The AtekPC Project Management Office Case Study Analysis

The AtekPC Project Management Office Case Study was assigned for this class to provide an overview of the challenges faced by management in the development and deployment of a PMO in an existing company. Based on the case study, respond to the questions below incorporating not only the course reading materials, but any outside research that may be relevant. Be sure to cite the authority for any research included in your response.

1. What were the changes in AtekPC's business environment that caused the company to introduce a PMO? Based on your assigned readings and research do these appear to be appropriate reasons for developing a PMO? Why or why not? Limit your response to one page.

2. Draft a program charter for AtekPC utilizing your reading assignments, outside research, and the guidelines and model charter linked to this week's lecture and attached below). Limit your responses to 3 pages, not including end notes, supporting documentation and refererences.

Submit the completed document using the Attachments tool on this page. Please be sure to include your own name in the filename, last name first then first initial (for example:doej_assignX.doc) and in the text of the document, so your instructor/facilitator always knows whose submission he/she is reading.

RUNNING HEADER: THE ATEKPC PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE CASE

The AtekPC Project Management Office Case Study Analysis

Lecture Two: Managing Change Structuring and Functioning PMO

Timecca Warren-Cordero

     Professor Virginia A. Greiman, B.S., M.Ed., J.D., LL.M.

March 25, 2012

Table of Contents:

Question One: Challenges of AtekPC ………………………………………………………Page 2

Question Two: Project Charter ……………………………………………………………...Page 3

References …………………………………………………………………………………..Page 6

Assignment two for week two of the AD646 Program Management and Planning online

course, conducted at Boston University is to answer specific questions as well as

develop a project charter related to The AtekPC Project Management Office Case

Study.  Through the assignment I will be enhancing my knowledge of PMO as well as

incorporating course reading materials and academic resources.

AtekPC Project Management Office Case Study Analysis

The changes in AtekPC’s business environment that cause the company to introduce a Project Management Office was to address the following issues: “[…]aligning strategic business directions with IT resources[…], “[…]cost pressure […]”, “a period of consolidation”, “[…] new markets for growth opportunities”, “[…] transition from a growth industry to that of a maturing industry”, “[…] manage projects more efficiently and effectively […]”, “[…] the quality of the work that we did on projects could be improved”, “[…] handle multiple projects at one time”, “[…]cross-functional integration”, and to […]provide standardization in managing these projects and gain improvements in planning and performance of initiatives (McFarlean, Keil, & Hupp, 2007)”.

Based on my assigned readings and research these do appear to be appropriate reasons for developing a PMO.  “A project management office (PMO) is an organizational unit used to centralized and coordinate the management of projects.  A PMO oversees the management of projects, programs, or a combination of both. (Kanabar & Warburton, 2008, p. 15)”. The PMO has various functions in which supports project managers that are detailed in PMBOK, p11, these functions are aligned with the reasons in which AtekPC has developed a PMO.  In sum, PMOs are “ […] dedicated to improving the practice and results of project management (Kendal & Rollins, 2003, p. 7)” While the PMO may indeed help towards the goals and objects of the organization the implementing of the PMO can be challenging. “Unfortunately, there is little shared understanding of the challenges of implementing a PMO. Therefore, managers and their organizations have inadequate guidance to help them identify and overcome the obstacles they are likely to encounter (Greiman, B.S., M.Ed., J.D., LL.M, 2012).” 

AtekPC Headquarters, Information Technology Department  Program Charter

1.      Program Name and Sponsorship:

Program Name: AtekPC headquarters, Information Technology; Program Sponsor: CEO, CIO, DAD, DPMSG

2.      Contact and Historical Information: CEO(not mentioned in case study), Senior Vice President; Chief Information Officer, John Strider; Director Application Development, Richard Steinberg; Director Project Management Support Group, Larry Field

Historical Information: Exhibit 1 AtekPC Information Technology Organizational Chart

1984 ATekPC founded,10/2006, 3/3/2007 update new PMO

3.      Introduction: In the past IT projects were handled internally by the current staff members carrying project management responsibilities.  The benefit for a program management has been recognized as changes and new challenges within the IT industry forced AtekPC to focus on IT improvements, efficiency, resource utilization, cost management , consulting, mentoring, and training.

4.      Program Organization and Governance:

Executive sponsor: Senior Vice President- weekly or bi-weekly project reviews

Program Sponsor: Larry Field, Director of the Project Management Support Group; Richard Steinberg, Director of Application Development; Steven Gardner, Manufacturing Systems Manager – support the PMO in providing necessary resources

Project Management Office Owner: John Strider, Chief Information Office

Program Management Office Program Manager: Mark Nelson, PMO Director – project management coaching, training, and mentoring

Program Management Office Team Member: Linda Star, Lead Analyst – use consistent PM methods across IT.

