Positioning the PMO and Enterprise Project Management
By Eric Stein, PMP®, SCPM®
Enterprise project management (EPM) is a “rather new” strategic view on how to relate to and handle projects inside an enterprise or an organization. Some organizations have a tradition to organize themselves as projects, since most of the tasks handled are project. Other organizations handles the projects in a more functional organization way.
Enterprise Project Management is the knowledge area on how projects and programs relates to the line organization and what strategic changes are required to transform the organization to a more project based organization.
Being involved EPM and transforming an organization requires a further knowledge beyond project and program management. Knowledge is also needed about portfolio management as well as the general management’s business model and how to execute a strategic change. The PMO is a key component of the EPM.
IBM decided in 1997 to become a project based enterprise. In approximately in the same time the former prime minister in UK Tony Blair gave the same strategic direction the Office of Government Commerce (OGC). The reason is that there was a need for higher efficiency and cost reduction.
The presentation will take us through the more or less parallel journeys in IBM and UK, how an enterprise and a government organization are using the EPM to become more efficient and transforming the way of working. Also will be referred to how IBM has used the PMI global standards to enable the transformation.
Eric Stein is MSc. in Engineering at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. With more than 25 years in project management employed by companied like ABB, Ericsson and presently by IBM. Eric is IBM certified Executive Project Manager, he obtained the PMP® credentials in 1999. ln 2007 he also got the credentials as Stanford Certified Project Manager. Eric has been vice president of the PMI Sweden chapter from 1998 to 2004 and starting in 2005 PMO SIG EMEA director of LIG.The experience covers several large international industrial IT projects and programs. It also cover system integration and outsourcing inside highly regulated environment. Eric has set up and operated two PMO:s and is now re-vitalizing a third regional PMO inside IBM.
Eric has arranged a number of PMI seminars, he has also been a frequent speaker at seminars, conferences and has also presented a papers at PMI EMEA leadership meetings and the PMI EMEA Global Congress around his favourite topics of Enterprise Project Management and PMO:s.