Bought Into the Journey at The Squad

For almost a decade, I’ve seen and heard from business, PMO and project management leaders the challenges they face in their organizations. A lot of those challenges are tied to the disconnect between the organization and the purpose of the PMO and project management.

That’s why I’ve joined The PMO Squad.

The PMO Squad is built around supporting organizations and PMOs through The Organizational Project Delivery Journey.

You may not have heard of it – but once you do, you’ll want to be along for the ride too!

The Organizational Project Delivery Journey isn’t about organizational maturity. It’s about your organization’s capabilities - how well you follow the processes you’ve built around project delivery.
So, what does this journey look like?

The first stage of the journey is AdHoc Project Management. If you’re in this stage, you’re focused on just getting projects done. This is often the results of accidental project managers executing projects, whether they are called “projects” or not.

The second stage of the journey is standardizing that project delivery. This showcases the standardization of how those projects are delivered through a uniform way of executing projects. You’ll notice this isn’t about the management of the project, but the delivery of the project to the organization. Examples of this can include a standard status report that tracks risks and issues allowing for mitigation of those risks proactively as part of the process of project delivery in the organization.

The third stage is where the organization is bought into project delivery with a SOP or Playbook for executing projects. This is often where the building of a purpose-driven PMO is done. Between stages two and three is where the PMO must position themselves outside of the common definition of “the project police” and more around positioning the PMO as a business function within the organization driving decisions.

The fourth stage is about leveling up to participating in portfolio and resourcing discussions. This stage is all about the shift from tactical execution and governance to strategic delivery. This stage requires a shift in mindset from reactive to proactive. This is often the stage where executive leadership turns to PMOs to drive strategic outcomes for the organization.

The final stage is all about seeing the outcomes of the advanced project delivery capabilities the ORGANIZATION has bought into. At this stage, your organization embraces project delivery and aligns project outcomes with the strategic decision making. The key stakeholders are all aligned on the strategy and the organization as a whole is generating value. 

Now you may think, that sounds like a lot – and it is if you want it done correctly. But, that’s why I’ve joined The PMO Squad. For the last 11 years, The PMO Squad has been supporting organizations through this journey to value delivery through a variety of PMO and project management consulting services.

As I officially start my journey with The PMO Squad, if you’re ever wanting help along your organization’s project delivery journey – don’t hesitate to reach out! We are here to help!

Written by: Rachel Hentges
Director of Marketing | The PMO Squad