PMO VALUE RING:

Establishing PMO
processes
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This document was last updated on March 15, 2017.

PMO VALUE RING:
Establishing PMO processes

PMO VALUE RING: Establishing PMO processes

INTRODUCTION
In the previous article, we present the third of a series of nine articles, where the reader
met the second step of the PMO VALUE RING, a framework consisting of eight
recommended steps to establish a PMO focused on generating value for its clients and
its organization.
In the first step, we presented how to select PMO functions considering the expectations
of benefits and needs of your customers. In the second step, how to balance the mix of
functions, considering the generation of value over time.
Each of the steps of this framework is supported by a model developed from the
experience of dozens mature PMO professionals in Brazil and in the world.
The PMO VALUE RING framework is a contribution of its author to the worldwide project
management community and can be freely used by any professional interested in the
subject, be it an executive, a PMO leader, a PMO team member, a consultant, a teacher
or a student.
In this article, you will learn in detail the third step of PMO VALUE RING: Establish PMO
processes.

FIGURE 1 - PMO VALUE RING Framework: Step 3 - Establish PMO processes.

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PMO VALUE RING:
Establishing PMO processes

THE PROBLEM
The two previous articles showed how it is possible to define a balanced mix of functions
for a PMO, considering the needs of its clients and the perception of value generation
over time.
Now we have a new challenge: to establish and formalize the PMO processes, necessary
to guarantee an alignment between the expectations of its clients and the work carried
out daily.
A PMO that does not have its processes formally defined has a high chance of incurring
common problems, such as the difficulty in justifying personnel needs, the lack of
definition of responsibilities, the existence of unmet expectations, and especially the
inability to measure their own performance in a clear and objective manner.
The truth is that a PMO can hardly maintain its credibility with its clients without a well-
structured definition of its processes. Experience shows that PMOs that maintain
informal and unstructured processes end up having their efficiency compromised, as
well as losing focus on demonstrating what matters: their ability to generate value for
their customers.

DEFINING PMO PROCESSES

It is not new in the business world, the importance of formally establishing the business
processes of an organization. Among the most common, we could mention the
processes of production, purchases, payments, billing, among others.
In the last decade, the topic of process management has advanced significantly and this
evolution has consolidated in the creation of standards and references that are being
used by organizations around the world.
Today, it is not uncommon to find organizations that have invested time and money in
mapping their business processes, defining in detail the characteristics and indicators to
measure their performance.
Considering, therefore, that the PMO is an organizational entity, with a similar behavior
to an organization that provides services to its clients, it is possible to conclude that the
PMO also needs to have its processes mapped and defined.
Each service provided by the PMO must have a specific process, which will demonstrate
how the PMO will provide that service. That is, the set of services offered by the PMO,
after being mapped in processes, will constitute a catalog of services, which can and
should be shared with its clients.
The service catalog is comprised of all active and approved services that can be offered
to current and future PMO customers (Office of Government Commerce, 2007), and will
allow them to understand how they will be served in their needs, making them fit to ask

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Establishing PMO processes

about the quality of the service provided by the PMO, formally defined through Service
Level Agreements (SLA).
In addition, a service catalog will also help to "educate" PMO customers, clearly showing
which services are available by the PMO. At first sight, this may seem like a mere detail,
but it is a very important factor, since the PMO should be structured to adequately
provide those - and only those - services present in the catalog.
Of course, services can be inserted or deleted from the catalog, adapting to a new mix
of functions necessary to meet the benefit expectations of a new PMO customer.
However, the formalization of its processes will allow the PMO to always restructure
itself before starting to provide a new service, ensuring that new services are not offered
unexpectedly, which is the shortest route to having dissatisfied customers.
For the PMO, the definition of its processes represents a great advantage, since it allows
the alignment of the expectations of its clients regarding the services that will be
provided, besides allowing the PMO to evaluate the actual personnel needs for the
execution of each function and finally, gives the PMO the necessary tools so that its own
performance can be monitored.
But after all, what are the processes of a PMO and how to structure them?
To answer this question, a research project was carried out with more than 50 highly
experienced PMO professionals with a high level of maturity. The first step of this project
was to identify which aspects should be mapped and detailed for each potential service
to be offered by a PMO.
As a result of this first step, we identified some items considered fundamental to
establish effective processes for the functions of a PMO (Table 1). It is important to note
that not all the items identified will need to be included in the PMO service catalog,
which may represent only one item of planning and control of the area itself.

FUNDAMENTAL ITEMS FOR ESTABLISHING EFFECTIVE PROCESSES FOR THE

FUNCTIONS OF A PMO
ITEM DESCRIPTION
Each function should have its purpose clearly described,
Function objective establishing the scope that will be met and, if applicable,
the limits that exist in the provision of this service.
Each function should have a flowchart, demonstrating the
activities required to provide the service and the flow of
Flowchart
information, defining inputs and outputs, as well as the
techniques and tools used.
The professionals or areas responsible for the execution of
Responsibilities each step of the process should be well defined, allowing
adequate collection for the expected performance.
It is necessary to establish performance indicators for each
Metrics function, involving quantitative or qualitative measures,
allowing the monitoring of customer satisfaction,

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PMO VALUE RING:
Establishing PMO processes

efficiency and effectiveness of the service offered.

Each function should have a set of performance indicators,
for which targets should be established, that should be
Service level used as service levels in agreements with PMO clients. It is
important to set attainable goals, considering the maturity
of the organization and the PMO.
For each function, it is necessary to establish the amount
of resources required to execute it, as well as the
proficiency profile required for that execution to be
performed with the expected quality. This definition will
Resources
depend on several variables, according to each function,
such as the number of clients to be served, the number of
projects, and the complexity of the projects, among
others.
It is necessary to establish what acquisitions will be
required so that each function can be operationalized,
Support
such as software, hardware, outsourcing or hiring
specialists.
Volume of requests, resource profile and time required to
perform each function should be calculated in advance,
Operational cost either based on information history or through
experience, allowing a budget planning for each function,
which should be approved and periodically monitored.
TABLE 1 - Key items to establish effective processes for the services of a PMO.

