We often hear Project Management Office (PMO) leaders lamenting, “Despite my best efforts, I can’t seem to improve project management.” Equally, senior executives voice their concerns saying, “Even after implementing a PMO, our delivery capabilities haven’t improved.” It’s indeed frustrating. The advent of Agile promised a panacea, but senior leaders are now knocking at our door saying, “After investing millions and restructuring into smaller teams and value streams, the situation has worsened – only costs have increased!”
The crux of the issue is that most PMOs don’t make a significant impact. They focus on promoting processes, methods, and generating reports, attempting to enforce governance – but there’s a lack of genuine value creation. This core value creation remains the prerogative of those who handle Profit & Loss responsibilities. Agile is doing the same – just with more costs.
It’s simple – if you’re not adding value, you won’t be valued. Without being valued, your capacity to effect meaningful change diminishes drastically.
The mandate for PMOs is clear – they need to offer a unique value, something unparalleled within the organization. But the million-dollar question remains – what could that unique value be?
PMI Talent Triangle: Business Acumen
PDUs for this Course: 0.5
Wolfram Müller
Wolfram Müller is internationally known as a speaker, author, and expert on self-organized changes based on the “Theory of Constraints.” As early as 1987, while studying and later as head of the PMO at 1&1 Internet AG, he discovered the fun of fast projects. Since 2006, he has made this fun, and his many years of expertise are available to others as a consultant: More than 50 companies, from start-ups to medium-sized businesses to corporations with 6,500 employees from all industries, have benefited from his knowledge and methods to date. Whether in the automotive sector, special mechanical engineering, IT, or medical technology. Companies such as Festo, Endress+Hauser, Megger, Otto Fuchs, and Bosch swear by his expertise. The results are always similar: at least +50% more projects with the same resources as well as a reduction in project lead time of 25-50% within a few weeks.