*PMO roles and responsibilities (Kendal and Rollins, 2003 p.295-300)

5.      Program Scope: To provide formal program management office, which incorporates PMO value driven mythologies, while being mindful of the current culture of AtekPC. Keep coordination and effective standards of programs performed across functional units in order for AtekPC to meet its revenue, expense, investments and ROI goals (Kendal & Rollins, 2003, p. 157).

6.      Program Goal: “[…]the PMO must help executives to directly link their strategic planning process to project management across the organization (Kendal & Rollins, 2003, p. 53)”.  To provide “IT improvements in project performance, efficiency, and resource utilization to enterprise improvements in cost management and corporate capability to launch products (McFarlean, Keil, & Hupp, 2007)”.  To receive the support of all senior executives through authority of the value of the PMO services.

7.      Program Objectives: “- managing shared resources across all projects administered by the PMO; Identifying and developing project management methodology, best practices, and

standards; Coaching, mentoring, training, and oversight; Monitoring compliance with project management standards, policies, procedures, and templates, via project audits; Developing and managing project policies, procedures, templates, and other shared documentation (organizational process assets) [schedule base]; and Coordinating communication across projects.” (PMI, 2008 p.11)

8.      Program Boundaries, Constraints and Assumptions: The PMO will need to prove itself in order to earn the resources they want, implementing the right form of PMO, PMO not receiving the support of all senior management at AtekPC, lack of authority of the PMO, different expectations of the PMO responsibilities across the organization. Cultural resistance to PMO, no standardization, coordination with senior management.

9.      Deliverables:  PMO charter, “[…] compile and publish its findings and recommendations to all function units (Kendal & Rollins, 2003)”

10.  Stakeholder expectations: To provide standardization in managing large complex projects and to gain improvements in planning and performance of initiatives. For the PMO to prove its value.

11.  Milestones (not specified within case study) however to be done with IT projects at a shorter time then without an implemented PMO;

12.  Finance and High level budgets: 2006 sales of $1.9 billion, “[…]should be able to return to the sponsoring organization a minimum of 10% of the total fiscal year project portfolio budget in the first year […] (Kendal & Rollins, 2003, p. 29)”

13.  Assumptions: implied authority, no changes in the project scope, all needed information is within the project charter, project priorities are infrequent (Kendal & Rollins, 2003).

14.  Program risks: PMO responsibilities were not clear, expanding the scope of PMO responsibilities, minimal acceptance of the PMO, shortage of PMO expert resources, unforeseen value/savings, lack of authority, reducing the capabilities of someone else’s work for the advancement of the PMO; PMO resources were acquired at the expense of other operational teams, no clear purpose

PMO ChallengesPosted by erictse2 on February 11, 2012

 

The AtekPC Project Management Office Case Study was assigned for this class to provide an overview of the

challenges faced by management in the development and deployment of a PMO in an existing company. Based on

the case study respond to the questions below incorporating not only the course reading materials, but any outside

research that may be relevant. Be sure to cite the authority for any research included in your response.

What were the changes in AtekPC’s business environment that caused the company to introduce a PMO? Based on

your assigned readings and research, do these appear to be appropriate reasons for developing a PMO? Why or why

not?

“One might be cost reduction. Another motivation to get better on projects would be that we have to get more

creative, adaptive, and agile in launching new products. “ [1]

“The PC industry was changing, and AtekPC was engaged in dealing with dramatic pressure from larger competitors

such as HP, Dell, and Lenovo. To compete in a changing industry in which consolidation was occurring, AtekPC had

implemented a corporate Planning Office. Recognizing the

role that IT would likely play in enabling AtekPC to respond to the industry pressures, the senior vice-president had

supported the creation of a PMO within IT. “ [1]

Somewhat true but not sufficient

Here are some other reasons of why we should have PMO. (of course it cannot represent everything)

In mature organizations, the PMO is the focal point for improvement and enhancement in project management

through the implementation of the enterprise-oriented functions. Enterprise-oriented functions are intended to bolster

the overall capability of the organization for long-range benefits.

The enterprise functions will provide the long-term stability and backbone for the project management success. This

mission is met by establishing, and maintaining, a project historical database, by developing and disseminating

project management best practices, by providing training in all project management knowledge areas, and by

providing visibility for the value of project management to the organization. [2]

Distinguish between project-focused and enterprise-oriented duties of a PMO?

The specific duties of a PMO were typically divided into two categories: project-focused and enterprise-oriented.

