The Virtual Project Management Office: Best Practices, Proven Methods - Softcover

Gordon, Robert; Curlee, Wanda

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1567263275 ISBN 13: 9781567263275

Publisher: Management Concepts, 2011

Synopsis

New Technology and global businesses and organizations are making virtual project management offices (VPMOs) more important and more prevalent than ever.Successfully operating a VPMO requires project managers to employ additional skills and address different challenges from those necessary to operate a traditional PMO. This book covers the range of issues and aspects that must be considered and implemented to assure the proper establishment and optimal maintenance of a VPMO. Both experienced and novice PMO leaders will benefit from the book's approach and coverage.

About this title

About the Authors

Robert Gordon develops and delivers courses for the American public University systems, the Keller Graduate School of Management, and the Apollo Group on operations management.

Wanda Curlee is an adjunct professor at Northcentral University and Kaplan University, facilitating online doctoral, graduate, and undergraduate courses in project management, critical thinking, and strategic management.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The Virtual Project Management Office

Best Practices, Proven Methods

By Robert L. Gordon, Wanda Curlee

Management Concepts Press

Copyright © 2011 Management Concepts, Inc.
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-56726-327-5

Contents

Preface, 
Part I: PMOs and the Virtual Environment, 
Chapter 1: Introduction to the Virtual Project Management Office, 
Chapter 2: The Need for a Virtual Project Management Office, 
Chapter 3: Establishing a Virtual Project Management Office, 
Part II: Soft Issues, 
Chapter 4: Trust, 
Chapter 5: Change, 
Chapter 6: Culture, 
Chapter 7: Communication, 
Part III: Best Practices, 
Chapter 8: Implementation and Expansion Tools, 
Chapter 9: Evaluation Tools, 
Chapter 10: Lessons Learned and Best Practices, 
Part IV: Policies, Programs, Training, and the Future, 
Chapter 11: Policies and Procedures, the Law, and Ethics, 
Chapter 12: Program Management, 
Chapter 13: Training, 
Chapter 14: Looking Ahead, 
Glossary, 
References, 
Additional Resources, 
Index, 

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION TO THE VIRTUAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE

Before we delve deeper into our discussion of virtual project management offices, a discussion of project management offices in general is in order. There are many names for, and definitions of, the project management office (Hobbs and Aubry 2008), which can make determining whether to establish a project management office a confusing process. The Project Management Institute (PMI) gives a high-level definition of the term in A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) that may help clarify its meaning. According to PMI, a PMO is:

An organizational body or entity assigned various responsibilities related to the centralized and coordinated management of those projects under its domain. The responsibilities of a PMO can range from providing project management support functions to actually being responsible for the direct management of a project. (Project Management Institute 2008, p. 435)

The project management office can be whatever it is defined to be — but this can be problematic. The PMO needs to offer value to project managers, of course, but it also needs to offer value all the way up the chain of command. The PMO leader must be careful, however, that the new PMO is not everything to everyone. Make sure that the systems in place, such as accounting systems, will support the metrics and activities promised by the new PMO. The quickest way for the PMO to fail is by not delivering on its promises. If the required systems are not in place at the beginning, the PMO will not be able to provide its intended support services and other deliverables.

WHAT PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICES DO

PMOs offer a number of benefits to the organization. They:

• Create standards for common processes and offer flexible templates, which saves the organization time and money; project managers do not have to build their own each time they start a project.

• Create and deploy new or revised processes and templates throughout the organization, facilitating organizational learning.

• Offer a data warehouse (manual or automated) of material that can be used by other project managers leading similar projects.

• Provide training to boost project managers' skills. This training is less expensive than that offered by outside contractors.

• Deliver project management coaching and intervention services to keep projects on track. If projects do fa

Edition details

• Publisher: Management Concepts
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1567263275
• ISBN 13: 9781567263275
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 250