ITMG624 Week 8 -Enterprise Project Management & Project Management Office

Instructions: You are required to write an 8-page paper on one of the following topics covered in week 8.

• Project Management Office

• Enterprise Project Management

The paper should be a minimum of 10 pages and not exceed 12 pages (including Cover Sheet and References page). The research paper should demonstrate your grasp of the concepts covered in week8. Find at least 6 references including the reading resources or this week. Submission Instructions:

• For all papers submitted to this class, APA (7th edition) format is required.

• The use of subheadings and table of contents is encouraged as this helps to organize your paper.

• You must submit this paper to TurnItIn! for a review. This is an APUS requirement. The goal is to attain an overall score <= 15%. If it is higher than that, review the report, then consider some rewriting. Rewrites must also be submitted to TurnItIn!

ITMG624 Week 8 -Enterprise Project Management & Project Management Office

Introduction

Project management means a lot of things to most people in the organization. Some project management activities are handled by departments in the organization while there are other functions that are handled by the organization as a whole (Aaltola, 2017). The activities in the project management may include the following: marketing, communication, meeting deadlines, issues to do with problem resolving, marketing, risk, control, and goal setting. The project management office is part of this activities and it works to assist the organization in meeting some of its project objectives.

Research shows that at least 89% of all the departments in the organization reported having the project management office in their companies (Aaltola, 2017). Project management office is therefore defined as an office in the organization that is charged with the duty of defining and setting standards through which the project management office will adopt. The project management office creates goals that need to be aligned with the goals of the organization.

The Project Management Office as a Business Function in the organization.

The project management functions in the organization can partly be carried out through the project management office. They partly carry out this function with the help of the rest of the departments of the project. Some projects are one time while others are continuous. The holders of the project management office in the organization often ensure that there is a full scale coordination of all the major functions of the project. They also set priorities. Priority setting helps in keeping the organization members and the team members in the project management completely focused. Through this priority setting function, only the most important functions or milestones within the project are achieved first before the project embarks on achieving further milestones (5 Major Roles a Project Management Office Plays within a Company, n.d.).

The benefits of the successful Enterprise Project Management Office

Project management office can increase transparency. Transparency in this regard means that the supervisor is able to monitor all the elements of the project as they happen. Through transparency the team members are able to access all the resources they need to ensure that the work they do is effective. The resource capacity needs of the project are addressed even more effectively when an efficient communication system is in place in the organization. The project management office also works well to limit the information silos and the miscommunications which can often limit the achievement and the performance of the rest of the project team members (5 Major Roles a Project Management Office Plays within a Company, n.d.).

The project management office also helps in furthering the project maturity. Project maturity can be defined as the ability of the project managers to carry out all the project management functions in an effective way. It is a critical role that affects the efficiency of the project and the effectiveness in which the activities of the project are performed because the team members do have the necessary experience to carry out the project functions. When maturity is used effectively, it can increase the competitiveness of the projects that are carried out by the organization. Project maturity is achieved when the rest of the team has bonded for some time, is capable of working together, and resolves the conflicts that they have and has the necessary technical experience needed to carry out the project. When the project management office is in place, it is easier to organize the team members so that they bond well.

Additional benefits of the project management office with regards to the maturity of the project

When there is project maturity, the chances of achieving high level quality are exceedingly high. The team members are accountable for their activities that they are going to perform in the project. There is enhanced democratization. The project manager will not come up with recommendations and then shove them down the throats of the team members without caring whether the team members have accepted the proposals or not. Democratization means more consultation. Team members can discuss so that they come up with agreements on the different elements of the project. However, this discussion is done in an effective and efficient way so that it does not lead to time wastage. The ultimate role of the project maturity is that most of the milestones are achieved on time. It will make the project team members happy and even the clients who are the major recipients of the project will be happy with how the rest of the project has progressed.

The role of the Information Technology in the Project Management Office

In the past few years, the role of technology has increased. Technology has enhanced communication patterns between the organization, the stakeholders, the vendors, the suppliers and all other people that will make the achievement of the organization’s project a reality (Conrad, 2019). In the past, Information Technology only acted as a support function. This support function only existed in the office of accounting or in the finance department within the organization. However, with time, the role of technology has really risen. Technology is now an important business support function that ensures all other operations within the business are moving even smoother.

Through the use of technology, the communication system and the collaboration activity between the members of the teams within the organization are improved. The managers do not have to look for a long time or wait for longer periods before the other team members submit their reports (Conrad, 2019). Research shows that poor communication is one of the top reasons why one third of all the projects in the organization fail. Therefore when the communication system in the organization is more effective, the ability of the company to resolve some of the teething problems in the project is enhanced. Putting in place the right communication channels ensures that conflicts are resolved before they escalate and when the team members have problems they can always ask for help before the things can be escalated.

The structure of the project management office

Project management office can both be external or internal. It is introduced in the company so that it can really help in the standardization of the project functions, processes and procedures. In the project management office, there could be additional smaller units that do the following functions: Standardization process, setting policies, training, processes and resources.

The standards include the utility of the project management templates that show the progress of the projects. Some of these templates include the project proposal templates in which a report is done and send to the project sponsor so that they can give their approval and plan for the allocation of funds so that the project can go on. The other templates are those that are used in the preparation of the project status reports that are used to communicate to the rest of the team member’s information of how the rest of the project has progressed. There is also the project closure template reports. Other templates include the project change templates. Using the project change templates, it is easier for the project manager to initiate any changes to the project and then communicate the said changes in time so that the rest of the team can get the changes and adopt them in time without delays in the organization.

