Overview
It was almost a hundred years ago that the first Project Management Office was set upi and with new technologies and trends evolving, we can hear more and more voices articulating the end of the PMO era.
Even though I'm of the opinion that the roles cannot be as similar as they were 100 years ago, we're yet to say goodbye to the traditional project offices. Here is the reason.
Major trends that affect PMO's direction in the near future. PMO
There are many forecasts and research on what the future holds for project management as well as the major factors that affect it.
After reading a few reports, you'll notice that the most often talked about trends are the ever-growing acceptance of agile and hybrid techniques, the advancement in AI as well as Machine Learning. The most recent one, as that was accelerated by Covid-19, is the rise of cloud-based and remote working technologies.
The use of hybrid and agile methods in the field of project management.
When we talk about IT developments, it is impossible to leave without talking about agile methodologies that have been growing steadily and consistently over the last several years. According to PMI even the oldest companies employ agile techniques in 16 percent of their projects. And in 19%, they select the hybrid option between agile and waterfall
The debate over waterfall versus agile is raging at many levels, and some have gone to the extreme of being in over one or the other however the emergence of hybrid systems is proving that there isn't an ideal solution. Most of the time, you'll be able to choose between both depending on the limitations that you are facing. Other times , you'll have to choose between both.
What does this mean for how it affects the Project Management Office? The idea behind agile is that teams of different sizes are created with no requirement of the typical PM's position that is responsible for delegating and monitoring tasks since the team members are autonomous. Documentation is maintained at a minimal level, and centralized management reports are almost not occurring in between sprints.
It is clear why the agile fanatics believe that the time is coming for the death of PMO in this type of environment and especially when they have only encountered a tier-one PMO that was only there to develop documentation and complex reporting templates. They don't see any necessity for PMO within an agile business.
Okay, but what about pure agile as well as hybrids? Do you think the PMO brings value to these projects? It's possible that it won't in the traditional sense however in mature organizations, but in mature organizations PMO will remain the center of excellence that helps in agile transformations, which aids in agile transformations, teaches individuals, and ensures that the portfolio of projects is aligned with key roles of the organization. In the majority of organizations, the department of project management will have to change into something more strategic in order to deliver proper methodologies, since support and documentation are not essential for a well-organized agile project. With the rapid spread of hybrid solutions , a crucial task will fall to PMOs in companies.
The fundamental idea behind the hybrid projects lies in the fact that they take the best elements from each approach. There is no set rule to determine a good hybrid model since it takes the best of both approaches and creates the new way to do things that is most effective to the business and the desired objective. How do you come up with new models that are based on people of agile who aren't necessarily experienced with the vast waterfall approach, or any alternatively, with just traditional PMs? Of course, you'll not be able to accomplish this, since you'll require senior experts who have been through both types of projects and are able to create an iterative waterfall or an established agile approach for you.
Who is more competent than your PMO, who is armed with an extensive understanding of methodologies and has probably worked with both methods of working?
Technology advancement AI and ML technology
The second major trend is the rapid development of technology around the world, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) being the most commonly used buzzwords we hear when talking about how technology is transforming our lives, and gradually replacing the traditional role of PMOs.
It's been the job that PMs and PMMOs have, to manage and balance the iron triangle (schedule costs, schedule and scope) through monitoring, planning and controlling the project to finish it efficiently. It was believed for the past 50-70 years that PMs are the best qualified individuals to manage these three tasks; however, can this position be maintained in a time when machines are smarter than we? To be honest, on paper, machines are doing better and I'll tell the reasons why.
Typically, planning for projects is accomplished through gathering data from the experiences of experts and PMs and comparing industry averages and calculating based on vendor proposals. We live in the technological age of IOT where machines are able to transfer data with no human interaction it is easy to determine which one can offer a better estimate one of two PMs: one with a broad, but limited experience or a machine that has practically unlimited data on the Internet and able to find the averages of a much larger range and much more quickly.
Monitoring can also be performed through AI regardless of whether you are discussing IT or non-IT projects. For software development, we're at the point of automated testing, with minimal or no human involvement, and so the implementation of a monitoring system to track progress is just an incremental step. There are a myriad of technology options that could help monitor any non-IT-related project. There are companies that offer LIDAR technology to track your construction III. This is just one technology that is being utilized in everyday life . It can be used in the field of monitoring and control of project delivery and monitoring, not drones, cameras that have intelligent image processing and voice recognition, for example.
Therefore, regardless of whether it's an IT or non-IT project, machines can plan and oversee it more effectively than human beings could. The only hurdle to them is cost that is currently shifting the balance to the use by human resources. Let me play devil's advocate and tell you that regardless of how superior machines are at calculating, forecasting and the like They will never be able to replace excellent PMs and PMOs. Why? Because these strategies are covering a portion of the complicated procedures, and total automation isn't in the near future. It will require people to design and manage equipment and programs for quite a while and certainly this will require different skills that conveyor belts had 100 years ago. you can't eliminate the human element out of the process.
