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How Do You Know if Your PMO is Successful? Part IV: Cross-Project Services

You’ll only know if you’ve been successful if you know why you’re needed.

You’ll only know if you’ve been successful if you know why you’re needed.

Cross-project synchronisation services are usually required when:

  • the volume of projects allows conflicting projects to be unknowingly created and co-exist,
  • the volatility of projects allows events and risks to ‘fall through the cracks’ between projects,
  • the dynamics and changes to projects can cause inter-related problems and resultant value loss.
In other words, when the volume of activity is beyond any one person’s comprehension and you have to move to an information-based approach to portfolio monitoring.

The key is to be proactive so that there are no (unknown) project overlaps or duplications, no avoidable inter-project issues, problems or delays, and that all projects are set up from the start and managed to deliver value.

Your measures of success, therefore, can include:

  • the number and percentage of scope definitions that need to be amended due to overlaps or unacceptable project changes (and trend),
  • the number and percentage of business cases that need to be amended due to benefits duplication (and trend) or integrity problems,
  • the number and duration of avoidable inter-project interruptions, delays or problems (and trend).

How do your PMO measurements stack up?

Further support and useful tools to help you manage your investments, projects and portfolio are available from valuedeliverymanagement.com.

For the previous article in this series by Jed Simms visit " How Do You Know if Your PMO is Successful? Part III: Performance Management Services".

For the first article in this series by Jed Simms visit "How Do You Know if Your PMO is Successful? Part I: Constraints Management Services".

For the previous series by Jed Simms visit "PMO: What’s in a name?".

Jed Simms is CIO magazine's project management columnist. Simms, founder of projects and benefits delivery research firm Capability Management, is also the developer of specialised project management and project governance Web site valuedeliverymanagement.com

Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.

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