Alignment of Strategy to Project Management to the PMO Office Basic information for Project Managers (PMP) in relation to business strategy, following principles and concepts from PMI Presentation provided on March 23rd to a joint event organized chapters in Chicago of the Project Management Institute (PMI) and the Association for Strategic Planning (ASP). Presentation by Jonathan Donado MBA - IESE Senior Executive Fellows (SEF) - Harvard University Connect with me on Twitter @donadosays Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathandonado/ Strategy / PMP / PMI / Strategic Planning

1. JONATHAN DONADO
Linkedin.com/in/jonathandonado
Project Manager (PMP) Basics:
Strategy Alignment
Presentation provided to PMI Chicagoland Chapter
– Knowledge Sharing Meeting –

2. There is a need to bridge the gap between
high level Vision/Strategy and “in-the-
trenches” project implementation.
How ?
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3. 1Linkedin.com/in/jonathandonadoJonathan Donado
A company’s Project
Management Office (PMO)
needs to make sure
projects are aligned to the
corporate strategy

4. The PMO delivers 2 main areas of
improvement to the organization:
1. Helps choose the right projects
2. Helps deliver the projects correctly
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5. Project
Expectations:
The projects are expected to
be delivered on:
1. Budget
2. Time
And …
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6. The projects are expected to be:
1. On Budget
2. On Time
3. Synchronized with
strategy
Otherwise, it is a waste of company’s resources
(human capital and $$)
Project
Expectations
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7. But less than 42% of organizations
report NO high alignment of
projects to strategy
PMI “The High Cost of Low Performance” report 2014
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8. 90% of Senior Executives report that
Executing Strategic initiatives are
critical for a company’s competitive
advantage ( 2013 The Economist Intelligence Unit report)
Facts
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9. Senior Executives report that:
- 61% struggle with the execution of those
strategies
- Only 56% of strategic initiatives are
successful ( 2013 The Economist Intelligence Unit report)
Facts
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10. Why there is no alignment ?
That’s where the PMO comes in
PMI “The High Cost of Low Performance”, 2014
- Strong PMO:
- No PMO (large firms) or
Not a strong PMO:
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11. 1. Internal Factors: No top support,
resources, talent, etc
2. External factors: constant change,
volatile markets, competitors, etc
No
Alignment
Factors with
PMO office
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12. 1. If company lacks uniform management and
oversight processes
2. Leadership has hard time gathering information
about the project progress and results
3. Project goals are not aligned with business goals
An Organization will
benefit from a PMO:
Business
Unit PMO
Project
Specific PMO
Enterprise
PMO
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13. TOP DOWN APPROACH:
Recipe for Success
1. Have Leadership buy-in
2. Executive team needs to engage PMO in
Strategic Planning
3. PMO needs to report to C-level
(Forrester Research found in those case the PMO is highly successful)
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14. PMO: The RIGHT TALENT
High performance vs. Low Performance PMO:
1. 2x more likely to succeed as they have people
with the right talent (technical and business)
2. 1/3 more like to succeed as they have the
adequate number of people
(The Project Management Office Report. PMI 2014)
- General Business Acumen
- Leadership
- Decision Making
- Financial/Cost Control

15. MEASURING RESULTS
Right Procedures + Right Talent = Results
1. Need to measure
2. Look beyond simple project metrics: scope/
budget / schedule. Look for:
• Customer Satisfaction
• Delivery time
• etc
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16. 1. The main way to bridge the gap between strategy
and project execution is the PMO
2. PMO needs to have the support of the company’s
leadership to succeed: Top Down Approach
3. PMO needs people with business acumen and
measure other factors on top of project metrics.
Alignment
Takeaways
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17. 15
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Jonathan Donado
Bilingual senior general management executive
with expertise in international business and
Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A).