Project focused responsibilities such as consulting, mentoring, and training were services that enabled the success of

individual projects. On the other hand, enterprise responsibilities addressed services that might improve all projects

such as portfolio management, PM standards, methods, and tools, and project performance archives. [1]

PMO’s are more effective and can better impact the bottom line, when they are operating at the corporate enterprise-

wide strategic level, rather than at the departmental level. Departmentally based Project Management offices are

successful in their own silos but not accepted outside their span of influence, and therefore, are unable to influence

the organization as a whole. This is because many project management offices started off from a grass roots

approach.  [3]

A PMO that is organizationally based versus departmentally based is more likely to get executive support. After all,

project management should not be a departmental strategy; it should be an organizational strategy. The Enterprise

PMO will oversee the management of all strategically aligned projects. [3]

Describe the primary issues faced by AteKPC management under the two organizational modelsthat were under

consideration for the PMO. Explain the limitations of each of these models.

Models and Characteristics

PMO-heavy PMO-light

Full staff of project managers who assumed responsibility for the management of all IT projects.

minimal staff of experts who worked through internal project managers to perform the responsibilities of the PMO

acquisition of project management experts, either from internal or external sources, and used these resources to manage projects under the direction of the PMO.

This model focused on the development of the skills of internal project managers who were not formally connected with the PMO

Extreme no project would operate outside the management and direct control of the PMO.

In the extreme version of PMO-light, all projects operated outside of the PMO under existing

organizational controls, and the ownership of projects resided within the functional area and IT group charged with execution of the project.

Limitations and issues For considerations

Heavy Not enough people to move fast. Company want to move fast to be competitive.

LightNo management want to move to the PMO. People in the department and functions challenge the values of PMO. This depends on the culture of the organizations

Light the delays from this approach might compromise their ability to provide PMO

services and to demonstrate its worth to the functional areas of the business. Hard to acquire resources and hard to find funding for PMO resources. Now he just expenses other operation teams.

Light

how the functional areas might perceive adding more people at this time. He explained: “What is the implication of a sponsor in Sales trying to initiate a project that gets approval from the PMO? They don’t literally understand what the PMO is. They think it’s sort of a road block and an obstacle to progress—a bureaucratic thing.”

Light

how people might view the PMO was shared by Strider. The fact that you can add them at all is a

breakthrough. Do you add them in this PMO, or do you add them somewhere else? Being too aggressive may violate the culture so much that you cause a big red flag.

Heavy grapevine about staff new PMO. They want a heavy PMO.

light

Having the business resources available is already becoming a problem for us. With a

PMO-light we are lined up better with the business side in terms of the number of resources,

and it’s a better balance.

Light -> Heavy PMO-heavy as the best model for AtekPC, but he recognized that he would not be

able to gain acceptance immediately for this approach. The demand for resources was great

throughout AtekPC, and the PMO would need to prove itself in order to earn the resources he

wanted. He intended to build support for the PMO-heavy model through

project successes. As the

PMO gained acceptance, he wanted to implement a PMO-heavy approach, furnishing project

managers to the various groups.

1. Draft a program charter for AtekPC utilizing your reading assignments, outside research, and the guidelines and

model charter linked to this week’s lecture and attached below. [1] [4] [5][6]

Program Name and Sponsorship

Project Management Office Program Charter, Information Technology Department, AtekPC.

Sponsors:

Xxx, Vice President

Larry Field, Director of the Project Management Support Group

Steinberg, Director of Applications Development

John Strider, Chief Information Office (CIO)

Contact and Historical Information

Mark Nelson, PMO Manager, phone number, email

Document HistoryVersion Date Author(s) Revision NotesPMOCHTR_1.0 09/24/2007 Mark Nelson 1. Document Ready for Distribution

PMOCHTR_2.0 11/13/2007 Mark Nelson 1. Incorporated Changes – Document Ready for Distribution

PMOCHRT_3.0 11/20/2007 Mark Nelson 1. Incorporated Changes – Document Ready for Distribution

PMOCHRT_4.0 01/10/2008 Mark Nelson 1. Incorporated Changes – Document Ready for Distribution

Introduction

The PC industry was changing, and AtekPC was engaged in dealing with dramatic pressure from larger competitors To compete in a changing industry in which consolidation was occurring, AtekPC had implemented a corporate Planning Office. Recognizing the role that IT would likely play in enabling AtekPC to respond to the industry pressures, the senior vice-president had supported the creation of a PMO within IT

  Program Organization and Governance

executive sponsor Xxx, Vice President

Program sponsor

Larry Field, Director of the Project Management Support Group

Steinberg, Director of Applications Development

Steven Gardner, Manufacturing Systems Manager

PMO Owner John Strider, Chief Information Office (CIO)

PMO Program Manager Mark Nelson

PMO Team Member Linda Starr, etc

Program Scope

The PMO will reside within Information Technology Organization and will provide project support for all Enterprise IT projects and its Clients across the Company.

