Building the IT Process Framework – Part 1 - PMO Pitfalls

Neal Leininger Project Management Consultant Veris Associates, Inc.

As a technology consultant working in and around technology for over a decade, I’ve seen my share of false starts and good intentions being driven to the end of long dark alleys to be put out of their misery. Due to confusion, redirections and busyness of daily life, valid ideas are driven into oblivion.

The concept of a successful Project Management Office (PMO) rings near and dear to my heart. However, many of today’s process frameworks have interdependencies woven so tightly I find it indistinguishable when departing from one methodology and into another. Which one or two . . . or three or more should the PMO use?

This article is the first in a series to clarify the limits, purposes and blending of four frameworks as they relate to the PMO:

• ITIL
• CobiT
• SixSigma
• SDLC

Q: So what makes the perfect PMO?

A: Boy, talk about a loaded question. Process implementations are a lot like beauty, much belies the eye of the beholder.

For those who have worked in the software industry for any amount of time, we recognize the old adage “Fail Early, Fail Fast, Fail Often.” I think that summarizes the best approach for a PMO and process improvement in general. (One hint: learn from the failure, don’t repeat it.)

Perfect is a four letter word in most production engineering departments, meaning: Perfect never ships. At the end of the day, we all are very imperfect animals, trying to build very perfect processes. The quickest distance between two points is failure. Only by failing do we learn the true weaknesses and stress points identified. It’s about keeping ourselves accountable to the process, no matter how gruesome the image is in the mirror.

Q: What About Overzealous Advocates?
A common approach for most PMO implementations is to “reign in” the factions causing chaos within IT and putting policies in place that are not conducive to the typical business environment.

A: Walk a mile in their shoes: Make it everyone’s PMO. A true PMO is guided by the principle that made all great teams work together - “what’s in it for me.” Regardless of how unpleasant those factions may be, use the friction to weld them together. Heat makes two pieces of metal one, cleanses the surface and prepares it for another wave of improvements whether it is a complete refinish or some touch-up on the glazing.

Q: What About Overloading the Process?

Even a good process fails under over-utilization. Even though it seems like a good idea at the time, ramping up too quickly slows you down. It starts to feel like you’re fighting a counter-insurgency battle as the plights and wailings of overburdened process users fire emails at you at an alarming rate. These resistance emails seek exceptions and various special accommodations because, after all, their application, project or process is “special.”

A: Start simple and stay accountable. The measure of a process isn’t how fast or big it is. The process’ efficiencies, effectiveness and compliance to the framework win in the end. The visible success of the process encourages others and moves the organization to the next level of process implementation. As the adage says, “Nothing breeds success like success.”

Q: “Kill Switch”-ophobia

One of the telling metrics for a PMO is its kill rate: the rate at which projects are rejected or “killed.” It’s often too easy for a technology department to say “YES” every time there is a request made. The measure of the alignment between the business and a technology department is evident as you examine the kill rate and the justifications behind it.

A: Start simple and kill things. This isn’t an advertisement for the NRA. By failing early, fast and often, you learn a lot by understanding the issues that caused you to stumble. Even if it means creating a PMO request that you know will be killed, go through the exercise and understand the process: engage the business and understand their true alignments. Set criteria and provide evidence for projects to survive or die. Set a metric on the kill rate.

By walking through the process with a very simple, controllable example, you build the template for those un-imaginably complex projects that need to be killed. Remember, not all projects get killed at the request stage. Prepare for killing those “woefully poor initiatives that just aren’t going according to plan.”

Understand several facts:

• Killing projects sooner than later saves tremendous money and effort.
• Any project can be killed at any stage.
• Unsuccessful or never-ending projects impact morale, other projects, budgets and your credibility – your most important asset.
• Before recommending a project cancellation, do your due-diligence, have all evidence organized, readily accessible and in front of you. While Superman could stop a speeding bullet with his teeth, only your hard, cold facts stop the one fired at you.
• A high kill-rate is good. Some companies are aiming for 66%! A low kill-rate can mean two different things: you’re letting too many projects through or your not keeping up with the changing business with improvements.

