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Modern PMOs focus on accelerating delivery, coaching project managers, and providing the kind of insight that drives business decision-making. And whilst there are many different types of PMO out there, the thing they have in common is a drive to standardize approaches to help make people’s lives easier.
Templates can be a huge help in this regard. Whether you are creating a project charter, undertaking project planning, or defining roles and responsibilities, it is important that the PMO can deliver tools and templates that project managers need. Crafting the right templates not only saves time, but has other benefits too:
Project Managers often have a love/hate relationship with the PMO. They try to shy away from anything perceived as bureaucratic that may not directly help them succeed. And they dread any suggestion of PMO policing and PMO audits! But Project Managers love the PMO for providing them with charter templates, risk assessment templates, and communications management plans. If you can provide effective Project management templates that make their lives easier, you will be their new best friend!
We all know that agile teams value working software over documentation, but even the most ardent agilists rely on templates. Agile project management advocates standardized approaches that can be continuously iterated. Burndown charts can take time to build in Excel, but your PMO can provide ready-made templates to scrum teams. User-story templates can ensure consistency for product managers – ensuring the right information is gathered the first time.
But the word ‘unique’ is often misunderstood. Whilst the product delivered may be unique, it doesn’t mean the approach to deliver the product will be. PMOs will recognize the common types of projects that are undertaken within their organization. Agency businesses may work on a lot of website design projects. While in IT, project teams may frequently find themselves introducing new software, and training people to use it. When these standard project types are identified, PMOs should work with project managers to develop planning templates that accelerate project initiation. Standard breakdown structures /wbs are a great way to help project managers form a project management plan quickly, whilst ensuring important deliverables don’t get overlooked. It is far easier for project managers to start with a verbose wbs template and remove the bits they don’t need, than to start blue-sky thinking and building from scratch.
Gantt chart templates can also be created for the most common project types. For repeatable projects, the project manager may find that all they need to do is adjust the start date and their project schedule is good to go!
While day-to-day project management may focus on project execution, communication is a big part of the job. Many organizations have standard templates for PowerPoint. These ensure a consistent communication approach and representaiton of the brand. But the PMO can take it further. By providing templates such as status reports, and editable timeline templates, project managers can spend less time crafting decks and more time focused on delivery.
Project Charter: it’s a term that can instill a sense of uncertainty in even the most seasoned project managers. Why? Because creating an effective charter is no small feat. It requires strategic thinking, careful planning, and clear communication. The Project Charter, when done right, serves as the guiding light for your entire project. But if […]
….A Risk Log is an essential Project Management Tool A vital tool in any project is the risk log or risk register. One of the earliest tasks to undertake in a project is to gather and assess risks. Usually, the process of risk management begins before the project starts. Risks are evaluated and captured as […]
….Struggling to keep track of your project portfolio? This free portfolio tracker will help – and its 100% cheaper than a PPM tool! The template allows you to keep track of the % work complete and spend vs budget across a portfolio of projects. Dynamic bars show at a glance whether projects are behind or […]
….We understand. You have multiple competing projects and no simple way of assessing the risk and benefit associated with each. Without this view, how can you decide which projects should go ahead? How do you decide which need more (or less) support from the PMO? This template will help. It’s a simple tool to assess […]
….We offer the best PMO templates for free PMO people spend a lot of time creating templates, including this great Excel Burndown chart. PMOs generally develop templates for the following reasons: Standardization – having a consistent format or structure across a program or organization means it is easier for people to operate across teams without […]
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