PMaaS

Implementing PMOaaS: A Step-by-Step Guide for Organisations

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PMaaS
Implementing PMOaaS in your Organisation

May 22nd, 2024

If you’ve been keeping up with our recent series of articles on Project Management Office as a Service, then its significant benefits won’t be a surprise to you.

We’re frequently speaking with Australian business leaders who are struck by the potential of PMOaas to support existing PMOs with specialist expertise and advice, while offering scalable solutions and genuine value for money.

So, if you’re thinking about making the transition to PMOaaS, it’s essential to begin planning this implementation today. This article covers everything you need to know, providing a clear roadmap to deliver maximum value for your business.

1. Understand & Communicate the Value of PMOaaS

Gaining an understanding of these themes is crucial, not only in the decision to partner with a PMOaaS provider, but also in communicating this value to managers and teams.

Effective PMOaaS implementation should begin with consultations with relevant stakeholders. This will primarily include your executive leadership team and the Project Management Office.

Additionally, demonstrating value and clarifying workflows and processes to team leaders, project managers, IT and finance departments and operations managers is essential to a successful implementation.

These stakeholders should understand the way they’ll be working with your PMOaaS provider, how their roles, responsibilities and workflows will look, and the benefits that this transition will bring.

It’s important to convey that PMOaaS is not the wholesale outsourcing of PMO responsibilities. Instead, it’s a productive relationship that can elevate and enhance the capabilities of existing teams and provide essential support when needed most.

2. Conduct an Organisational Assessment

The next stage in the implementation process involves thoroughly evaluating your organisation’s current PMO maturity and readiness for PMOaaS.

This includes reviewing existing processes, resources, and technologies to pinpoint gaps and areas needing improvement. The assessment can be conducted through stakeholder interviews, process evaluations, and performance data analysis.

By actively engaging your PMO and encouraging honest responses, you’ll gain a clear picture of specific needs and readiness, enabling tailored PMOaaS solutions that address these gaps.

3. Select the Right PMOaaS Provider

Exploring PMOaaS providers and selecting the right organisation is one of the most crucial steps in this journey. We recommend prioritising specialist expertise in your industry, comprehensive service offerings, and a strong reputation.

Ensure they offer scalable services in the specific areas you require, such as project planning, risk management, and governance, that can adapt to your needs.

Examine their pricing structures and contractual terms, which should ideally offer you both flexibility and transparency. A good PMOaaS provider will also have positive client testimonials and case studies demonstrating their impact.

Finally, look for providers that propose clear, measurable KPIs in their agreements, ensuring they’ll be on track to deliver tangible improvements and project wins.

4. Navigating the Contract Process

Next up, it’s time to ink the contact with your chosen PMOaaS provider. This agreement typically details the scope of services, service level agreements (SLAs), and confidentiality clauses to protect sensitive information.

Contracts should clearly outline scalable and on-demand services, ensuring flexibility to adjust resources as project demands change. You should ensure your contract provides clear metrics for service delivery and outcomes, enabling easy performance assessment.

A good contract will align closely with your strategic objectives, offering adaptability and clear terms around costs and deliverables.

5. Setting Goals and KPIs

While KPIs will be discussed during earlier consultations with your PMOaaS provider, now is the time to get specific and really begin to analyse in detail how this team will support your organisation.

Common KPIs may include project completion rates, budget adherence, stakeholder satisfaction, and time to market for product launches.

These metrics should be established collaboratively with your PMOaaS provider to ensure alignment with your organisation’s strategic objectives.

Thoughtfully defining these goals and KPIs allows you to track progress effectively, make informed decisions, and adjust strategies as needed, ultimately leading to improved project outcomes and business performance.

6. Integrating PMO and PMOaaS

The next essential step in the implementation process is ensuring a productive and collaborative relationship between your PMO and PMOaaS provider.

Helping the pair to integrate successfully involves sharing insights and aligning with organisational goals and needs. In terms of day-to-day operations, this can take the form of a remote PMO or an in-house team, accommodating your preferred workflow and ensuring optimal responsiveness.

If your organisation works with existing frameworks like Agile or Waterfall, or specific software and AI tools, these should also be considered when optimising processes. Regular review meetings are crucial to assess and adjust the integration process, ensuring that PMOaaS effectively supports and enhances your organisation’s capabilities.

7. Utilising Change Management Strategies

Adopting PMOaaS requires significant cultural shifts and training to ensure organisational alignment and acceptance.

Change management strategies should include comprehensive training sessions on Agile methodologies, risk management, and the use of project tools provided by the PMOaaS.

Additionally, workshops focusing on the benefits of PMOaaS and fostering a culture of continuous improvement can be crucial. Such training helps ease the transition, promote buy-in, and optimise change management success.

8. Risk Management and Mitigation

The final stages of PMOaaS implementation should involve a thorough risk assessment strategy and how to mitigate potential challenges, from data security to provider dependency.

During this process, ensure providers comply with stringent cybersecurity standards and maintain contracts with clear SLAs.

Address cultural resistance through change management workshops, and tackle integration challenges with a robust plan supported by technical experts from both sides. Proactively managing risk ensures a smoother transition and secures the long-term benefits of PMOaaS.

9. Launching Your PMOaaS

Now, after all this careful preparation and integration, it’s time to launch your PMOaaS. Begin by onboarding the PMOaaS provider, integrating their team with your internal staff to facilitate knowledge transfer and set the foundation for collaborative success.

Next, initiate pilot projects to apply the new framework on a smaller scale, allowing both sides to adjust processes and communication strategies as needed.

Finally, go live with full operations, leveraging your provider’s expertise to manage and optimise project outcomes from the outset. This phased approach helps mitigate risks and builds confidence in the new system.

Thank you to the MetaPM team for contributing to this article.