The specific duties of a PMO were typically divided into two categories: project-focused and enterprise-oriented. Project focused responsibilities such as consulting, mentoring, and training were services that enabled the success of individual projects. On the other hand, enterprise responsibilities addressed services that might improve all projects such as portfolio management, PM standards, methods, and tools, and project performance archives

Program Goal1. Deliver successful IT projects

2. Build Project Management maturity at the organizational level

3. Keep Management and Project Community informed

4. Serve as the organization’s authority on IT Project Management practices

Program ObjectivesDeliver successful IT projects

The PMO collaborates with ICT and stakeholders / clients to manage the IT Projects portfolio:

1. Work with Clients / Data Custodians / Prioritization Committee to make the IT project-selection process successful

2. Maintain and publish a master IT projects schedule

3. Assist Organization and Clients with project resource management

4. Identify IT projects at risk and provide recommendations

Build Project Management maturity at the organizational level

1.Mentorproject teams

2. Assist project teams in all phases of their projects from project initiation to

project closure

3. Train organizational Project Managers in a full range of Project Management

topics if necessary or requested Serve as honest broker on all issues brought forward to the PMO by Project Managers

Keep Management and Project Community informed

1. Report to CIO and UNO DC / Prioritization Committee on:

a. AtekPC IT projects – monthly

b. Metrics that measure PMO effectiveness – annually

c. Issues and opportunities – as they arise

2. Maintain and publish a “Lessons Learned” archive

3. Maintain the PMO Web site

Serve as the organization’s authority on IT Project Management Practices

1. Set the IT Project Management standard

a. PMO works with an advisory group of Project Managers to update and maintain this standard

b. Standards are posted on the PMO Web site

2. Be the resident advocate for good Project Management practices in the organization

3. Provide Project Management tools for organization-wide use

4. Serve as the official source of project templates and other project aids

Program Boundaries, Constraints and AssumptionsThe EMPO does not provide project managers or project management services, except on an as required basis by the  CIO

If the PMO is to be successful, there are several key issues that must be assumed. The success of projects, in general, all rely on the following factors being implemented: the integration of client, implementer, and software vendor goals and plans, constant management of the project’s scope, and finally a method for gaining visibility into project health at all levels throughout the life of the project.

Moving from a single project perspective to a more holistic perspective, the following factors will be absolutely critical to the success of the PMO.

1. Executive Support

2. Effective Data Custodian Committee / Prioritization Committee

3. Compelling Business Case

4. Agreement to Requirements and Scope

5. User Involvement & Collaboration

6. Resource Alignment Reflective of Current Need

7. Management of Expectations

8. Strong Project Management Infrastructure

a. Minimal Scope Creep

b. Strong Change Control Process

c. Standardized Project Management Methodology

9. Ability to Measure and ReportConstraintsAdoption by Leadership – The adoption and adaption ofpractices is driven by executive leadership, which if delayed could

erode the value and result in significant impacts to project results

and benefits to the State.

Financial Accountability – The company currently does not

consistently practice full project accountability which reduces the

ability to track and measure results.

Workforce Utilization – The company currently does not practice timetracking of staff efforts which reduces the ability to track and

measure performance.

Integration Management – The company currently does not practicegovernance approaches that allow for inter/intra-organizational

deployments, which limits the effectiveness and increases the risk and effort for Enterpriseinitiatives

Deliverables1. Gain agreement on the PMO Charter from the Office of the CIO and

additional stakeholders outside of ICT

2. Gain CIO approval for the PMO Business Case consisting of:

a. PMO Requirements (high level)

b. Implementation Strategies and Schedule

c. Project Plan

d. PMO Handbook

3. Perform a Project Management Maturity Assessment and take steps to

remedy

4. Refine and agree upon PMO performance targets

5. Establish PMO review process and performance metrics

Stakeholder ExpectationsMetrics should measure those aspects of PMO performance that are directly related to its Goals and support its Vision andMission. On that basis, the following areas of focus can be used to assess PMO value to the organization.

Internal Review & Assessment

The PMO staff will develop or acquire the appropriate tools in which to measure

PMO effectiveness. The PMO Executive Sponsor will approve such tools before

they are used.

Assessments will include:

1. Improvements in project successes over time can be measured through:

a. Decreases in schedule and budget overruns

b. Client / project participant responses

2. The Project Management approach can be measured by:

a. Quality and timeliness of project planning documents

b. Accuracy of time and cost estimates

c. Effectiveness at mentoring and coaching project teams

The PMO, with input from Clients, will be responsible for the gathering of

performance metrics.

