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In this month's #PMOwfh we decided on a theme to take us through the session. It was all about checklists!
There has been a recently released book that many have read and really enjoyed, it's called The Checklist Manifesto: How To Get Things Right.
It got us thinking. Checklists used to be really popular in the PMO but over the years checklists started to have negative connotations - using checklists was seen as the clipboard wielding PMO acting like the 'PMO Police', a bureaucratic form of control which did us no favours with our project managers and various stakeholders.
The book reminded us that there are a number of different reasons for having checklists. The PMO can use them to help delivery and we can also use them to help us develop our PMO and the people working within it.
Read on for more insights, templates, the recorded session and slidedeck.
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In this fifth edition of the Agile PMO Super Series we focused on planning and estimating.
There are different types of planning in Agile led projects - just as there are in more traditional waterfall projects. For the PMO it's about being able to understand what types of planning there is, who is responsible for it and knowing where the PMO can support.
View the session to learn more about sprint planning, product roadmaps, planning poker and more.
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Demand Management needs to be understood and managed in the context of the benefits of change, not in the context of local processes, subject to pressures that lead to an endless tweaking of low-value outcomes.
In this article, Lodger Lain is back in the Heptagon and he shares insights that include PRUB, Impact Mapping, tactical and strategic things your PMO could be doing to improve demand management.
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Demand Management is all about how we manage the flow of work in projects - from new project requests; change requests; new ideas and so on.
The eBook gives you some food for thought in terms of what the PMO can be doing to support the flow.
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Prioritisation is all about choosing which projects to run and is a key part of portfolio management. In this guide, we particularly liked the insights on the different types of scoring which can be done to see which projects should be carried out and in what order.
If you're interested in portfolio management and prioritisation, download the ebook
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We recorded a few sessions at Project Challenge this year and we headed over to PMO Flashmob regular Sunchana Johnston as she gave a presentation on:
Good Project Planners Are Like Gold Dust
Here's an overview of the session:
Full of humour, honest advice and empathy, Sunchana describes her own journey from an unhappy employee to a successful freelance planning consultant. Based on first-hand experiences post voluntary redundancy and a log term aspiration to become gold dust in project management terms, this is a story of transformation and discovery of what skills are important, of acquiring technical skillsets and finding the real confidence, of winning the first contract, of inspiring others and of making contracting in planning & control sustainable. Sunchana confidently gives practical advice on how to start a business, exploring the benefits of employing good project planners, the obstacles and the exciting possibilities of joining the wonderful world of freelancing in planning, with the freedom, self-direction and flexibility that this offers.
Delegate take away from this session:
A clear understanding of what makes a good project planner
Guidance, motivation and confidence to become one
Benefits of employing project planners
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