One of my personal favorite stories about this is from my previous project: we had to do an intricate banking connection ( read more about it here) in which the date of completion was written in stone, and any indication of a delay could be a cause for concern. I was the PMO's leader in charge of bringing expertise in project management to the team. I was always convinced my role was to think about the unexpected and highlight the risks to the CIO as well as the PM accountable for the delivery. While doing this, I can recall our heated discussions concerning the need to reduce the scope of work, and then the CIO informed me that: "Agi, do not provide me with your data on our utilization of resources and availability. I'm not going to be able to see it. I will only be able to prove that it's not feasible to meet our goals.
However, I am confident that it's possible, and I'm not concerned about how many numbers are thrown around." Imagine my reaction when I heard that however, can you tell who was the right person? It was definitely him, since the project was completed in time and with excellent quality. In the past few weeks, we had a second meeting and I inquired if I could remember this , and what his impression was with hindsight. He replied as every great manager would tell you: believed that his primary and primary responsibility was to make his employees believe that they could complete the plan as it was planned.
Then I realized what PMs and PMOs need to be doing in the future in order to be able to compete with machines: concentrate on the human element of their projects.
Human capacity isn't something that you can forecast completely. People can be encouraged to perform things that they didn't think were possible and, with machines taking over monotonous duties, PMO should shift its focus to become managers instead of leaders and become the wheels in the machine helping people achieve more.
The new age of work
In the past, we've all heard of the joke: "Who was leading the digitalization of your business? A) CEO; B) CIO; C) Covid-19"
Let's be real here, comedy is popular because it's so real. The last year was the year that the home office was introduced widely without anyone knowing if we'd ever get back to "normal" and leave the remote work behind. The question remains to be answered but according to me, the practice of working from 9 to 5 at a workplace has come to an end. Working remotely is beneficial for employees and companies. I think that a mix of solutions will be in place for some days working from home, and some working from the office.
Why is this so important to us? Alongside remote working, another trend has been accelerating the adoption of cloud computing. Cloud computing has led to the development and expansion of what I believe to be the most important element to define the PMOs future citizen developers. The two other factors I discussed (agile methods and the rise of machines) have been present for a long time and have only gained momentum recently, but this one is new and exciting. And I am convinced that this is the way that PMOs will prosper in the coming years.
The first low-code platform was launched just seven years ago around 2014. iv and has since become low-code / no-code platforms, and their use has exploded in a manner that the world hasn't witnessed before. In the most talked about forecast by Gartner, "By 2024 at the very least 65% of innovative business apps will be developed using high-productivity tools that include low-code and no-code development platforms. [..] In 2023, the amount of active developers from large corporations will be 4 times higher than the number professionals" v. Of course , the citizen developers won't take over the IT function however they will play crucial in keeping the company up-to-date and responding to our ever-changing world.
Okay, we are all about citizen developers however, how can it show the effectiveness for the PMO? With technology spreading and growing so fast the primary issue organizations face is the absence of a clear process and proper oversight. If only there were a person within our company who was proficient in these two areas... Can you understand where I am heading? The development of a citizen-centered culture requires similar components similar to what an initiative would require but on a bigger scale. They'll need the right platforms to operate on, suitable conditions for testing, and companies to benefit from the process. It must be designed and maintained around the guidelines for introducing new processes and procedures to help share information and elevating certain apps to be used at a corporate level.
IT can be the engine behind these and other initiatives, however I think PMO is the organization unit that is better suited to the tasks. As it appears, PMI is currently developing a framework for developing and implementing citizen-led developments. I believe that with the wide group of PMs certified by PMI, they stand a good likelihood of establishing a solid methodology for this new method of thinking. PMI have the experience and network to promote standards and aid in the implementation.
It's not just about the catalyst for changes, but I am seeing an excellent chance that in a lot of companies, those who are PMO members will be the first citizens to develop. With the many options available for PM tools, none of which is optimal, why not create our own tools for the future? A citizen developer's role is solving problems which is exactly the job PMO has been doing over the past 100 decades and is expected to continue doing and only their tools will evolve.
Final conclusion
The past has shown that PMO is one of the main reasons for successful project execution, especially when it is done correctly. But in the rapidly changing world that we live in today there are many who question the value of a concept developed 100 years ago. We can see that they're right in a certain sense. Agile methodologies as well as the emergence of automations have taken over many of the traditional roles of project management. But it is important to dig deeper to discover that there's plenty of space for PMOs to flourish regardless of whether they manage hybrid projects or offering the value that machines can't be able to: by focusing on human aspects. Don't forget one aspect that is not widely known but growing at rapid speed that could transform the world of technology within a matter of some years: the advent of the citizen developer. Covid-19 revolutionized the way we work. Remote was a norm, and more and more companies are switching to cloud-based solutions. These rapid changes have created new challenges that can be overcome by PMOs as well as PMs who are becoming citizen developers , and accelerating its adoption within their organizations.