Milestones

Finance and High-level Budgets

The PMO is a function of AtekPC which provides funding for the EPMO operations as part of its IT Governance responsibilities to AtekPC. As such, it is an ‘overhead’ function which requires an allocation method for funding. In order to estimate the overall costs for the allocation, the following guidelines are provided: 0.5-1% of project portfolio being managed, depending on the level of overall maturity in the AtekPC. The current project portfolio is estimated as $367 as of Oct. 2007, which estimates an PMO budget of $1.8 – 3.7m.

Program RisksIn addition to the items listed above, the following barriers have been identified as opportunities to address when considering the implementation of a PMO as they often lead to difficulty and resistance in acceptance.

1. Unclear purpose – not well defined or communicated

2. No executive buy-in

3. PMO is seen as an overhead or marketing function

4. Unrealistic expectations that the PMO is a ‘silver bullet’; giving a quick fix

to core business-level problems

5. PMO is seen as too authoritative, or perceived as a threat

6. Politics and power struggles

7. Hard to prove value

Where a company’s efforts to a project management organization, or PMO, and the challenges they faced

to implement it. Issues brought into the case, the definition of the PMO purpose and mission, the structure

and management of the PMO, and how to successfully implement in what appears to be a robust culture.

John Strider, AtekPC Chief Information Officer (CIO), had strong beliefs that the PMO-light model was the

way to go. He had held back on hiring employees filling … Read more »

Where a company’s efforts to a project management organization, or PMO, and the challenges they faced

to implement it. Issues brought into the case, the definition of the PMO purpose and mission, the structure

and management of the PMO, and how to successfully implement in what appears to be a robust culture.

John Strider, AtekPC Chief Information Officer (CIO), had strong beliefs that the PMO-light model was the

way to go. He had held back on hiring employees for filling the PMO and was moving very slowly and

carefully, so as not to offend AtekPC culture. He was also concerned about the many problems that had

already raised the PMO implementation. Were small steps, building on small successes go to get the job

done fast enough? With the ever increasing challenge of successfully managing information technology

(IT) organizations are recognizing the need for more discipline in the management of IT projects. For

many companies, this has meant ratcheting project management, processes and governance structures

within the organization through the implementation of a Project Management Office (PMO). Unfortunately,

there is little common understanding of the challenges of implementing a PMO. Therefore, key executives

and their organizations need to help poor leadership to identify and overcome the obstacles they are likely

to encounter. 

AtekPC Project Management Office Case StudyPart One. What were the changes in AtekPC’s business environment that caused the company to introduce a PMO? Based on your assigned readings and research do these appear to be appropriate reasons for developing a PMO? Why or why not? Limit your response to one page.The AtekPC Project Management Office Case Study presents a business entity faced with decreased sales and profitability due to a maturing Personal Computer market. AtekPC, once profitable and an industry leader, found itself behind the curve in areas of new technology such as mobile phones, PDA’s, and web-based applications. Costs were up, resources were becoming limited, and competition among pc manufacturers grew fierce. Harold Kerzner points out in his book, “Using the Project Management Maturity Model: Strategic Planning for Project Management”, that to be to be truly successful, management must have a repeatable process in place: “As economic conditions deteriorate, change occurs more and more quickly in business organizations, but still not fast enough to keep up with the economy. To make matters worse, windows of opportunity are missed because no project management methodology is in place” (Kerzner, 2005). Atek realized it was necessary to begin strategically placing itself for the future.The environment that AtekPC has found itself in has accelerated the company’s maturity level, therefore making the development of a PMO a viable option. As J. Kent Crawford points out in his book, “The Strategic Project Office”, a PMO should be considered a suitable solution for a struggling company in AtekPC’s environment because, “they allow companies to make the most of slim resources: streamlining the portfolio, accurately forecasting resource availability, and allowing changes in strategic focus necessitated by economic factors to be seamlessly carried out because the project portfolio management processes add nimbleness to the organization” (Crawford, 2011).References for Part One:Crawford, J. K. (2011). The strategic project office. CRC Press.Kerzner, H. (2005). Using the project management maturity model: Strategic planning for project management . (2 ed., p. 11). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.Part Two. Draft a program charter for AtekPC utilizing your reading assignments, outside research, and the guidelines and model charter linked to this week’s lecture and attached below). Limit your responses to 3 pages, not including end notes, supporting documentation and refererences.Program Charter DocumentAtekPC________________________________________Program Sponsors Organization Role Contact InformationXxxx Xxxxx CEO (xxx) xxx-xxxxXxxx Xxxxx Senior Vice President (xxx) xxx-xxxxMark Nelson PMO Manager (xxx) xxx-xxxxJohn Strider CIO (xxx) xxx-xxxxRichard Steinberg Dir. Of Application Development (xxx) xxx-xxxxSteve Gardner Manuf. Systems Manager (xxx) xxx-xxxxLarry Field Dir. PM Support Group (xxx) xxx-xxxx

