Introduction
If there is one thing the global COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have taught businesses, it is that they must adapt and change at a moment’s notice and operate with a remote workforce. But can the same be said for the Project Management Office (PMO) with traditional methods of project management?
This issue is still yet to be determined.
Certainly, the sudden worldwide shift to a remote workforce and distributed computing environments due to the pandemic has left business leaders in a quandary. On one hand, many organizations have managed to move to a mobilized operation with some nominal success. On the other, it has created a climate of uncertainty, especially concerning project management. IT project staples such as evaluation, selection, and implementation have been altered, shortened due to time and resource constraints, which can lead to a disastrous impact in the future.
The traditional approach would be to review all ongoing projects and investments, evaluating the return on investment and viability of each project. Teams might also consolidate complementary projects into manageable portfolios and assess viability from there.
These tried-and-true methodologies have delivered proven results for decades. However, in a society that values instant gratification, the desire to improve speed to market leaves these methodologies falling short. New standards set by cloud-born leaders make traditional project timelines, like start and finish dates, seem outdated. Business leaders now demand real-time insights into their organizations to adapt swiftly to market changes.
Therefore, the expectations of projects and project management must evolve. Historically, project management was primarily for IT, but its success at a departmental level is creating opportunities for cross-department, vertical, and horizontal implementations. The ultimate goal is to enable organizations to obtain in-depth insights into all facets of the operation. Remote project management is more important than ever.
As project management pivots, so too must the levels of accountability and scrutiny. Managing a portfolio of projects will now require new tools. While weekly in-person update meetings have turned into remote meetings, their productivity is often questionable. Increased remote access capabilities and flexible work schedules now push for real-time reporting on all projects, akin to as-a-service technology solutions. This will increase the demands placed on PMOs and their staff—many of whom have been reduced due to the pandemic. Addressing this will be crucial as we move into the recovery phase.
Immediate Action for PMOs
We see a need for immediate action by PMOs with the following four steps:
Identify and Consolidate Projects
The year 2020 will be remembered as the year businesses were forced to change all three pillars of project management—people, processes, and technology—at times at an unprecedented pace. The rapid response to the lockdowns has left many organizations without proper insights into their own operations.
To gain adequate insights, the following phases must be followed:
- Identify all projects and their business cases.
- Prioritize projects based on their alignment with strategy and value to the business.
- Consolidate complementary projects where possible.
This simplified process of identification, prioritization, and consolidation will allow for a basic understanding of current projects at a specific point in time. While this provides some answers, it also leaves many questions unanswered and exposes significant vulnerabilities. However, with the insights gained, executive teams will have clear line-of-sight into not only core issues of the past but also options for a proactive future.
“Shift Left” Towards Business Agility
Business agility focuses on creating a culture of innovation, flexibility, and speed. Metrics of success include improvements in productivity, time to market, product quality, and employee engagement. Business agility means being customer-centric in all decisions. Many organizations pursue agility to increase the speed of change where digital opportunities, customer loyalty, and trends move faster than traditional methods.
Analysts use the term “shifting-left” when discussing business agility. Business agility is a mindset, a way of leading, and an approach to running an organization cohesively. Its basic ingredients are people, processes, and tools, with the recipe being unique for each organization.
True agility encompasses alignment across an organization. While desirable, few organizations can operate in a truly agile manner. This doesn’t make agility unfeasible, but it does require adapting expectations. For example, an adaptive approach allows implementing an agile framework in creative or coding departments but not in manufacturing. A hybrid portfolio approach like this maximizes potential by understanding the flexibility of the agility framework itself.
Optimize and Future Proof Current Software Investments
Regardless of your goals, the journey forward cannot begin without understanding the past. As priority projects are identified, non-traditional projects that carry critical business importance are often uncovered. These projects can range from in-store signage promoting social distancing to ensuring employees have appropriate home workstations.
Most organizations realize their PMO is understaffed and spending resources on ad-hoc projects. The next step is to optimize and build on existing infrastructure, people, and software investments. OnePlan provides a solution that helps maximize these investments by integrating with Microsoft work tools like Planner, Project, and Azure DevOps.
Engage, Track, and Analyze
Meeting today’s challenges requires a versatile and scalable portfolio management solution. OnePlan optimizes your portfolio and resources to provide a complete view of all work in one portfolio. The solution provides these key capabilities:
Visualize All Work Across Your Portfolio
Bring siloed information together for visibility into your entire portfolio, including projects, products, and other work items. Collaborate on all investments in one place.
Control All Your Investments
Prioritize the work that matters most. Gain insights into both current and future work. Ensure resources focus on the right initiatives for the biggest ROI.
Capture Ideas and Improve Project Intake
Foster innovation by collecting, voting, and prioritizing new ideas. Consolidating multiple ideas can generate winning products. Engage teams to drive innovation across the enterprise.
Manage the Portfolio
Consider all work across the organization and its alignment with strategic objectives. Prioritize the right work and secure the resources and funding to execute your strategy. With demand exceeding capacity, use available tools to make the best decisions.
Track and Control Financial Information
Estimate, track, and forecast budgets throughout a project’s lifecycle. Prevent cost overruns and track various cost types and categories to manage budgets across departments.
Provide a Flexible Project & Work Management Platform
OnePlan consolidates work to harness project management disciplines like cost, resource, and schedule management. Bring Gantt charts, Kanban Boards, and To Do Lists together for total work management.
Manage Resources Dynamically
Optimize your portfolio and align skillsets to ensure resources work on the right tasks at the right time. Gain visibility into what resources are working on and understand trade-offs when new work is introduced.
Collaborate Using Common Tools
Success relies on strong communication and visibility into project assets. Share information with stakeholders and keep everyone progressing toward common goals.
Reporting and Analytics
Make informed decisions with real-time visibility into all work. Shift direction confidently when needed. Create timely reports and dashboards to gain insights into meaningful data.
Conclusion
The pivots businesses have made are just the first steps toward a post-pandemic recovery. Responses to COVID-19 varied greatly depending on location, industry, and organization size. Moving forward, it’s crucial for every leader to adapt to the mistakes made and double down on the successes. This ensures the impact of future disruptions is minimized.
Many organizations feel they got lucky with their responses to the pandemic but know they need to be proactive and prepare for the future. The year 2021 will be the year the PMO escapes the clutches of the IT department and becomes the foundation for transformation across the organization.
The Journey Will Involve Four Stages
- Identify and Consolidate
- Shift Left Towards Business Agility
- Optimize and Futureproof Current Investments
- Engage, Track, and Analyze
Successful organizations will empower themselves by unlocking insights and enabling informed decisions at all levels.
About OnePlan
OnePlan Solutions is a trusted global provider of digital transformation services and solutions, specializing in portfolios of products, services, and projects. OnePlan is a “one-stop-shop” for business agility transformation in portfolio management with implementation services, education, training, customer support, and advisory services. We strive to maximize your business outcomes and create the shortest path to value.
In 2019 and 2020, OnePlan was awarded the Global Microsoft Project and Portfolio Management Partner of the Year award, demonstrating breakthrough customer impact and solution innovation.
