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Welcome to the latest edition of the APM PMO SIG Newsletter and the first of 2016! In this quarterly issue you can find out about what have we been up to, including a preview of our 2016 plans, upcoming events, and all the latest news from around the industry. If you have any comments on the newsletter or would like to contribute an article to a future edition, please contact us A word from the PMO SIG Chair As they say new year, new start. For PMO SIG it’s more New Year, new plan of events. Following on from the research completed by PMO SIG and Wellingtone Project Management at the tail end of 2015 (you can download the results here), and the feedback we received from our members during and after our Autumn conference; Socialising the PMO, the team have put together a calendar of events that we believe will help both established PMO and those new to the industry to develop and hone their skills further in some key areas. Thanks to our APM SIG siblings, we have also taken the opportunity to get involved in some exciting and key events that will support our hot topics for 2016. So 2016 is all about… drumroll please… Benefits Realisation, Lessons Learned, PMO Back to Basics, and Transformational Change! Although some of these topics may seem fairly pedestrian, I believe they are the right topics to choose from an events perspective to support the industry and our APM members. Why? Well, here are my thoughts: Benefits realisation was awarded the most troublesome PMO process to embed into organisations with over 45% of respondents to the survey agreeing, and 54% of our conference attendees asking us to do some work around it. So what are we doing about Benefits Realisation? We have hooked up with our friends in the Benefits Management SIG and are working with them in two ways:
Our research team will also be picking up on this topic as they look to complete some insight on PMO maturity. Benefits Realisation is bound to be an important topic in the debate of what a mature PMO might look like. If you already downloaded the results to our survey, you will have read about my surprise to see Lessons Learned as the third most troublesome PMO process to embed. As more than 30% of respondents agreed, the result gave me a conundrum to ponder – how can more than 60% of PMO’s rate themselves as being of a maturity level 2 or 3 with such a high proportion of respondents not have Lessons Learned embedded? I would argue that although not insignificant as a process to implement, it is a definite ‘must have’ for a PMO to be at level 2 or 3. As this topic is so important, PMO SIG are planning something totally new. A Lessons Learned Roadshow – held over an evening in three locations across the country (South, Midlands, and Scotland) at the same time! Our technology friends, Wellingtone have been engaged to help us with potential technology needs on the night. Definitely one to come along and experience! The basics are fundamental to what we believe our role to be within the APM. And with a high proportion of corporate members joining all the time, it makes sense that a decent number of new members are new to their role in project management, PMO, and all the surrounding disciplines. The fact is we still always get asked what the ‘P’ stands for in PMO (we always try to keep it clean)! Three PMO 101 webinars in 2016 and a follow up one in 2017 will help us and you to hone in on a specific ‘P’. We are hoping to run the three this year as a Summer School (Project Office, Programme Office, and Portfolio Office), where delegates will be able to attend to learn about their specific type of PMO. For completeness, we have again reached out to our APM SIG siblings to help us and you really get to the bottom of each type of office. When is change transformational? How is a PMO able to continue to operate in an ever changing world of organisational change? Two questions we discussed at our last PMO SIG Committee meeting – and two questions that we want to answer this coming year. Lots of PMO people are working in a constantly changing environment, enabling change for the business and its customers. We want to delve into the PMO psyche and are working to organise two events that will help PMO’s to help themselves in times of change.
In addition to these two events, we have taken the opportunity to speak at the Programme SIG conference in March. We hope that we can help Programme Managers understand how PMO are integral to their role (and their organisations) to initially implement and thereafter make the change stick. PMOs provide the glue, facilitate and communicate the change and ensure it becomes both the norm and thereafter it continually evolves. There are more events and research to come, not in the least our annual conference which will tie the year together in an a-typical slightly random PMO SIG way... No, we won’t give you details just yet – we want you to keep reading our newsletters! So, as you can see, we plan to be busy supporting you; our members, to develop your existing, and learn new skills. If you have any ideas on how we can improve, want to get involved, or have ideas for other events then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at pmosig@apm.org.uk. For more information on the APM PMO SIG, please visit the APM website. Emma Arnaz-Pemberton RESEARCH Webinar - The PMO in the APM Competency Framework The PMO SIG delivered a webinar in October 2015 on the topic of The APM Competence Framework: PMO competences and career paths, which explored the competences required to be successful in your current and future PMO roles, as part of the recently revised and updated APM Competence framework. What next? Following from the latest committee meeting, the Research team will have as priorities for 2016 investigation on the topics below: 1. Development of a PMO maturity matrix Want to know more and/or get involved? Just get in touch with us, we’d love to hear from you! MARKETING LinkedIn hot topics Been out of the LinkedIn loop recently? Here are some of the conversations we felt would be valuable if you could give your opinions/experiences. Sustain Your PMO: Nine Easy Lessons The CEO’s Secret weapon – a kick ass PMO! Top Ten Trends for PMOs in 2016 National Audit Office - The Challenges of Major Projects PMO Curator What next? The Marketing team has now put together their annual plan, with the objective of increasing the SIG reach and engagement with peers. Planned activities include, among others, the expansion to additional marketing channels or the promotion of interactive and continuous communications such as polls, interviews with PMO practitioners, or reviews of PMO-related books. Stay tuned! EVENTS Upcoming events and Dates for your diary Fundamentals of project planning, scheduling monitoring and control, 2nd March, Bristol Equipping Programme Managers for Global Success, 10th March, London APM Presents... Project Management in practice, 17th March, Coventry How to make your PMO tool implementation successful and deliver real business value, 7th April, Coventry APM Project Management Conference 2016, 21st April 2016, London PMO SIG Out and About Chris Mills, representing the APM PMO SIG, spoke to an attentive and enthusiastic gathering at the Ageas Bowl on 10th November. He presented on a range of related PMO topics, such as P3O – Portfolio, Programme and Project Offices, the services provided by PMOs, characteristics of PMO, PMO people and skills, and the Future of PMOs. There was a useful discussion about potential PMO research topics to help direct the SIG’s research effort. APM SWWE branch – So you think you need a PMO? – 11th February 2016 What next? The Events team has been working hard to provide you with an offer of exciting and relevant events that could help you advance and excel as PMO professionals. Planning is well underway but how does PMO 101 webinars, Lessons Learned Roadshows, and Brain Science evening events sound? Keep your agenda free! PMO SIG Volunteers Are you interested in getting involved with the PMO Specific Interest Group? Becoming a volunteer is very rewarding! With access to like-minded individuals, PMO SIG (and other) events and opportunities to drive the PMO industry forward, it can help to increase your knowledge and expertise and will do no harm to your personal career path! You will need to commit some of your spare time when you volunteer to be a committee member, but there are plenty of things to get involved with of all shapes and sizes; from contributing to the newsletter to helping to develop best practice and organising events. If this sounds like you then it starts with just one step, contact a committee member today, and submit your application for the annual AGM in the Spring. Want to check us out first? Alternatively, you can join as a member to receive news and information on PMO SIG. Stay connected with the PMO SIG Unsubscribe from all APM emails If you would like to receive fewer emails, please manage your profile by visiting the APM website and logging in |
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