Program Charter HistoryVersion Date Author Change Descriptionx.xx xxxx John Strider Created 3/3/2007x.xx xxxx Mark Nelson • [revision.1 xx/xx/xxx]• [revision.2 xx/xx/xxx]• [revision.3 xx/xx/xxx]Introduction and BackgroundAtekPC is a mid-sized U.S. PC manufacturer founded in 1984. 2006 sales equaled $1.9 billion. The company employed 2100 full-time employees and an additional 200 part-time workers. By 2007, AtekPC found itself in the midst of an industry-wide decrease in sales and profitability. PC makers in general were forced to deal with a transition from a growth industry to that of a maturing industry by seeking out new markets for growth opportunities. Due to this environmental change and to remain competitive, it has become necessary for AtekPC to refocus its efforts in areas such as cost control, manufacturing efficiency, resource allocation, and project management methodology. Historically, the latter had been accomplished in an informal manner, with Lead Analysts acting as impromptu project managers. Senior Management realized that a centralized, Project Management Office was necessary to focus efforts in the areas of improvement and enhancement via project management and coordinate the organization’s enterprise-oriented functions.________________________________________Program Organization and GovernanceThe Project Management Office will report directly to the AtekPC CEO. The Senior Vice President will act as Executive Sponsor. Program Sponsors include Larry Field, Richard Steinberg, and Steve Gardner. Mark Nelson will oversee the Program Management Office as the Program Manager.________________________________________PROJECT SCOPEGoals and ObjectivesGoals ObjectivesThe Project Management Office will provide company-wide project management support through consulting, mentoring, and training while promoting portfolio management and PM standards, methods, and tools. 1. Reduce costs and more effectively utilize resources.2. Work within the AtekPC culture in order to promote Project Management methodology and overcome cultural resistance.Program Boundaries, Constraints, and AssumptionsThere are a number of critical factors to the success of the PMO. The PMO must gain executive support and authority from leadership. It must also gain support across functional lines and end-users. There are a number of Boundaries, Constraints, and Assumptions that will effect the outcome of these factors:• PMO purpose and responsibilities must be clearly defined• Inconsistent executive support for the PMO initiative• Company culture limitation.• The PMO has a small window of time to prove its value – it cannot provide a quick fix to immediate problems that require long-term solutions.Project Deliverables

Deliverable• Obtain input on the program charter from stakeholders and sponsorship• Present a refined Program Charter• Strategic Planning Process within first six monthsStakeholder ExpectationsStakeholder ExpectationsLeadership/Sponsorship Gain and maintain support for the PMO and resolve discrepancies and conflicts, particularly in the areas of budgeting and resources. PMO initiatives will reduce costs and improve efficiencies.Project Manager Responsible for setting the standards and policies for the various projects. Plan and execute the work of the project.Department Heads Provide staff members to the project effortEnd User PMO will not be a barrier to “doing real work”________________________________________Finance and High Level BudgetAccording to a 2012 survey conducted by Project Management Solutions, Inc., PMO’s directly contributed to a 15% cost savings per project, or an average of US$411,000 savings per project. Additionally, 25% more projects were delivered under budget where a PMO was involved (The state of, 2012). With these figures in mind, the PMO must set a realistic baseline based on the organizations current state, define goals for improvement, and measure results(Fister Gale, 2011).Project RisksUnable to meet goals due to Inadequate ResourcesCultural and political environment not conducive to PMO successPMO unable to prove its value in short time frameReferences for Part Two:The state of the pmo 2012. In (2012). A PM SOLUTIONS RESEARCH REPORT. Project Management Solutions, Inc.

Harvard Business School: the Atekpc Project Management OfficeBy Kgbros1 | July 2013

Page 1 of 5

Cases in Applied Project Management

Individual Assignment

Identify the main purpose and mission of a PMO and what are the main challenges and

obstacles in implementing a PMO? (HBS: The AtekPC Project Management Office) 

Submitted by: KMO Greene

Introduction

The AtekPC Company found in 1984 has grown in size and scope to become a mid-sized

technology PC manufacturer. The company now boasts 2100 fulltime employees with an

additional 200 part time workers and revenues of $1.9 billion. AtekPC finds itself, like all other

PC manufacturers facing a changing industry, one that is transitioning from a growth market

industry to a maturing market industry and like all competitors in the marketplace, AtekPC is

experiencing tremendous cost pressure and demands from management to adapt. In order for

the company to survive must less thrive, company CIO John Strider believes a PMO

implementation is very necessary but he is conflicted about the best way to implement said

PMO office. Does he implement a PMO–heavy or PMO-light model? Can the PMO

implementation change the organizational culture for the better and deal with the pressure

AtekPC is facing or would the PMO implementation be disruptive to the organizational culture

and as such become more of a problem than a solution. Questions about the main purpose and

mission of the PMO and the main challenges and obstacles in implementing the PMO are

questions that John will struggle with and questions that this assignment tries to answer.

