A Project Management Office (PMO) is a centralized group within an organization that provides project management guidance, support, and oversight to ensure that all projects align with the organization's goals, vision, and objectives. PMO provides a set of standardized project management practices, tools, and templates that facilitate communication, decision-making, and project execution. Here are some benefits of establishing a PMO within an organization.

Benefits of Establishing a Project Management Office:

1. Standardization of Project Management Practices: One of the key benefits of establishing a PMO is that it provides standardized project management practices, tools, and templates that can be used by all project managers within an organization. This ensures consistency in the way projects are planned, executed, and monitored, which reduces the risk of errors, delays, and rework.

2. Improved Resource Allocation: PMOs can help organizations to better allocate resources by providing a clear overview of all ongoing projects, their status, and their priorities. This information helps organizations to make informed decisions about which projects to prioritize, which resources to allocate, and when.

3. Enhanced Risk Management: PMOs can help organizations to identify, assess, and manage risks associated with project delivery. This can be done by setting up a risk management framework, conducting risk assessments, and providing guidance on how to mitigate risks.

4. Better Communication and Collaboration: PMOs can help to facilitate better communication and collaboration between project teams, stakeholders, and senior management. This can be achieved through regular status meetings, project reports, and project dashboards that provide a transparent view of project progress and issues.

5. Improved Project Performance: Establishing a PMO can improve project performance by ensuring that all projects are aligned with the organization's strategic goals and objectives. PMOs can also monitor project performance and provide feedback to project teams to help them improve their project management practices.

6. Increased Project Success Rates: PMOs can increase project success rates by ensuring that projects are delivered on time, within budget, and to the required quality standards. PMOs can also help to identify and address issues that may impact project success and ensure that best practices are followed.

Establishing a PMO can bring many benefits to an organization, including standardization of project management practices, improved resource allocation, enhanced risk management, better communication and collaboration, improved project performance, and increased project success rates. These benefits can help organizations to achieve their strategic goals and objectives by delivering projects that are completed on time, within budget, and to the required quality standards.

The software development life-cycle (SDLC) is the process of planning, designing, building, testing, and deploying software. There are various models for the SDLC, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Here are some of the most common models:

1. Waterfall model: The waterfall model is a linear, sequential approach to software development, where each stage is completed before the next one begins. The stages include requirements gathering, design, implementation, testing, and maintenance. This model works well for projects with well-defined and stable requirements, but can be inflexible and slow to respond to changing requirements.

2. Agile model: The agile model is an iterative and incremental approach to software development, where software is developed in short cycles called sprints. The stages include planning, requirements gathering, design, implementation, testing, and deployment, and the process is repeated in each sprint. This model works well for projects with evolving requirements and a need for flexibility, but can be challenging for teams that are new to agile methodologies.

3. Spiral model: The spiral model is a risk-driven approach to software development, where risks are identified and addressed in each stage of the SDLC. The stages include planning, risk analysis, design, implementation, testing, and deployment, and the process is repeated in a spiral fashion as risks are identified and addressed. This model works well for projects with high levels of complexity and uncertainty, but can be time-consuming and expensive.

4. V model: The V model is a variant of the waterfall model that emphasizes testing and verification throughout the SDLC. The stages include requirements gathering, design, implementation, testing, and maintenance, and the testing process runs in parallel with the development process. This model works well for projects with a strong emphasis on testing and verification, but can be inflexible and slow to respond to changing requirements.

5. DevOps model: The DevOps model is a collaborative approach to software development that emphasizes the integration of development and operations teams. The stages include planning, development, testing, deployment, and monitoring, and the process is highly automated to enable rapid and frequent releases. This model works well for projects with a need for rapid release cycles and a high degree of automation, but can be challenging for teams that are new to DevOps methodologies.

Each of these models has its own strengths and weaknesses, and the choice of model will depend on the specific requirements of the project, the experience and preferences of the team, and the organizational culture. Successful software development requires careful planning, effective communication, and a willingness to adapt to changing requirements and circumstances.

