Setting up a Project Management Office

September sees the launch of another new course for PMO Learning – Setting up a Project Management Office. The course is aimed at those people who are helping their organisations, or their department take their first tentative steps in formalising Project Management.

Successful organisations need to manage both the day to day operations (business as usual) and the changes (projects) to the organisation. As organisations grow, operational functions become more formally established to manage the business as usual.

Projects are given to operational staff to deliver alongside their business as usual activities. Projects are delivered using little formality, and successful delivery is often down to the Project Managers’ operational knowledge and management/ organisation skills.

There are many reasons that an organisation decides the time has come to set up a Project Management Office and formalise project management. These might include:

The organisation is about to embark on a number of strategically important projects and requires better control and visibility
The organisation has lost sight of the number of projects that are being undertaken across the organisation and how many resources are involved
The organisation has a desire to deliver projects more efficiently and wants to benefit from effective project management practice from across the organisation
The organisation is struggling to realise the benefits from the projects delivered

For many, the idea of formalising project management conjures up thoughts of pages and pages of documentation and a level of control that stifles rather than supports project delivery. Attendance at various certification courses can leave delegates with a feeling that ‘best’ practice is just too big a leap and unattainable from their current position. Furthermore, the people asked to implement a Project Management Office have little experience of project management themselves.

If you recognise this scenario, this course is for you. The course is all about paring back to the basics.

The course looks to provide delegates with a simple, but effective framework for the governance and delivery of projects, grounded in best practice. Throughout the course, delegates will explore how the various elements of the framework can be tailored for their own organisation and help them develop a roadmap for its implementation.