Here we are at Project Challenge this week launching the new Inside PMO Report about the Agile PMO
To download your own copy and have a read, download the report here
You'll need to give us a few details to download it - we just want to know how many people are interested in the subject so hopefully you won't mind!
Many PMOs now need to support Agile projects as well as traditional waterfall projects, moving to be a hybrid or bimodal PMO.
PMO Flashmob launch the latest Inside PMO report bringing insights from PMO Managers working in hybrid PMOs today.
The report looks at the functions and services required and answers the questions – what stays the same, what needs to change, and what is new.
The question for the PMO community is, “do you understand what additional skills and competencies you need working in a hybrid PMO?”
Many of the skills you have are still required, but some will need further honing or developed from scratch. The report looks at how the services of the PMO change when supporting Agile projects and what associated skills you will need to have to do that successfully.
January PMO Flashmob in London was like playgroup for grown-ups! We had Parag Gogate with us (Change Innovation Lab) and he ran a Serious Games session for us at the Ticketmaster UK bar in London. Although that might sound like we were just messing around, playing with Lego for a few hours - the reality was very different. Yes it was fun, it was also very fascinating to see how people were working together, using Lego for metaphors and literally seeing people thinking whilst building.
The LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® methodology is an innovative, experimental process designed to enhance innovation and business performance. It is based on research which shows that this kind of hands-on, minds-on learning produces a deeper, more meaningful understanding of the world and its possibilities.
Late November on a cold night in Yorkshire, we held the first PMO Flashmob in Leeds to a full house. I think the subject matter for the evening had something to do with it - the Lean Agile PMO.
The session was run by Jon Ward* and the overview for the evening:
The Lean-Agile PMO
Evaluating project status – a new skill for the Lean-Agile PMO?
The evening session starts with a Pub-Quiz exercise and develop the concepts a PMO should adopt to evaluate the status of Agile initiatives.
The PMO Mini-Masterclass on the Agile PMO in Practice was all about learning from another organisation's PMO - Ticketmaster International - and how they support Agile projects within their business.
The session was held at Ticketmaster in London and was carried out by John McIntyre, Head of PMO supported by his PMO team members.
The full presentationkl
The aim of the session was:
Understanding the main principles of Agile projects – what constitutes an Agile project, which core processes and techniques are in play
The role of the PMO in supporting Agile projects – what changes were needed within the PMO, what skillsets and knowledge people within the PMO needed; how the PMO provides governance of these projects and what will be needed in the future.
There wasn't a Powerpoint presentation as this session was delivered in an Agile way, complete with sprints, backlogs, retrospectives and burndown charts.
Late November on a cold night in Yorkshire, we held the first PMO Flashmob in Leeds to a full house. I think the subject matter for the evening had something to do with it - the Lean Agile PMO.
The session was run by Jon Ward* and the overview for the evening:
The Lean-Agile PMO
Evaluating project status – a new skill for the Lean-Agile PMO?
The evening session starts with a Pub-Quiz exercise and develop the concepts a PMO should adopt to evaluate the status of Agile initiatives.
In many organisations, infrequent consideration of business strategy and annual budgeting cycles results in static portfolios often created 6-18 months ahead of the initiation of the Programmes and Projects they contain. In this session, Ed and Barbara explore how to create and run portfolios of projects, programmes and business as usual initiatives in an agile way.
For Portfolio PMOs the Agile Portfolio Management approach covers key areas including agile portfolio budgeting; prioritisation and blending; governance and fulfilment.
Some of the themes explored will be:
The Agile Organisation and how it can help CEOs and other senior executives reach their goals, do more for less and be competitive and responsive in an a constantly changing world.
What is Agile Portfolio Management, how it contributes to the agile business, how it differs from traditional portfolio management.
Key tips on how the PMO can contribute to make Agile Portfolio Management work in your organisations
Takeaways:
Understand the core themes of Agile Portfolio Management
Take away practical tips on how Agile Portfolio Management works in reality
Understand the role of the Portfolio PMO in Agile Portfolio Management
Even in organisations that utilise agile delivery methods, the language of the project manager and the PMO is often steeped in waterfall thinking. For the PMO to remain relevant it needs to adapt to the changing needs and goals of the business.
The core of the issue is the simple question, “why do organisations invest in projects?”. Delivering the scope is rarely a business goal in itself. In fact, with agile projects the scope itself isn’t even fixed.
The purpose of this talk is to discuss the role of the PMO in a world where the organisation itself is having to adapt, experiment and innovate to survive.
How does the PMO help an organisation to ensure it has both the right purpose and gets the right outcomes for its projects?
Drawing on his experience within Elsevier, Ian will discuss how he is working towards creating a PMO that is not a follower, but a leader in the transition to an evidence based product organisation.
Takeaways:
How a modern PMO supports an agile organisation
Tips for welding good initiation process to successful delivery
The new Project Management triangle
Back in October it was the annual Agile Business Conference in London and we asked PMO Flashmob regular Brenda Nombro to go along to the conference to find out more about what the PMO community could learn from the conference. Brenda already gave us one insight in Agile PMO – How Much is Enough?
Here’s Brenda's second article on a more behavioural side to the work the PMO does, here she is to tell you more.
Another session I attended was run by Agnieszka Gasgperini who was an enthusiastic and engaging speaker. While there are many ‘what colour of personality are you’ assessments and models out there, the Relationship Awareness Theory takes this a step further into the business context, and more specifically into how we react to stress.
The more I read and talk to people about the PMO in an ‘Agile’ environment, the more I see how we need to redress the balance of our skill set. In some more traditional settings we have become really focussed on our technical skills; on planning, managing dependencies, identifying risks, writing reports – this is great as we are really good at it and experts in our field. But do we need to shift now to our people focussed skills?
Facilitation, bringing the right people together, getting the decision makers and sponsors engaged, managing and resolving conflicts – this is what we do, but can we do it better and show how, when it is done well, that the PMO has a greater role to play?
