Services Banner
Industry insights

Balancing Project Management Delivery

Peter Hamilton 17 May 2011
Posted by Peter Hamilton

As we claw our way out of the recession, there appears to be a degree of nervousness in the business world in relation to embarking on new projects or at least being able to make the right decisions on the direction for new projects. Any failure could have a greater impact than previously experienced. Doesn't this make it even more important to ensure that any project doesn't falter due to poor delivery, poor project management.

No project should  fall off the tightrope in one direction through bad planning or overbalance and fall in the other direction by hesitating too much by over analysing. A good PMO is surely the key to maintaining balance.

Comments

20 May 2011 15:29 Thomas Lecocq says

I agree that the PMO is important in this context, but how does the PMO ensure that the project doesn't get bogged down with too much analysis leading to paralysis?

23 May 2011 09:47 Peter says

Thomas, that's exactly the point, it is sometimes difficult to ascertain exactly when further analysis brings no additional value and that the best course of action is to go with the decision or direction that has already been identified. I guess it is the 80/20 rule and the PMO should be proactive in bringing this level of clarity to the project by identifying the consequences of any potential delay and by being objective and reinforcing the goals.

28 June 2011 10:24 John Murphy says

An effective PMO should have a clear picture of how projects that get implemented support the strategic direction of the business. There is an argument that in tough economic times smart organisations will be keener to initiate projects as the gestation period would hopefully be timed to take advantage of the recovery as it happened rather than lagging. It's a similar argument for marketing where a case can be justified for more activity in a downturn than normal. The PMO has to ensure that the decision making process is efficient and effective based on valid data that challenges assumptions and analyses the inherent uncertainty.

Leave a Comment

Back to Category