It is a fact that there are no PMO standards to be followed, since each PMO must be
configured according to the needs of its clients. However, once the PMO configuration
has been defined in a mix of functions specific to its needs, we come to another
question, the main topic of this article: Is it possible to establish standard process
suggestions for each function provided by a PMO? The answer to that question is yes.

KNOWING THE PMO PROCESS GUIDE

The PMO PROCESS GUIDE was created with the purpose of supporting the definition of
PMO processes, based on suggestions and recommendations from professionals with
high maturity in PMOs.
As mentioned in previous articles, this model was also constructed based on a list of 26
potential functions for a PMO, established from an adaptation of the most common
functions in PMOs, also called services, identified by Hobbs and Aubry (2007) in a survey
of 500 PMOs around the world.
The PMO PROCESS GUIDE offers a set of specifications recommended for each potential
function based on the consolidation of the results of individual interviews and discussion

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PMO VALUE RING:
Establishing PMO processes

groups, which can be used as a reference for the construction of the PMO service
catalog, adapting each aspect to the needs and specificities of the organization under
review.
In other words, if there is an interest in starting a new service in a PMO, it is necessary
to use the recommendations provided by PMO PROCESS GUIDE as a starting point,
making the necessary adjustments in all suggested items, in order to adapt the process
to the reality of the PMO. Eventual changes to the service should always be incorporated
into the catalog, maintaining strict version control of this document.
The following is a complete example for one of the functions present in the PMO
PROCESS GUIDE (Figure 2):

FUNCTION: PROVIDE MENTORING FOR PROJECT MANAGERS

This function aims to provide mentoring sessions for professionals

designated as project leaders, without, however, having
experience or training compatible with the level of complexity of
the project for which they were appointed.
Objective: The PMO will provide sessions with themes and in quantity to be
defined according to the needs identified in each case.
This service only involves methodological guidance in what
concerns project management practices, not dealing with
behavioral or technical issues.

Flowchart:

• Selected project(s).
Inputs: • Identified project manager.
• Criteria for evaluating the criticality of projects.
• Criteria for project manager evaluation.
• Required competencies for the project.
Outputs: • Required competency for the project manager.
• Trained project managers.
• Final reports of individual mentorings.

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PMO VALUE RING:
Establishing PMO processes

• Criteria for evaluating project criticality.

• Criteria for evaluating the competencies of the project
Tools: manager.
• Planning of mentoring meetings.
• Meetings.
• Requests must be made by the sponsor of each project.
• The analysis of the GAP, indication and suggestion of
Responsibilities: improvements will be made by the PMO.
• Planning validation will be done by the PMO in conjunction
with the project manager who will receive mentoring, and the
project sponsor.
• Satisfaction of the professionals attended.
Metrics: • Hours of mentoring per professional.
• Answer rate of mentoring requests.
• Mentee’s project time and cost performance.
• Satisfaction of the professionals attended: 85% satisfaction.
• Hours of mentoring per professional: 12 hours of mentoring
Service Levels: per professional.
• Answer rate of mentoring requests: 90% answer rate
• Mentee’s project time and cost performance: Reduction of the
deviations of time and cost in 50%.
• Prepare a mentoring plan, containing the number of sessions,
duration of each session, schedule and place of each meeting.
• Develop a communication process between the mentor and
Best Practices: the sponsor and/or manager of the professional.
• Present the mentor to the purpose of the process.
• It is important to identify the problems to make verbal
orientations, discuss possible solutions and register actions for
the next meeting.
FIGURE 2 - Example of the function "Provide Mentoring for Project Managers" in the PMO PROCESS GUIDE
model.

Therefore, following the PMO VALUE RING framework, we will define which functions
will be implemented with the PMO MIX MANAGER, we will balance the mix of functions
in terms of value perception with the PMO TUNE and then we will design each PMO
process using the PMO PROCESS GUIDE, which will contribute with process suggestions
to each PMO function, defining inputs, outputs, tools and potential best practices.

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PMO VALUE RING:
Establishing PMO processes

CONCLUSION
It is not uncommon to find PMOs who propose to provide services to their clients, but
without adequate structure for this, generating expectations that most of the time are
not met. And this is one of the main reasons for the failure to implement PMOs.
One of the main steps for this necessary structuring is to establish the processes of the
PMO, that is, how the PMO will provide each of the services promised to its clients. From
there, it will be possible to establish the necessary team as well as measure the
performance of the work performed.
The PMO PROCESS GUIDE aims to provide PMO leaders with detailed process
suggestions for each potential function, inspired by the experience of highly mature
PMO professionals. In this way, the model can support organizations in the structured
and flexible implementation of their PMOs, establishing the bases for an alignment
between the expectations of the clients and the capacity of the PMO to generate
effective value for the organization.
If you are interested in learning more about PMO PROCESS GUIDE and the PMO VALUE
RING methodology, just visit the website www.pmovaluering.com.

WHAT COMES NEXT

In the next article, you will learn about the fourth step of PMO VALUE RING and
understand how you can establish indicators to measure PMO performance, allowing
you to fully monitor the work and reach the goals agreed upon with your customers.

REFERENCES
Hobbs, B., & Aubry, M. (2007). A multi-phase research program investigating project
management offices (PMOs): The results of phase 1. Project Management Journal, 38(1),
74–86.
Office of Government Commerce. (2007). The Official Introduction to the ITIL Service
Lifecycle. London, UK: The Stationery Office.

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