Tài liệu Creating the project office 32 pdf

• In other organizations run more along a military model, where members are
accustomed to forced change, the Quaker approach would be perceived as
weak, so a full-scale, top-down, Attila, CEO-directed change effort would be
more successful.
• In either case it is obviously important to consider the organizational culture
before forming an implementation plan.
• In all cases it is important to have a sponsor who is influential in the organiza-
tion. For the Attila approach, a higher-level person is needed. For the Quaker
approach, the level may not be as important as the sponsor’s stature and
breadth of influence.
• The Quaker approach takes time and patience, values notoriously absent in
many organizations.
A hybrid approach begins in the indirect Quaker style and moves toward the
Attila model if necessary. Organization members can be triaged into one-third
“true believers” in project management who can’t wait to change, one-third “show
me” skeptics who may change if they see the benefit, and one-third “die-hard”
grizzled veterans who have seen it all before and will resist to the bitter end. The
hybrid approach starts with the true believers who demonstrate, through small
wins, the benefits of a project office. This approach helps develop credibility and
offers something to show the “show me” gang. When they are converted and you
achieve critical mass of two-thirds of the organization, it may be necessary to
apply a little top-down command to convince the die-hards. This is a practical
and realistic approach for most organizations.
Refine the concept of a project office. What is a project office and where did it come
from? Project management began as a countercultural movement. Early project
managers worked outside the organization. In fact they were often literally out-
side—in a trailer at a construction site, where decisions were made regarding the
project. The original project office referred to a place for the control of a specific
project, what we would now call a project control office. As projects moved inside
the organization, the role of the project office has expanded. Guidelines:
• Aim at a particular goal, call it Level 3, to use the terminology introduced in

Chapter One, but remember that it may be best to start small, say Level 1, and
document benefits of a project office for a few projects. This idea is in concert
with the hybrid approach mentioned earlier.
• You need an organizational group, like a council or project management ini-
tiative, to give legitimacy in different divisions and to help cross organizational
boundaries.
• A physical space is important. It helps the work and also provides group
identification.
• Treat the implementation plan itself as a project.
288 Creating the Project Office
Now document the plan on the “Implementing a Project Office” template
provided in the Appendix.
Develop an implementation goal. Specify an important and measurable goal for
the endeavor. For example, implement a Level 3 project office to cut cycle time
20 percent and produce 30 percent more new products while maintaining current
headcount.
Determine the value to the organization. Why should the organization do this? Will
it help implement strategy? Fight competition? Are similar companies doing this?
How will life be better when this is done? The value should be stated in business
terms best understood by upper managers, such as the ROI of the project office.
For example, determine the increase in shareholder value that will result when the
stated goal is reached. Calculate the benefits if you had reduced cycle time by 20
percent in the past and how that would have increased value on the last five
projects. Then determine how many projects you will do per year to get an esti-
mate of the value of reducing cycle time. Also determine how much the imple-
mentation of the project office will cost. From these figures you can determine the
project office ROI, a figure that is near to the heart of most upper managers.
Develop a set of metrics to show progress. Be careful here—you will get what you
measure, which may not be what you want. For example, you might determine
that your staff should attend more stakeholder meetings to help reduce cycle time.

However, if you then measure meeting attendance, people will attend plenty of
meetings, but cycle time may not be reduced. Ensure that office members and all
project managers are well versed in those actions that actually lead to shareholder
value in the organization, and then measure those actions.
Determine project office content. What will be in the office? This depends on the
goal of the office. Typical functions to be included are project selection and pri-
oritization procedures; mentoring and coaching help for project managers; de-
veloping and coaching upper management sponsors for projects; a common set
of project management tools, techniques, and methodologies; consulting for on-
going projects; training and project manager development programs; and possi-
bly an administrative home for the project managers themselves.
Develop an implementation plan. With answers to the questions raised thus far, de-
termine how you are going to proceed, what to do first, second, and so on. Then
put a detailed action plan together.
A Rewrite
Our greatest challenge is to rewrite the myth of Sisyphus (from Chapter Six).
Modern organizations cannot afford futile and hopeless efforts. The new hero sees
the value of getting the rock up over the mountain. The rewards, of both the
destination and the journey, are clear, convincing, and compelling. They got that
The Tale We Tell 289
way by passionate visionaries sharing their dreams and enlisting a guiding coalition
of supporters. The dangers of the rock slipping back impact not just one person
but the prosperity of the whole organization—the interconnected community.
The rock is carefully chosen while other pebbles are left as is; capabilities are lim-
ited to the critical few projects. Resources are aligned on tasks that help to pull
the rock up, brace it from falling back, and remove uphill obstacles. Other play-
ers keep the lions, tigers, and bears from sidetracking progress.
The tipping point that allows the rock to reach the top and stay there is the
right people employing efficient processes in an effective environment. The pro-
gram is carefully planned, excellently executed, and nurtured once it reaches the

top. Because more mountains or opportunities can be seen from the new vantage
point achieved by successful programs, the community realizes that the leader-
ship, learning, means, and motivation it developed are the best means to tackle
new challenges and expand its prosperity. Ever present is a core team of project
officers who gird, goad, and guide.
Summary
The complete successful change agent
• Identifies a sense of urgency
• Lines up a guiding coalition of powerful forces
• Develops a clear, concise, compelling description of how the project office is
chartered, structured, and staffed to meet organizational goals
• Communicates this vision across the organization to develop support
• Implements the strategy
• Thrives in the environmental chaos that surrounds any effort to create a new
order of things
• Gets the right people on board; trains and supports them to be effective
• Lines up leadership, learning, means, and motivation
• Starts small but leads the drive toward large-scale positive impact on the orga-
nization as a result of a strategic project office
• Perseveres and draws upon a wide variety of sociological mechanisms to main-
tain the organizational change
290 Creating the Project Office
APPENDIX
TEMPLATES FOR
PROJECT OFFICE PLANNING
291
TEMPLATE 1: IMPLEMENTING A
PROJECT OFFICE FOR ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE.
Name: ____________________________________
Organization: ____________________________________

Date: ____________________________________
292 Appendix
Implementation Goal:
Value Argument: