You can find all our articles for Free Members
Empowering the Modern PMO \ PMO Conference 2023 (Sponsored)
This session explores how technology can support the modern PM and PMO professional in managing both traditional and agile projects.
Discover the role of technology in facilitating collaboration, real-time transparency, and adaptability. Learn about a specific tool (SmartSheet) and platform designed to support hybrid project management. Gain insights from practical examples and case studies, and uncover best practices for integrating technology into your project processes. Join us to harness technology’s power in achieving success across project delivery and the modern PMO.
This was a sponsored session at the PMO Conference 2023 from James Ferrier at SmartSheet which got great feedback on the day.
Recorded Session
Presentation Deck
Download the Presentation DeckSession Summary
James is the manager of an EMEA Solutions Engineering team at Smartsheet. There are two key components of his role: understanding the client’s current PPM and PMO processes, including the technology they use, and envisioning the future state of the organisation. His team’s goal is to bridge the gap between the current state and the desired future state using Smartsheet technology.
>> You can visit Smartsheet and their vast library of resources here.
The session’s agenda includes discussing best practices for implementing PMOs, sharing client success stories, and providing insights into Smartsheet as a modern PMO technology.
Change Management
The challenges of project and portfolio management are highlighted as flexibility, visibility, resource management, and portfolio reporting. James emphasises that balancing these challenges can be complex and that the right tools and adoption are essential for addressing them effectively.
James discusses a stressful implementation experience and the importance of the three pillars for a successful project management organisation (PMO): people, processes, and technology. He emphasises that change management is a critical factor and that resistance to change is a natural human reaction.
James introduces Smartsheet, a technology that complements the pillars of people and processes. He drew an analogy with Lego, highlighting the simplicity and flexibility of Smartsheet. Just as Lego bricks can be used to build various structures, Smartsheet offers a system of play that allows individuals to adapt and evolve their use of the software over time.
James discusses the functionality of Smartsheet and how it can be used for demand management, capturing project ideas, and streamlining project evaluation processes. Smartsheet allows users to input project ideas through web forms, providing an easy and efficient way to capture information. This process aims to standardise and make the evaluation of project ideas more transparent and objective.
Smartsheet also offers the option to import data from other systems to avoid double entry and manual data input. Additionally, the tool can automatically send notifications to request additional details from project idea submitters, enhancing the quality of information input and lowering barriers to user participation. This approach supports the formalisation of project management processes while providing flexibility and scalability.
