08/10/2020

Daily Buzz: Taking the Next Step of Project Management

A project management office might be a fit for your association

You probably use project management principles already, even if you don’t use that term. But if you want to take your association’s initiatives to the next level, you may want to consider establishing a project management office.

According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), a PMO is “an organizational structure that standardizes the project-related [and/or program-related] governance processes and facilitates the sharing of resources, methodologies, tools and techniques.”

As Stephanie Lovett of FusionSpan points out, that’s a loaded definition—but that doesn’t mean it’s just jargon for getting things done. PMI said companies that develop a PMO that lines up to their strategy had 38 percent more projects meet their goals compared with businesses that did not, and saw 33 percent fewer project failures.

So, how does this apply to associations? Adopting a PMO framework known as a supportive model grants associations flexibility while still giving core project-management tools. “[The supportive model] is the easiest to implement and there should be fewer challenges associated with buy-in,” Lovett said. “A Supportive PMO can be especially beneficial for associations that frequently need to share resources, as it allows for standardization and additional resources to ease stress on busy staff.”

In this model, association staff collaborates with the PMO to determine goals, with the PMO figuring out how to get there. “[A] required element is strong support from an association’s leadership to encourage buy-in and successful adoption,” Lovett said.

Please select this link to read the original article from Associations Now.