Project Management Office

The PMO is the catalyst for reshaping project management methodologies specifically to enable more effective project execution and achievement of business success.  The PMO role is focused to provide project management solutions that combine the project management expertise, processes, and technologies to cost-effectively manage all project initiatives.

The PMO has the resources and infrastructure in place to support project operations with experts that work to address:

• Management of projects and programs
• Project controls (planning, scheduling, forecasting, reporting, etc.)

Overview

Implementing standard project management practices and improving project success rates are two of the main reasons for establishing the Program Management Office (PMO).  Recognizing the PMO’s strategic value, the City of New Orleans CIO is pioneering a process for designing and implementing practices of project management.  The process is scalable to fit at any level of the organization (enterprise, departmental, etc.).

The PMO begins every project engagement with an initial “Discuss and Design Sessions” to meet with the key stakeholders, establish a working relationship, discuss and agree on the scope of the engagement including project requirements, address project logistics, and establish reporting and communication schedules. With varying emphasis depending on need, the PMO concentrates on the critical components that drive success -

• People - Understanding how they can influence the successful execution of strategy.
• Process - Development of the framework, standards, processes, and methodologies that improve strategy execution performance.
• Technology - Requires a platform that provides linkages across functions and processes to support the information needs of the enterprise.

The PMO Strategy

The PMO will initiate, design, execute, and control the project office, emphasizing cultural change, risk assessment, and resource allocation to increase project value, organizational efficiency and productivity.  The PMO works with the CIO to develop project priorities and planning, and help keep momentum going by supporting the execution and measurement of the recommended improvements.

Governance is the framework by which the organization makes strategic decisions and actions to take to deploy and execute business strategy.  The PMO follows governance which sets responsibilities and practices with the goal of:

1. Providing Strategic Direction
2. Ensuring Objectives are Achievable
3. Identifying Risk and managing it appropriately
4. Verifying that resources are used responsibly

Improvement Plan

The PMO provides guidance and project management support to quickly deploy improvement recommendations.

• Specific recommendations are used to develop a roadmap that provides realistic milestones for short and long-term process improvement activities.
• Learning occurs once improvements are made and advancements have been achieved.
• The organization leverages resources to execute key project functions in order to contain costs and realize efficiency and productivity gains. 

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