Warning: Beware of the landmines – those special pet projects of someone who has major, impacting power on your career. These types of projects must be handled with special detail. Before suggesting a pet project be cancelled, conduct a full study with extra detail and evidence as to why it should die. We should never back away from killing such a project, but our reasoning must be mine-proof, otherwise, you will blow-up instead of the project.

Conclusion
It has been said, "Buy into a business that's doing so well an idiot could run it because sooner or later, one will." I think that rings very true to the embodiment of a successful PMO. If it’s not easily understood or articulated, then the PMO “Governance” will be jeopardized and those who truly believe in the concept will struggle explaining it to their customers, and subsequently, stop speaking at all.

Recap:

• Keep it simple, make it easy enough for an idiot to understand because, well you finish the sentence.
• Kill it, in order for us to say “YES” we must be willing to say “NO”; and mean it.
• Start small and simple, which is how we learn best. After we’re comfortable with simple arithmetic, we can throw some extra zeros on the end and start talking about calculus.
• Seek friction and make the best of it. Nothing beats free heat.
• Don’t cripple the business, they need to keep the lights on too. Engage them in the policy framework so they buy-in in from the beginning.
• It won’t be perfect the first time. . .or the tenth time. It’s a living process and the better we get at failing, the faster we can close that gap with perfection.

In our next article, we cover how IT framework methodologies are blended to minimize organizational confusion and optimize operational efficiency.

Veris Associates, Inc. offers training in Project Management and IT Service Management methodologies. See our calendar of events for specific times and places.

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Project Management - Like Crossing the Street

David A. Zimmer Practice Manager Corporate Learning & Training Veris Associates, Inc.

Recently while giving a presentation to a potential client, I used an analogy of crossing the street. I said:

"Project management is a lot like crossing the street. You can listen to others who have gone that way before and heed their advice. Look both ways, make sure the way is clear and cross before oncoming traffic hits you. Or, you can simply jump out into the street and see what hits you and then deal with the issues that arise."

Sadly, too many people and companies people take the latter approach. From our study conducted in January and February 2006, we learned that 76% of project managers are not formally trained in project management. They are intelligent people, probably very good at what they were trained to do. But somehow, they were volunteered to manage a project and were not given the training to do the job properly. As a result, they stuggled to make the project a success.

Experience shows that even though you are confident in what you are doing, it is always good to have someone watching your back and helping in areas that are new, even though they look very similar to the past. I learned this lesson, almost to my demise, while crossing a street in England. I was ready to cross a road, had my foot off the edge, when I was quickly yanked back to the curb. I was indignant at the person who would do such a thing. I had looked and the way seemed to be clear. I had successfully crossed many streets in my life. But just as I was going to say something to the person who yanked me, a car went whizzing by me and nearly clipped me. I had looked the wrong way! It would have been a fatal mistake. Another perspective on the situation saved my life. My indignation turned into gratefulness.

Veris Associates, Inc. provides that extra perspective. We have crossed many streets successfully - not always without incident though. We have the scars to prove it! Through our "coaching" services, we help you make more informed decisions. We help you see the way more clearly.

One of our clients used our service and saved over $5 million dollars! They were embarking on a new marketing campaign. They wanted us to provide a sanity check on the project plan and roll-out. While the intent was to make sure the "project management" was sane, our understanding of the market and the broader scope helped us to show them the fallacy of their thinking. Yes, we could have helped them manage their project successfully, but our greater understanding of project management show us that the stakeholders' expectations would not have been met properly - a successful launch of the product and the wise use of $5 million. The project would have been a failure and a waste of the valuable $5 million.

Another client asked us to determine how they would make money from a particular project. The project had already been underway for two years with more to follow. The annual budget for the project to date was $90 million ($180 M total) with increased budgets to come. So it was critical to understand the profit potential for such a project. After careful analysis of the business plan, we determined that expenses on the project were 77% of the potential revenue. That 77% of the revenue represented operation expenses and did not include the overhead of the ongoing development of the project or other corporate overhead! As a result, the project would never had made any money. We recommended that the project be cancelled based upon the financial analysis.

We felt like that person who saved my life in England by yanking me back from a speeding car coming for a direction I was not looking. These are just two examples of times when people, confident in what they were doing, looking the wrong way when something was coming from the other direction. We were there to help save them from certain disaster.

So, the next time you wade out into the street, make sure someone is watching your back!