Under the tutelage of the project management office, there is the use of the project management closure templates so that the final reports that are handed to the clients are done in the correct manner. In the project closure templates, the project management team will write down noting the areas that worked well for the project and other areas that did not work well so that the project team within the organization can work hard towards ensuring that the mistakes are rectified. It is the best opportunity for the project manager to carry out a comparative analysis of,” before the project,” and after the project.” The elements of cooperation of before and after include, cost implications, time scale and the level of collaboration that existed between the team members.

The key roles of the project management office

The following key roles of the project management office are expounded on: provision of the team administrative support to the project, management of the project portfolio, management of the organization governance process.

Provision of administrative support

Administrative support within the project includes making phone calls. The people in the organization will also help in the scheduling of the project activities. Administrative support will also work by organizing how the resources in the organization will be utilized (Landau, 2020). The administrator will also help in setting up meetings between the project management team, the vendors, the team members and project sponsor. They can offer suggestions that are meant to improve the rest of the performance of the team and they also plan the venues where the teams will meet and iron out some of the key issues in the project. Administrative support is generally a project management function that provides logistical support so that the rest of the team members in the project can do their work and carry out their functions without any hitches.

Management of the project governance

Governance in the projects is a process oriented process that is strategically placed to ensure that the rest of the team members in the project follow the rules that have been set and it also ensures that the project compliance issues have been met. It involves the process of micro-controlling the elements in the project management which may hinder the success and the progress of the project. It aims at offering the governance support to the project manager and increasingly offering help to him so that the rest of the project is done in a smoother way. The project management office will ensure that the project management office functions actually do work (Steyn & Bekker, 2009).

Management of the project portfolio

As the organizations become bigger, it is always an issue for the organization when it is trying to align the goals of the project with the goals of the organization (Steyn & Bekker, 2009). The executive management of the organization may try so hard to ensure that the resources are properly allocated and the goals are reached but if the project portfolio management process is not in place in the organization, this may prove difficult. Through the project portfolio management, the successes and the failures of the project are evaluated with the goal of ensuring that the project maximizes on the successes while ensuring that the failures of the project are masked.

Planning, monitoring, controlling and auditing the project functions often becomes a critical role in the project management activities. The project portfolio management process that is carried out by the organization follows the following steps: first of all the objectives of the organization are well defined (Steyn & Bekker, 2009). After the proper definition of the goals of the project, the other function is, collecting and research on the critical information that will guide the team in the selection of the most effective projects. The next function is choosing the best project following guidelines of the information that has already been collected.

The list is narrowed down to the specific milestones that the organization is supposed to achieve within a given time frame. It is very important for the organization to come up with a project portfolio that best aligns with the objectives that the company is planning to achieve within a given calendar year. Furthermore, the project management will ensure that the organization only selects the projects that will best represent the best return on investment of the organization.

Data collection

The project portfolio management is also done to ensure that the organization can collect the best data to be used in carrying out feasibility tests that will determine the best types of projects that should be undertaken by the organization within a time frame determined. Data collection in the project management scenario is quite important. It will ensure that all the decisions of the organization are carried out with real data instead of focusing on old, irrelevant data (Australian Institute of Project Management, n.d.). Secondary and primary data can be collected depending on the type of the project and the goals that this project is meant to achieve. The data collection process is quite important because it will be a key driver of success of the whole project as it will ensure that only the right decisions are made. It can be used in forecasting the likely date in which the whole project will be completed and also predictive analysis to find out whether success of the project will be achieved.

Utilization of the project management tools

The project management office team in the organization might play a role in selecting some of the tools that will be used in analyzing, scheduling and prioritizing some important tools in the project management. Some of these tools include: the cost benefit analysis, the earned value management, the objective matrix and decision analysis. The cost benefit analysis will be carried out by taking in consideration the following: when the project costs are higher, the project should not be considered. When the costs are low and the benefits of the project are higher, there is a higher chance that the project will be accepted (Ecosys, n.d.).

The estimated commercial value of the project is carried out to check the probabilities of success of the project specifically as it applies to projects for technical and commercial issues. The project has different objectives and the leader of the project will assign these objectives to various team members so that once each other achieves their own portion of the project, the whole project will be complete.

Conclusion

The organization project management may be both internal and external. The project management office plays a critical role in the management of the projects. It can be used in portfolio management, in ensuring that the whole project complies with the goals and governance issues and also providing administrative support. The project can determine whether a given project will be successful or not. This is done through the use of tools such as the cost benefit analysis. Data is also collected in the project management office and it will be used in risk management, in predicting the likely success or the failures of the project. Through the office the project management is not ambiguous because the project is broken down into different milestones that can easily be achieved.

References

5 Major roles a Project Management Office plays within a company. (n.d.). Planisware. https://www.planisware.com/hub/blog/5-major-roles-project-management-office-plays-within-company

Aaltola, K. (2017). Project Management Handbook. ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320101542_PROJECT_MANAGEMENT_HANDBOOK

Australian Institute of Project Management. (n.d.). How Does Data Improve Project Management? Www.aipm.com.au. https://www.aipm.com.au/blog/articles/how-does-data-improve-project-management

Conrad, A. (2019). The Impact of Technology on Project Management Success. Blog.capterra.com. https://blog.capterra.com/impact-of-technology-on-project-management/

Ecosys. (n.d.). Project Portfolio Management (PPM): Process, Tools, and Best Practices). EcoSys. https://www.ecosys.net/knowledge/what-is-ppm/

Landau, P. (2020, August 12). Project Administrator Job Description. ProjectManager.com. https://www.projectmanager.com/blog/project-administrator-job-description

Steyn, H., & Bekker, M. (2009). Project governance: definition and framework. ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267217113_Project_governance_definition_and_framework