Project Management Offices (PMOs) often fail for the same reasons. Poor resource allocation, bad data, and lack of standardization can disable your PMO before it even gets off the ground. By addressing obstacles before they become issues, your PMO can not only avoid them, but it can establish a solid foundation for successful project management (PM).

Eight Common PMO Roadblocks

  1. Ambiguous Goals – If your organizational and internal, PMO-specific, goals are not defined and clearly-outlined, team members will not be on the same page.
  2. Poor Communication – With so many people working remotely, it can be hard to maintain open and effective lines of communication.
  3. Disorganization – If every project sets its own standards, it will be hard to find what you need – when you need it.
  4. Change Aversion – The PMO needs to live on change in order to meet evolving needs, but not everyone enjoys a state of constant transition.
  5. Inflexibility –If you can’t make adjustments quickly, scope creep may get out of control.
  6. Insufficient Data – You need to be able to compare “apples to apples” across projects. If you can’t, then the PMO will not know how to allocate resources or set priorities properly.
  7. Poor Reporting – Reports are crucial to securing and maintaining stakeholder engagement. Without support from all levels, the PMO will not survive.
  8. Lack of Innovation – Ideas keep the PMO fresh and dynamic. If there is no forum for them – and a way to give credit where credit is due – the PMO will become stagnant.

Turning PMO Challenges into Advantages

To combat roadblocks, you need to seek solutions that will avoid them proactively. First, define your PMO processes and standardize procedures. By ensuring that every project adhere to the same requirements, you will be able to compare them fairly. It will also help you streamline PMO actions across the board.

Technologically, your PMO platform needs to:

  • Incorporate workflows. User-defined workflows make tasks clear-cut. They also let team members know what their goals are, and how they can achieve them.
  • Promote collaboration. Spreadsheets don’t allow for true collaboration. Your solution needs to let users work at the same time and communicate in real-time, no matter where they are located.
  • Provide a single access point. Time is wasted searching for documents or switching from one application to another. Your tool should provide everything the PMO needs in one place.
  • Be user-friendly. If change looks easy, then team members will be more willing to embrace it. Your system needs to be intuitive, easy to navigate, and visually appealing.
  • Have flexibility. You must be able to change deliverables, timelines, and resources promptly to keep up with ever-changing demands.
  • Collect and monitor data. With standardized procedures in place, your solution should collect key metrics from every project. With consistent data available, decision makers can prioritize, allocate resources, and set budgets effectively.
  • Generate best-in-class reports. Reports show stakeholders what the PMO is doing and how it is improving project execution. Each report should be tailored to the management level to which it will be presented.
  • Enable the distribution of ideas. Team members will be more productive and enthusiastic if they feel like their ideas can be heard – and they will get credit for them.

Setting the Stage with Hammerhead

If your PMO needs a platform to combat roadblocks and institute best practices in PM, Projility’s Hammerhead solution may be just what your enterprise needs. Hammerhead adds business intelligence and advanced reporting to Microsoft Project Online and Project Server, utilizing on-demand, user-defined dashboards and visually-compelling graphs that highlight key performance indicators (KPIs). Team members can collaborate, follow customized workflows, and stay up-to-date with goals and priorities with real-time data and analytics. And with complete visibility into every project, stakeholders can make smart, informed decisions.

If your PMO is ready for success, contact us today to schedule your free demo.

Projility provides expert solutions for effective change. We offer enterprise portfolio and project management solutions based on Microsoft Project Server and Project Online, with tailored dashboard reporting, analytics, and decision-making tools via our Hammerhead technology. Projility also implements professional services automation systems established on Microsoft Dynamics CRM Project Service, and presents cloud-based strategies, migrations, and hosting solutions through Microsoft Azure. Contact us for more information.