Matt Williams and Merv Wyeth Why PMOs need to be strategic - and what you can do about it PMO and Value APM PMO Specific Interest Group Conference London, 25 Oct 2016

1. Why PMOs need
to be strategic
&
what you can do about it!

2. Session Outline
 About the Speakers
 Setting the Context: Lessons from farming
 Why all the fuss about being strategic?
 Organisational strategy & value creation
 How does a PMO make a strategic contribution?
 Q&A

3. About the speakers …

4. Setting the Context:
Lessons from farming

5. Steve Hart
Norfolk Free Range,
Norfolk
Gordon Wyeth
Maple Farm,
Hampshire
Guy Shelby
Skirlaugh,
East Yorkshire
Farmer’s weekly award winners [2016]

6. Why all the fuss about
being strategic?

7. From Traditional to Strategic PMO
 Provide tangible, repeatable, long-term benefits
 Fully customized to align with organizational strategy
 Be prepared to change as corporate strategy shifts.
 Produce results & communicate them
 Earn executive support & overcome skepticism
Source: The State of the PMO 2010, PM Solutions PMI

8. What’s wrong with the status quo?
38%
62%
Strategic Alignment
Not Aligned
Up to 38% of
initiatives are not
helping to deliver
strategy
Source: Portfolio and Programme Management 2014 Global Survey, PWC

9. Organisational waste due to low
levels of benefits maturity
 Nearly three quarters of
organizations frequently
identify benefits before the
start of the project.
 Yet 83% - the vast majority –
still report a lack of maturity
with their benefits realization”
Source: The Strategic Impact of Projects: Identify benefits to drive business results. PMI Pulse of the Profession [2016]

10. Delivering Major Projects in Government
 Portfolio contains > £500bn worth of big risky projects
 > 1/3 of projects red or red/amber status
 High proportion are transformational / service delivery
 Data on benefits realisation very poor making VfM difficult!
 Key challenges of delivering transformation & benefits realisation
Delivering major projects in government: a briefing for the Committee Public Accounts: NAO, January

11. Organisational strategy
and value creation

12. What do we mean by strategy?
A strategy is an action plan and rationale
‘Rationale’ means the reasons for implementing the strategy
i.e. confirmation that it is:
logical
supported by compelling evidence that it will definitely work
is worth it!
Copyright OpenStrategies Ltd 2014

13. What Organisations Do
Create assets Use assets
Strategic Planning [BURP]
Strategy Execution [PRUB]
Copyright OpenStrategies Ltd 2014

14. Developing a new product [generic]

15. Hastings Pier Restoration Project

16. Organisational Value-Chain & Logic Models
Inputs Activities Outputs outcomes Impacts
Public sector resources
required to achieve
the policy objectives
What is delivered on
behalf of the public sector
to the recipient
What the recipient does
with the resources or
service received, or
intervention
relevant to them
The intermediate outcomes
of the policy
produced by the recipient
Wider economic and
social outcomes
Customer
satisfaction
Customer
Organisation
(People,
Processes,
Technology)
Inputs
Outcomes
Citizen/society
Customers
Customer
behaviour
Partners OutputsInputs
Outputs
Outputs

17. How do PMOs make a
strategic contribution?

18. Optimising the Results of investments in change

19. When planning a project or programme
the PMO must ensure that …
 The goals and business intent of all projects are
explicitly defined
 Risks and threats to delivering projects benefits are
explicitly defined
 Project outcomes are linked to organisational strategy

20. Training for the London Marathon

21. Strategy Map for Healthcare Portfolio

22. Benefit Map for Hospital Programme

23. A note about “Strategic” Benefits
 It is not enough to look for “Strategic Alignment”
 Strategic contribution is what counts
 Determine the amount of value [financial or non-
financial] being contributed by each
initiative/strategy

24. Determine Return on Investment
Benefit: £240
Budget: £100
Budget: £100
30%
70%
Benefit: £80
Benefit: £160

25. Benefits Management & Capability Maturity

26. Level Type Planning Execution Harvesting Outcome
5 Adaptability Granular accountability
for all tasks, changes,
benefits, assumptions
Benefits dependency
network maintained
with value challenge
Industrialised
learning capturing
unplanned benefits
Robust Value focus
4 Accountability Benefits baked into
budgets, headcounts
Sponsor recommits to
benefits at key gates
Scheduled
harvesting reviews
Fragile Value focus
3 Holistic visibility Business case inc.
based on value
model
Integrated review
across functions and
programmes
Analysis of benefits
realised / platform
for future benefits
Visibility
2 Basic Visibility Business case inc.
based on accounting
metrics
Clear understanding
of work done against
plan
Post-implementation
project review
Biased awareness
1 Chaos Charisma-based
decision making
Inconsistent project
management
“Throw it over the
wall”
A Value Lottery
Developing an effective Benefits Management Capability

27. Three sure-fire ways you can make your
PMO Strategic [& indispensable!]
 SUPPORT the role of project manager in Benefits
Management
 ENGAGE cross-functional teams to realise benefits
 PROVIDE the right tools and process to monitor and
measure benefits
Source: Delivering Value: Focus on benefits during project execution, PMI Pulse of the Profession, 2016

28. Merv Wyeth, FAPM
Benefits Management Consultant
Chanctonbury Associates Ltd.
AMPLIFY UK Service Delivery Partner
merv.wyeth@chanctonbry.org
+44 7824 776480
Matt Williams, PMP, MAIPM
Managing Director
Connexion Systems
mwilliams@connexion.com.au
+61 414 847 040
www.connexion.com.au
Our contact details:

29. This presentation was delivered at an APM
event
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