CRITERIA FOR A SUCCESSFUL PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE DIRECTOR
By Ken Ryan, PMP
You’ve decided to create a Project Management Office (PMO) for your organization…one of
the first challenges is determining the critical qualities the Director of the PMO should
possess.
This individual will be a crucial factor to the success of the PMO in providing value on
your investment. Some of their most important roles include mentoring project leaders in
their communications with major stakeholders for individual projects, communicating a
major-projects general summary to your organizations steering committee on a regular basis,
ensuring adherence to your project management standards, and helping improve those standards
based on lessons learned. Based on proven track records of VCS PMO’s below is a starting
point in your search for a successful PMO Director.
PMO Manager or Director:
Position Description
- Provides services including planning, scheduling, cost-estimating and risk
assessment to the company’s portfolio of projects
- Assists senior management in ranking potential projects in terms of their expected
contribution to meeting organizational goals and/or government mandated requirements
- Serves as the owner of the organization’s project management methodology; makes
recommendations regarding updates to the methodology over time; works with technical
support staff to implement changes to the collaborative software package your
organization has decided to use
- Works with individual project leaders to ensure that the organization’s project
management methodology is understood and followed; helps the project team understand
specific organizational goals that their project is expected to help achieve
- Participates in discussions regarding evaluation of potential projects; gains
understanding of the organization’s strategic goals that drive project selection
- Assists project leaders with initial set up of the project web site, where major
project documentation will be stored and updated
- Participates in project status meetings with the project manager and stakeholders to
ensure project is on schedule, and that the project scope statement is being followed
- Oversees approximately five to seven (depending on organization size) project
leaders or managers who are responsible for major implementation or process improvement
projects; may have direct administrative responsibility for these staff members, or may
work with them via a matrixed organizational structure
- Works with individual project leaders to ensure project stakeholders are identified
and that a communication process with them has been implemented, in accordance with the
organization’s project management methodology
- Establishes and maintains a lessons-learned database from completed projects, to
serve as a guide to future projects
- Directors, mentor project leaders regarding organizational project management
practices
- Participates in or controls the process that assigns project leaders to projects
(again, depends on whether staff reports directly to the PMO Director or whether you
have a matrixed organization)
- May work directly or indirectly with project leaders regarding planning of continuing
education or certification needs
Experience:
- Minimum three years serving as a project manager in the same or related industry
- Familiarity with communicating with senior management and major project stakeholders
- Ability to supervise the work of other project managers or project leaders
- Familiarity with using a centralized project documentation process or project web
site (end user perspective, not as the technical owner)
- PMP (Project Management Professional) designation desired but not required
- Minimum educational requirement: four year bachelor degree
Vitalize Consulting Solutions, Inc. (VCS) can help your enterprise through our PMO
offerings of design services and project management collaborative software called PMO Jump
Start. This software, based on Microsoft Sharepoint Services, provides tools, document
templates, expert advice, and project management web site capabilities. The Jump Start
software is designed for easy implementation and use via your intranet.
For further information or an online demonstration, please contact us at (610) 444 1233
or vcs@getvitalized.com.