Tools and Techniques

Is Demand Management Failing You?

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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A Thinking Tool for the PMO

We talk a lot about PMO practitioners being curious - wanting to try different approaches and think differently about the work they do. It's never easy to find the time to take a step back to think - even more so to find the time for the PMO team to come together with the sole aim of thinking about what we do and how we might change that. PMO leaders and managers are still finding ways to engage with their teams through the pandemic - hosting "away" days virtually - using that time for micro-learning, exercises and sharing insights and lessons. In this post, we look at a thinking tool approach that could be used either by yourself - or even better - with the whole PMO team. Perhaps it would make a good exercise for the next PMO team get together. The thinking tool comes from a brilliant book called The Idea Generator - which features a number of different tools you can use to come up with new ideas. It's a business book but it's easily applied to PMO. It's a boundary thinking tool - and it's a simple equation we'll be using. Read on to understand the tool and gain access to the templates:
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DARPEC for PMO

How bad is that title? Acronym overload! Put that aside for a moment and let's look at DARPEC. It's a tool that is featured in a book called, "The Idea Generator" with a subtitle, "15 clever thinking tools to create winning ideas quickly". It's a tool or approach you can use to "understand how every interaction has six generic aspects" and how you can deconstruct any challenge or situation by deconstructing the six aspects individually. DARPEC stands for: D - Deliverer A - Action R - Recipient P - Process E - Environment C - Constraints   For each issue or situation, we are trying to resolve, there is a Deliverer, who performs an Action for the benefit of a Recipient using a Process in an Environment under certain Constraints.
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Two By Two – The PMO Matrices

Last week's PMO Flashmob was a diamond - a real old skool PMO Flashmob night where there was lots of chat, debate, a few laughs, some brilliant thinking and ideas literally zinging around the room. We were back at Ticketmaster's bar (if they ever stopped supporting us I think there will be a collective howl and sobs from the PMO Flashmobbers - thanks again TM-mob!) and this time we were experimenting with 2x2 matrices/matrix. We see 2x2 matrices in lots of different places - a common one is the Stephen Covey time management one (to the right) that people in all walks of life have used (there's a big explanation of it here). We also see them within different fields of management, including project management. The stakeholder management matrix of power vs interest has long been a popular one and can be seen below. The aim of the evening was twofold. The first, for people to share the 2x2s, they really like or just wanted to show others to get the conversation going. The second part was all about creating new 2x2s specifically for the PMO world. Now, I thought the second part might be quite difficult, but how wrong was I. Let's share some of the ones from the evening and see what you think.
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Toolkit Optimisation to Maximise PMO Maturity – Webinar 3rd July

The maturity of the PMO has been a theme area that lots of PMO practitioners have been interested in for a while now. It's certainly something that is talked about at PMO Flashmob events and at last year's PMO Conference this theme was explored by Guy Jelley at PPO and it went down a storm. Delegates loved it, so we thought the rest of the PMO Flashmobbers would love it too. Here's what it is about: The common misconception for PMOs is that by focusing inward on increasing project management maturity, its portfolios, programmes and projects will be delivered more effectively. The reality is that it’s the people, process, governance, technology and ORGANISATION that play a crucial role in improving the organisation’s project delivery capability. Typically, PMO leaders have an arsenal of tools to overcome PMO challenges like portfolio visibility and reporting, project prioritisation or resource capacity planning. Irrespective of what’s in your toolkit, the reality is that only with the effective usage of these tools will PMOs be able to maximise their maturity. You’ll learn: How to map your toolkit’s capabilities to your current maturity level How to optimise your toolkit to your current and then targeted project management maturity level Lessons learnt and proven approach to the effective usage of your tools It doesn't matter what your tools are - how you optimise what you have got is the first step to greater PMO maturity. Interested? Watch the recording now:
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