In August of 2021, PMI released the PMBOK 7th Ediiton.  I have a previous post describing what's new. Surprisingly, is a book filled with professional soft-skills, and not really a process-guide for executing projects.  Wihile PMBOK 1-6 Editions contain step-by-step process guidance for project execution, PMBOK 7 is all about the soft skills.

I tell my PMP and CAPM students they will need both, and an easy way to think about it is to use PMBOK 6 for learning how to manage projects, and PMBOK 7 for learning how to be an excellent project manager.  One analogy I used in a recent public presentation is that PMBOK 6 is the bones, and PMBOK 7 is the meat.

Mike Berry  Red Rock Research

In August of this year (2021), the Project Management Institute will release PMBOK 7!  This edition will be different than past editions of the PMBOK as PMI is emphasizing a descriptive program versus a prescriptive program.

The new Project Management Body of Knowledge will contain 12 Project Management Principles, which help guide decisions, 8 Project Performance Domains, and 7 Model Sets.  They are as follows:

12 Project Management Principles:

• Stewardship
• Team
• Stakeholders
• Value
• Systems Thinking
• Leadership
• Tailoring
• Quality
• Complexity
• Risk
• Adaptability and Resilience
• Change

8 Project Performance Domains:

• Stakeholders
• Team
• Development Approach and Life cycle
• Planning
• Project Work
• Delivery
• Measurement
• Uncertainty

7 Model Sets

• Situational Leadership
• Communications Models
• Motivation Models
• Change Models
• Complexity Models
• Project Team Development Models
• Other Models

September 6, 2017,  PMI will release Version 6 of the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) Guide.  The updates in the new guide reflect slight adjustments to the framework expanding it to encompass managing equipment as well as human resources, and changing terminology from “control” to “monitor” in many areas.  In addition, PMI will publish the new Agile Practice Guide which will become PMI’s definitive resource for all things Agile.   

The PMP and CAPM tests will not change until January, 2018.

Knowledge Area Changes:

• Project Time Management > Project Schedule Management

• Project Human Resource Management > Project Resource Management

Process Name Changes:

• Plan Stakeholder Management > Plan Stakeholder Engagement (Planning)

• Plan Human Resource Management > Plan Resource Management (Planning)

• Perform Quality Assurance > Manage Quality (Executing)

• Control Communications > Monitor Communications (M&C)

• Control Risks > Monitor Risks (M&C)

• Control Stakeholder Engagement > Monitor Stakeholder Engagement (M&C)

New Processes:

• Manage Project Knowledge (Added to Executing)

• Implement Risk Responses (Added to Executing)

• Control Resources (Added to M&C)

Deleted processes:

• Close Procurement’s

The PMP, or Project Management Professional certification, indicates a person possesses years of industry experience participating in projects, and they understand the PMBOK framework.

The PMBOK, or Project Management Body of Knowledge, is a framework comprising 42 processes useful to managing formal projects.

Legendary in the industry, the PMP exam is one of the toughest professional exams out there.  It consists of 200 questions and takes most people the entire 4 hour allotment of time to complete.

The test is put together using Blooms Taxonomy, a learning framework that describes different ways people process learned information.   Recalling lists versus selecting the best option from a set of viable options are examples of categories in Blooms Taxonomy.

One major tip for passing the PMP exam is to expect to be reading questions in street lingo.  For example, the question may be a short story about a manager asking for something from her project manager.  The question will contain no terminology...you will be expected to translate the street lingo into the particular framework component being described and select the correct answer from the choices given.

I teach a PMP Exam Prep class and have many students who pass, and a few who don't.  What's the difference?  Quality study time.  Be sure you take this exam seriously so that you can benefit from the PMBOK framework concepts.

Mike J. Berry, PMP, CAPM, CBAP, ITIL, ACP, CSP, CSM, CSPO
John C. Maxwell Leadership Coach
www.RedRockResearch.com