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1. From IT to All of It…. EPMO
Laila Faridoon
©2013 International Institute for Learning, Inc., All rights reserved.

2. Author’s Biography
Emarati Woman, an IT and Business practitioner, holds a master’s
degree in Computer Science from the University of Sharjah (2006). Has
12 years of work experience and currently working in Roads and
Transport Authority, Dubai, UAE as:
The Director of Chairman’s Office
The head of Enterprise Program Management Office (EPMO)

3. Introduction
The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) is a government organization:
RTA is responsible for the planning, design, construction, operation and
maintenance of the land and marine transportation networks in Dubai,
United Arab Emirates.
The organization was established in November 2005 as a specialized entity
to concentrate on the challenge of planning and building a world-class
transportation system for the city. RTA was established by amalgamating
several departments and sections from three existing government
organizations, namely: Dubai Municipality (DM), Dubai Police, and Dubai
Transport.

4. Introduction
The government of Dubai is very progressive and the population of the city is
forecasted to increase from 1.8 million in 2011 to around 3.3 million by 2020.
Over the past few decades, Dubai has succeeded in developing its status as a
major city, enhancing the wellbeing of its people and creating an environment
that attracts business and individuals.
RTA structure is based on the agency model, it has three sectors, six agencies
and one commercial agency.
The authority is governed by a board of directors and each agency is managed
by a CEO; the central headquarters of RTA is mainly responsible for planning,
coordinating and regulating activities, while the agencies are responsible for
the implementation of the plans and all other operation activities.

5. Why EPMO?
I joined RTA in May 2006 as the IT Performance Excellence Manager in the
Information Technology Department. I was in charge of IT PMO, with a
total of 100 projects running at the same time, varying from medium to
large size projects.
The ITD PMO developed policies, procedures, and templates for managing
the IT projects. We also developed reporting systems and dashboards to
track the status of all running projects. The ITD successfully completed 93
projects in first five months – and the rest in the following 5 months
achieving all the established business objectives.

6. Why EPMO?
When I joined the chairman’s office in 2007, I realized that the Project
Management issues on the RTA level were very similar to those in the IT
Department but only multiplied by a factor of at least 10. Some of the
issues that I noticed were:
Business Projects were not linked to relevant strategic objectives
No clear definition for the portfolio of business projects
Lack of project integration or dependencies analysis across multiple agencies
Projects were loosely coupled or being implemented as separate silos and
duplication of work could be seen across the running projects
Lack of formal coordination with stakeholders

7. Why EPMO?
Non-existence of Enterprise Program Management standards – hence the
organization is driven by its various vendors with different metrics and
therefore outputs and quality are not traced in the same accurate fashion
Lack of consistent monitoring and control, risk assessment, and mitigation
at the corporate level
Lack of rigorous assessments of business benefits realization
Lack of consistent reporting methodologies and templates for project
performance and progress

8. Establishing EPMO
Based on my experience in PMO, I knew the solution was the establishment
of a Project or Program Management Office at the Enterprise Level. So
from that point on, I called the idea "Enterprise Program Management
Office" or EPMO.
The idea was welcomed by the chairman, however I was challenged by him
to present it to all CEOs and get their buy-in, as this would help them in
monitoring their projects.

9. Establishing EPMO
At that time there were over 170 projects running simultaneously in RTA.
The total annual budget of these projects exceeded US$3.3 billion. These
projects ranged from large multi-disciplinary infrastructure projects (such
as the Dubai Metro) to IT and business projects.
When I first introduced the idea to the CEOs in RTA, I was met with strong
resistance and I could not convince them that the EPMO would provide a
suitable solution to the existing project management issues. We continued
using the existing reporting system with largely inconsistent templates and
forms as they were coming from different agencies and departments and in
some cases, from contractors and vendors.

10. EPMO
The EPMO was established as a section within the Chairman’s Office
based on a decision by the RTA Board of Directors in 2007.
The EPMO is primarily responsible for:
Ensuring selection, initiation, and execution of projects are in line with RTA’s
strategic objectives and goals
Providing dashboard of project performance to top management
Instituting policies on Project / Program Management
Encouraging Knowledge Management
Establishing Centre of Excellence

11. The Governance Model
The PM Governance Model in RTA covered 3 areas of organizational
project management:
1. Portfolio Management
2. Program Management
3. Project Management
More focus on Portfolio and Project Management

12. EPMO Success
We developed a model for project management maturity. The model
consists of 5 levels:
Level 1: Common language
Level 2: Common process
Level 3: Singular methodology
Level 4: Benchmarking
Level 5: Continuous improvement

13. EPMO Success
The model was implemented in three phases:
Phase 1: Initiate (from Level 1 to Level 3) in 2007
Phase 2: Excel (Level 4) in 2008
Phase 3: Continuous Mature (Level 5) in 2009 and onward
We successfully implemented the model based on full support from top
management and cooperation from all PMOs within RTA.

14. EPMO Success
We have developed a project management maturity that consists of the
knowledge areas of PMI and the five maturity stages of EPMO.
We evaluate the maturity each year and review our plans accordingly.

15. EPMO Success – PM Community
We have recently launched a PM Community of Practice within RTA.
Vision:
Smart and Mature Organizational Project Management
Objectives:
Raise the level of the overall Organizational Project Management Maturity.
Share Project Management Knowledge.
Promote the growth and development of Project Management skills and
competencies.
Increase the number of certified / accredited project managers.
Facilitate professional networking among project managers.

16. EPMO Success – PM Community
Main activities of the community
Knowledge sharing, training, workshops, and awareness sessions
Book reviews
Benchmarking visits
Technical support for PM
Online forum for knowledge sharing
Project Management Reference & Digital Library
Mentoring young project managers
Networking events for community members

17. Lessons Learned
The political aspects of the organization should be
captured while building any governance model,
especially in the government sector.
The maturity model must be sponsored at the highest
levels of the organization.
The maturity model should be comprehensive to cover
all aspects of project management, including technical
and managerial aspects.

18. Lessons Learned
The implementation should be very well planned with clear timelines,
milestones, and targets.
The Maturity Plan should be very well communicated with frequent and
clear messages of success to all stakeholders.
Project management champions should be harvested in all organizational
units to support the maturity efforts and to get the message across to
other employees.

19. Questions?

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