The purpose and objectives of a Project Management Office (PMO) as defined by PMBOK is as

follows: A project management office (PMO) is a management structure that standardizes the

project-related governance processes and facilitates the sharing of resources, methodologies,

tools, and techniques. The responsibilities of a PMO can range from providing project

management support functions to actually being responsible for the direct management of one

or more projects. There are...

THE ATEKPC PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE ASSIGNMENT/CASE STUDY SOLUTIONThe AtekPC Project Management Office Assignment/Case Study Solution.

Based on the case study it can be recommended that John Strider should adopt a combination of Project

Management Office (PMO) heavy and light in bringing a positive and long term change in the organization. As stated

by Langlois (2006) PMO heavy has the disadvantage that it forces radical changes on the employees which gain shirt

term results only.  The case shows that the personnel in the organization seem to have a tendency to resist adopting

a changed structure of processes. A combination of the two approaches will enable Strider to bring long term change

on the basis of the already employed personnel who can easily establish feelings of trust and cooperation among the

workers. The new hiring will allow Strider to introduce formal pattern of control and policy implementation.

This is a sample paper. If you like to order your own paper, please Click Here

Case Study: The AtekPC Project Management Office

What is your recommendation to the CIO, John Strider, for the PMO organization model? Is it PMO-heavy?

PMO-light? or something in between? Be specific.

Based on the case study it can be recommended that John Strider should adopt a combination of Project

Management Office (PMO) heavy and light in bringing a positive and long term change in the organization. As stated

by Langlois (2006) PMO heavy has the disadvantage that it forces radical changes on the employees which gain shirt

term results only.  The case shows that the personnel in the organization seem to have a tendency to resist adopting

a changed structure of processes. A combination of the two approaches will enable Strider to bring long term change

on the basis of the already employed personnel who can easily establish feelings of trust and cooperation among the

workers. The new hiring will allow Strider to introduce formal pattern of control and policy implementation.

Explain how your recommendation would handle the following:

Cultural issues:

AptekPC seems to have an informal pattern of communication, which can’t be radically changed within a short time.

However a gradual shift can be brought through the use of PMO light by focusing on the strengths of the process and

allowing the employees to understand, accept and adapt to the changed procedures.

Staffing issues

A combination of the two approaches will require the company to hire an individual for PMO implementation. Along

with that the current managers can be trained for the PMO implementation to make it effective without hiring new staff

as the company has limited resources available.

Enterprise-oriented responsibilities for the PMO

The PMO will be focusing on creating an effective alliance between the various departments of the organization and

achieving the company objectives in a specified time frame with support from the employees. The project related

activities, reporting and maintaining of different organizational processes will also be developed by the PMO.

Governance  

The performance of the PMO can be measured by the CIO to evaluate if the PMO has been successful in achieving

the objectives. The evaluation even though based on subjective observation can be done to see if the PMO initiative

has been able to make the structure of the processes formal or not. The formal structure and centralized chain of

command will reflect the initial success of PMO. After that the success of business processes and ability to compete

in the market can be used as criteria of success for the PMO.

What are your recommendations to John Strider on how to “sell” the PMO office? Include your thoughts on

his bottom-up versus top-down approach. If your recommendation includes the need for more staff, how

would you sell that?

Strider needs to support the idea of hiring the new manager for PMO application with the past experiences that they

had and the lack of formal communication and project management practices that they faced. On the basis of the

past failures, Strider can logically support the hiring if new PMO manager. Along with that he also needs to ensure

that the current managers get appropriate training to manage the processes more effectively. A combination of the

efforts of new hiring and trained staff can be quite beneficial for the company as it can provide long term benefits to

the organization.

 

What company do you think AtekPC is?

AtekPC seems to be a PC manufacturing company as the case study shows. The company has experiences rapid

growth when the PC industry was booming, and was negatively affected when new forms of technology such as

PDAs and mobile phones declined the number of PC users.

