Key Steps Every Company Should Know When Launching a PMO (Part 5)

For companies wanting to establish a PMO within their organization, there are a number of things to think about prior to implementation.

In the first four parts of this discussion I spoke about:

1. Planning the Transition
2. Creating a PMO Governance
3. Identifying and Developing Project Managers
4. Creating a Project Methodology

Stage 5 – Creating a Resource Management Process

Now let’s turn our attention to the biggest piece of this puzzle, Creating a Resource Management Process. To achieve better decisions when it comes to Project/Portfolio planning, a PMO will need to develop a structured Portfolio Management Process and an efficient Project Management Staffing Structure.

Create a Portfolio Management Process

A robust Portfolio Management Process can help accurately estimate project hours and allocate appropriate resources for each project team. Every project will require unique resources depending upon the details of each project. When developing the Portfolio Management Process, a few things to look for are:

1. Project Request Screening – Develop a concise decision matrix to determine if a Project Request aligns with the company goals, has required resources available and has sufficient budget to gain approvals to schedule for start.
2. Project Prioritization – Develop a process to prioritize the Project Request in the Portfolio queue.
3. Project Team Identification – Devise a plan to determine the Project Team size, resource requirements/skill sets, and non-labor resources.

Develop a PMO Staffing Structure

The Portfolio Management Process will no doubt display resource gaps within project teams which is why it is important for a PMO to have a Staffing Structure in place to quickly obtain the necessary resources to complete the Project Team. Whether a company uses a third-party staffing company or “shuffles” inter-departmental personnel is sufficient as long as the Staffing Structure can quickly fill any gaps within the Project Team without causing change to the projects scope, schedule or budget dramatically.

1. Determine Required Skills – Create a list of specific skill sets required for completing the project.
2. Create Skills Inventory – Keep a list of skills inventory based on technical/functional knowledge which can be matched to a resource (internal or external) with the same skill sets.
3. Reconcile Resources – Use the skills inventory list to match against current company personnel or outside resources to understand the amount of time needed to train and bring into the project team.
4. Determine Project Team Organization – Define the team organizational structure, authority, communication and control.

Once the Resource Management Process is in development, we will now need to focus on Creating a Stakeholder Management Plan.

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