Project Managers (PMP) Basics: Business Strategy Alignment to Project Management

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Project Manager (PMP) Basics:

Strategy Alignment

Presentation provided to PMI Chicagoland Chapter– Knowledge Sharing Meeting –

There is a need to bridge the gap between high level Vision/Strategy and “in-the-

trenches” project implementation.

How ?

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A company’s Project Management Office (PMO) needs to make sure projects are aligned to the corporate strategy

The PMO delivers 2 main areas of improvement to the organization:

1. Helps choose the right projects2. Helps deliver the projects correctly

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Project Expectations:

The projects are expected to be delivered on:

1. Budget2. TimeAnd …

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The projects are expected to be:1. On Budget2. On Time

3. Synchronized with strategy

Otherwise, it is a waste of company’s resources (human capital and $$)

Project Expectations

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But less than 42% of organizations report NO high alignment of

projects to strategyPMI “The High Cost of Low Performance” report 2014

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90% of Senior Executives report that Executing Strategic initiatives are critical for a company’s competitive advantage ( 2013 The Economist Intelligence Unit report)

Facts

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Senior Executives report that:- 61% struggle with the execution of those

strategies - Only 56% of strategic initiatives are

successful ( 2013 The Economist Intelligence Unit report)

Facts

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Why there is no alignment ?

That’s where the PMO comes in

PMI “The High Cost of Low Performance”, 2014

- Strong PMO:

- No PMO (large firms) or

Not a strong PMO:

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1. Internal Factors: No top support, resources, talent, etc

2. External factors: constant change, volatile markets, competitors, etc

NoAlignment

Factors with PMO office

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1. If company lacks uniform management and oversight processes

2. Leadership has hard time gathering information about the project progress and results

3. Project goals are not aligned with business goals

An Organization will benefit from a PMO:

Business Unit PMO

Project Specific PMO

Enterprise PMO

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TOP DOWN APPROACH: Recipe for Success

1. Have Leadership buy-in 2. Executive team needs to engage PMO in

Strategic Planning 3. PMO needs to report to C-level

(Forrester Research found in those case the PMO is highly successful)

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PMO: The RIGHT TALENT

High performance vs. Low Performance PMO: 1. 2x more likely to succeed as they have people

with the right talent (technical and business) 2. 1/3 more like to succeed as they have the

adequate number of people

(The Project Management Office Report. PMI 2014)

- General Business Acumen- Leadership- Decision Making- Financial/Cost Control

MEASURING RESULTS

Right Procedures + Right Talent = Results 1. Need to measure2. Look beyond simple project metrics: scope/

budget / schedule. Look for:• Customer Satisfaction• Delivery time• etc

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1. The main way to bridge the gap between strategy and project execution is the PMO

2. PMO needs to have the support of the company’s leadership to succeed: Top Down Approach

3. PMO needs people with business acumen and measure other factors on top of project metrics.

Alignment Takeaways

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Jonathan Donado

Bilingual senior general management executive with expertise in international business and

Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A).