Abstract

Presents one company's efforts to implement a project management organization, or PMO, and the

challenges they faced in doing so. Issues brought out in the case include defining the PMO's purpose

and mission, the structure and governance of the PMO, and how to successfully implement it in what

appears to be a resistant culture. John Strider, AtekPC's chief information officer (CIO), had strong

convictions that the PMO-light model was the way to go. He had held back on hiring fill time employees

for the PMO and was moving very slowly and cautiously so as not to violate AtekPC's culture. He was

also concerned about the many issues that the PMO implementation had already raised. Were small

steps building on small successes going to get the job done fast enough? With the ever increasing

challenge of successfully managing information technology (IT), organizations are recognizing the

need for greater discipline in managing IT projects. For many organizations, this has meant ratcheting

up project management skills, processes, and governance structures within the organization by

implementing a project management office (PMO). Unfortunately, there is little shared understanding

of the challenges of implementing a PMO. Therefore, managers and their organizations have

inadequate guidance to help them identify and overcome the obstacles they are likely to encounter.

AtekpcBy gautama | November 2009

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Case Analysis

The AtekPC Project Management Office

Case Overview

AtekPC is a mid-sized U.S PC maker with sales of $ 1.9 billion and employed 2100 full time

employees and additional 200 part time workers. This case discusses most of the obstacles to

establishing a PMO (Project management Office) are beyond the CIO and PMO Manager's

control. We see a lot of problems faced by the CIO in implementing a PMO in the enterprise.

Regardless of the technical challenges during the implementation, the core of the problems

seems to be that the PMO is lacking organization support, from the top to the bottom. There is

not enough executive stakeholder support, there is no visibility of the program, there is a conflict

of interests within departments and employees are reluctant to change the ways they have been

doing things. Issues brought out in the case include defining the PMO's purpose and mission,

the structure and governance of the PMO, and how to successfully implement it in what appears

to be a resistant culture. Objective of PMO

PMO’s objective is to provide more consistent and better practices for both business and IT

projects. Realize benefits derived from consistent project practices. Challenges faced by

AtekPC and PC industry and Need Analysis for PMO • Reduction in time and cost and increase

profitability:- PC industry was going under major cost cut PMO can help in achieving it by

reducing time in implementing projects and there by reducing cost by saving resources. • Slow

down in sales :- Looking at new products and new markets to maintain revenue growth and

increase profitability .Cost reduction strategies aimed at further improving the efficiency of their

supply chains, while lowering the cost of distribution. • Provide Standardization; - PMO

implementation was required in order to provide standardization in managing projects and to

gain improvements in the planning and performance of initiatives. 

AbstractThis paper discusses the external affairs of Project Management Offices instead of focusing on theinternals. The article was initiated by the "AtekPC Project Management Office" [1] , Most of theobstacles to establishing a PMO are beyond the CIO and PMO Manager's control. There are externalfactors within the enterprise that will hinder progress of a PMO implementation.We are going to take a PMO as a black box, and focus on how the PMO/Program Manager can manageexternal relations from diplomatic, marketing, public relations, international relations, corporateculture and political perspectives. This involves cooperation between the PMO and other entities in oroutside the enterprise, to facilitate a successfully organizational integration.IntroductionBy reading the case studies in the "AtekPC Project Management Office" [1], we see a lot of headachesfor the CIO when implementation a PMO in the enterprise. Regardless of the technical challengesduring the implementation, the core of the problems seems to be that the PMO is lacking organizationsupport, from the top to the bottom. There is not enough executive stakeholder support; there is novisibility of the program; there is a conflict of interests within departments; people are reluctant tochange the ways they have been doing things. This paper is going to provide some high levelsuggestions to improve external relations for the PMO.Problems IdentificationAfter an in depth study in [1], we can abstract out a few root causes of PMO implementationhindrance.The PMO vision and role is not clearly defined.There is no complete consensus regarding itspurpose, its responsibilities, and its authority. It has slowly evolved.Not enough executive stakeholder support.Not all of the senior executives were equally enthusedabout the PMO concept. Authority was primarily being developed bottom-up through the value of thePMO services. Even this was limited to those functional areas and IT areas actively engaging the PMO.There was no current plan to enforce usage at the enterprise level.Corporate culture limitation.Corporate cultural change had been informal. They never treated PM,PMO, formal processes seriously. Normal Operation Processes and function units have to change theirculture, behaviour, and even habits if they work with a PMO.No support from department management.Department managers may see no value inintroducing a PMO in their projects. Also there are political conflicts as well, with managers worryingabout the PMO getting to much authority.Hard to prove value before the PMO can get more support.This is a chicken and egg problem.The senior IT managers encouraged a slow, incremental strategy (baby steps) that would allow thePMO concept to prove itself with small victories won through mentoring one project at a time. Whileproving themselves, they may fail the challenges of addressing all the cultural limitations and barriers.The PMO had raised issues that had proven too controversial to resolve immediately.

Strategiesy Diplomatic perspective - How to approach and broaden Senior Executive Stakeholder support.y Marketing perspective - How to convince people to buy something they have never used before