functions in relation to how they can be facilitated by Confluence. I compare varying approaches to the use of Confluence from small to large knowledge management needs. I describe how transparency can be achieved in project governance with the use of Confluence. I offer some insight into project auditing and business alignment using Confluence. I also describe how confluence can be used to strengthen operational resiliency. Through my description of this authentic case study, I lay-out best practices to using features in Confluence to support the functions of a Project Management Office.
6. It is what it is!
An organizational body or entity assigned various responsibilities related to the
centralized and coordinated management of those projects under its domain.
-PMI PMBOK Guide
19. Governance
• PMO Charter and
Policies
• Structure
• Control Board Activity
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29. Business Alignment
The success of the Rat Pack was
due to the camaraderie, the three
guys who work together and kid
each other and love each other.
Sammy Davis, Jr.
http://www.patrickdowney.com/media/line-up-coll.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6uCPCSkJuPI/T5ewLIGW-_I/AAAAAAAAFm0/VI3SDsXd9xU/s1600/anonymous-the-rat-pack-8401038.jpg
A Project Management Office is an organization entity that is structured to apply project management practices to the needs of a particular program. PMOs can help by providing the structure needed to standardize project management practices and facilitate IT project portfolio management, as well as determine methodologies for repeatable processes. The top 2 reasons for establishing a PMO are for improving project success rates and implementing standard practices The PMO successfully addresses many of the typical challenges inherent in managing a series of interdependent projects: • Project schedules not adhered to and implementation dates rarely met • Senior management not having comprehensive insight into projects ’ progress and performance • Projects ’ customers not sufficiently involved in product planning, design, and acceptance • Disparate and inconsistent communication patterns • Inadequate control and understanding of actual costs • Lack of repeatable processes guided by best practices • Unanticipated risk events and inadequate or missing contingency plans • Unexplained changes in project scope, schedule or budget • Unacceptable quality of products and processes • Unproductive or non-existent peer reviews A PMO establishes an environment that prevents many of the aforementioned issues from occurring. It also conducts monitoring and controlling activities that correct problem situations by: • Implementing consistent project management and product development methodologies • Establishing governance processes and structure for managing changes to the program • Conducting planning and control activities, including alignment with other strategic initiatives, integration with the governance process, and integration with resource planning • Coordinating delivery of project information through consistent and standardized data gathering, analysis, and reporting • Providing continuity and reinforcing commitment among business customers, project teams, and support organizations • Initiating audit review procedures that identify problem areas and provide processes to closely monitor risks and issues • Increasing project success rates by obtaining executive buy-in and gaining enterprise-wide support for program needs and objectives
The ideal PMO model IT organizations tend to choose between the extremes of two PMO models: one empahizing a support role and one emphazing a supervisory role. In fact, the two functions are not mutually exclusive, and the ideal model combines the best of both The Support model: The PMO in a consulting role According to this model, the PMO functions primarily in a support role instilling project management skills into the organization. PMO staff are cast in a mentor relationship vis a vis existing project managers (PMs). They might train PMs in the organization in a common methodology or process. Another role for the PMO is to provide the tools, templates & training PMs need to do their work. The PMO might develop software tools for specific tasks, as well as standard documents such as project charter or project plan that is uniform across the organization. In addition, the PMO staff can be a backup source for groups in need of help with project management, particularly in cases where there is trouble in the PM ranks. The PMO as a support group really plays a distributive role within the organization and has little or no control over which projects are funded, and no authority to ensure projects align with business needs. PMO staff typically cannot compel project managers to accept their guidance. They cannot force user groups to adopt a common methodology; they can only encourage them to do so. The Centralized model: the PMO in a supervisory role PMO staff are given a supervisory role, with budgetary authority to determine which projects get funded and which do not. Project managers, instead of being attached to operational divisions, may be directly on the staff of the PMO and lent out to working groups on a project specific basis. The PMO may even control who gets assigned to which projects. This centralized PMO compensates for some of the problems inherent in a strictly supportive role. The PMO can impose greater discipline on the choice of the projects and how they are carried out. Use of standard methodologies, processes, templates, and tools can be enforced. The PMO can decide when to terminate a project that isn ’t delivering. In short, the PMO plays a strong role in project governance. Such a strong role enables the PMO to ensure that projects are tied to business goals. However the centralized model only works within a highly structured environment, and so superimpose it upon a decentralized organization is to invite trouble. Taking away managers ’
Bad wiki: Dumping ground for information (no other applications) No permissions differentiation Ghost content (lingering old content) Numerous approaches Good wiki Content owners Permission schema Unified approach and training Auditing and archiving
Who see ’s/does what What content goes where How is QA performed uniformity in pages
Process and Practice (baseball helmet) Solution: Implementation: Templates Maturity Model Small PMO/Large PMO Infrastructure Definition(hard hat) Structure Project Governance Assessment/Auditing Small PMO/Large PMO Resource Herding (cowboy hat) Project Resources Career Development Team Development Small PMO/Large PMO Continuity Planning (propeller hat) Mentoring Career Development Small PMO/Large PMO Business Alignment (bowler hat) Manage Relationships Performance Small PMO/Large PMO
Process and Practice (football helmet) Solution: Implementation: Templates Maturity Model Small PMO/Large PMO
methodology components: PM Process Guide: specifies all activities for PM/Team and the input/output for each activity PM Practice Guide: relevant guidance on how to perform activities listed in the process guide PM Toolkit: Checklists, forms, templates used in process and practice guides PM Glossary: standard and common terminology shared terms
Infrastructure Definition(hard hat) Structure Project Governance Assessment/Auditing Small PMO/Large PMO
Project Governance Assessment/Auditing
Assessment/Auditing Competency-people, capability-processes, maturity- practice
Resource Herding (cowboy hat) Project Resources Career Development Team Development Small PMO/Large PMO
Continuity Planning (propeller hat) Mentoring Career Development Small PMO/Large PMO
Business Alignment (bowler hat) Manage Relationships Small PMO/Large PMO
this can be used for key ideas that you want people to tweet