The PMO as a Conscience and an Integrator

This really is a very different kind of PMO case study, presented at the PMO Conference in Edinburgh the PMO of the Year 2020 winner brings a truly unique insight and many lessons for setting up and running a PMO from the emerald heart of the Caribbean.

The Government of Montserrat’s PMO certainly had work to do, and in a short space of time, when formed back in 2019.

Following the hurricane of 1989 which destroyed entire villages and then the volcanic eruption of 1995 wiping away the island capital city and the airport – there are a whole host of development projects almost a quarter of a century later which are critical to ongoing post-disaster recovery.

Not only does the PMO provide delivery support to different and diverse projects and programmes, they’re also responsible for building a sustainable centre of excellence and change management capability.

In this session, you’ll hear about the unique circumstances facing the PMO and how their lessons can be utilised by any PMO in any organisation too. It will cover culture; politics; failures; sponsorship; stakeholders, ambition and triumph over adversity.

Find out how the Government of Montserrat’s PMO became “a honest broker and loyal advocate” and how they turn “projects into human stories”

Recorded Session

Presentation Deck

Notable Quotables

The challenges are familiar – lack of understanding of project management, previous PMOs not worked, silos, highly political and resistance to change [10.00]

When you’re setting up a PMO, you’re always the new kid on the block [12:45]

You need a lot of collaboration to work through the conflict [13:30]

You can provide support in different ways to different stakeholder groups – control, support, assure, mentor, lead, coach, report, analyse….[14:30]

No best practice is fully adaptable to one organisation’s needs – you need to find the right practices for your organisation [16:00]

PMOs and programmes must operate in a temporal paradox – eyes on the near and far future [16:30]

Stories are really important to the PMO – turning conversations to the social value of projects [18:00]

We are not going to be there forever, so how does the PMO build a legacy? [29:30]

The PMO brand was established very early on – but it can bring resistance [33:00]

Maximum transparency – the good, bad and ugly – helps to counter misinformation [33.40]

Make sure you connect with Martin and the team in Montserrat and see how their journey continues to progress.

The team celebrating the first International PMO Day in May 2023.