Why create a Project Management Framework?

Companies are constantly battling against waste, inefficiencies and demotivation of their key people and a bad or under performing project will contribute to all of these. Good project management discipline is a way to help prevent many common issues but cannot entirely eliminate problems that happen with each project. The value of REAL project management is to provide companies the tools and techniques necessary to plan for challenges or risks before they happen and to be able to react appropriately to issues when they occur. Project management best practices are used to achieve desired results both predictably and consistently.

It is essential that companies have a proper project management framework in place to manage and control projects so that a successful outcome is most likely to occur. There are three considerations that are critical when establishing a Project Management Framework in a newly or recently formed PMO.

Input of future project stakeholders. When establishing a PM framework it is essential to speak to those that are most likely going to be your future stakeholders or sponsors. These are the people that will authorize new projects, be your champions and likely have significant influence over expectations of each project. Find those that have been responsible for projects, initiatives and other important efforts in the past and get their input on what works and what doesn’t at the company. Most likely there will be too many people to choose from. Try to pull from a sampling of different areas of the company including those that have significant interaction with customers. Almost without fail, they will have an idea of what changes are needed to better manage projects, who are the most effective project managers and what types of projects are consistently failing or under performing. In this case, I wouldn’t suggest anything formal such as a survey but simply a conversation about their experience. Gauge their interest in collaborating in the future for policy definition and committee contribution to help establish best practices. If they feel like they have been influential in helping define a framework for project management, it is much more likely that they can be smart stakeholders for future projects. They will make for much more constructive sponsors and you will gain valuable insight and create important relationships.

Prioritize. Projects don’t wait for methodologies, they proceed whether you are ready or not. Most likely you won’t have the luxury of designing a PM framework in a bubble. You will inherit a list of projects that are in flight and / or ready to be initiated and will need to decide where to start. Break down the various elements of projects and begin simple whenever possible. For example, create a project charter template and review the elements with a subset of the sponsors that you have already interviewed. Does the charter have the elements that they expect to see? Is there a better way to present the most important information? Is there a more convenient method that would help making a charter easier to review and approve that they have used in other capacities? I would suggest that you don’t come with a blank slate but think through these issues first, create an initial template and have something tangible to present or review for any interaction that you have. This will provide confidence in your expertise in the initial meetings and the interview becomes more of a conversation and an assessment of their reactions to your ideas. If you solicit for information from a blank slate, it can be difficult when you disagree with their ideas. However, when you come with something in-hand you are more likely to steer the conversation as you need to.

Don’t build from scratch. There are many resources already available for building PMO frameworks. These may not be a perfect fit for your organization but they will open your eyes to the elements that are needed and are common in a formal framework. It’s critically important that you put the work in to develop the framework and there will a greater sense of ownership as you involve others in a committee to review and revise the proposals that you have made but don’t waste your time coming up with everything yourself. Leverage what you can from existing sources and focus your time on building consensus with your future sponsors and stakeholders. This will ensure future buy-in and make it much easier to train and enable those that will be following the policies that you establish.

Project management processes and techniques are used to coordinate your team’s resources to achieve more consistent and more predictable results. A project management methodology will provide a framework that can also help ensure a greater level of confidence in your subject matter expertise and provide a method for your team to deliver more effectively and efficiently. A good project management framework sets the stage for how projects should be delivered in your organization but it cannot replace the critical soft skills like communication and leadership that each project manager needs. A PM framework sets appropriate expectations, helps in your evaluation and training of your team and allows new project managers to ramp-up more quickly when joining the team. It will greatly increase your chances of delivering successful projects and creating a stable delivery environment for your team.

The benefits of creating a Project Management Framework are:

• More projects are completed on time and meet the requirements of the Customer.
• Projects are more predictable.
• Builds a higher quality outcome the first time.
• Bad projects can be stopped earlier without as much wasted effort.
• All project managers consistently use standard processes and techniques.
• Common formats and definitions allow for consistent team and management reporting across all teams.
• The time required to manage projects proactively is built into the work plan.
• Standard methodology helps to set expectations throughout all organizations and provide defined methods for project teams to follow.

http://cioworld.wibtec.com/2016/11/10/why-create-a-project-management-framework/