Oct 5, 2011

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New Book from PM Solutions Reveals Best Practices of High-Performing Project Management Offices

GLEN MILLS, Pa. (October 5, 2011) — PM Solutions today announced the availability of their latest book – An Inside Look at High-Performing PMOs. A project management office (PMO) is a group or department that defines and maintains standards – policies, processes, methods – for project management  as well as other functions to help ensure that the organization is working on the right projects and doing them right. PMOs are found in more than 80% of organizations today.1

Written by J. Kent Crawford, founder and CEO of project management consultancy PM Solutions, with Jeannette Cabanis-Brewin, editor-in-chief of PM Solutions Research, High-Performing PMOs reveals best practices of some of the most successful PMOs in the world – winners and finalists of the PMO of the Year® award.

In the first five chapters the authors describe specific PMO actions that have driven tangible business value in the following areas:

  • Structuring effective project and program management
  • Focusing on strategic alignment and portfolio management
  • Using performance management to prove the PMO’s value
  • Training and empowering staff
  • Implementing technology to support the PMO’s work.

The authors then look at how the winners have continued to grow and change in spite of extremely challenging economic times. Finally, the authors provide some predictions for the future of the PMO.

We wanted to see what makes great PMOs tick, so taking a deep look at what the PMO of the Year Award winners have done made a lot of sense,” said author J. Kent Crawford. “We are excited to share the common characteristics in these great PMOs that others could learn from—especially how to become a valued business entity.”

The PMO of the Year award winners described in this book model a new style of transformative PMO,” according to author Jeannette Cabanis-Brewin. “They understand the need for business results and take on the mantle of accountability. They actively seek ways to improve overall organizational performance, as well as ways to communicate performance improvements across the enterprise. Any organization that depends on projects and programs for growth (and who doesn’t?) can benefit from their example.”

The book also includes a summary of The State of the PMO research conducted by PM Solutions Research as well as the PMO of the Year Award program details.

To purchase a copy of An Inside Look at High-Performing PMOs, please visit http://www.pmsolutions.com/insights/publications/. Both paperback and Kindle versions are available.

About the Authors
J. Kent Crawford, PMP, PMI Fellow, is the founder and CEO of PM Solutions, the leader in applying project and portfolio management processes to drive operational efficiency. He is also founder and CEO of the firm’s training subsidiary, PM College. In addition to his executive role, he is an influential member of the project management community, a sought-after speaker at business conferences worldwide, and the award-winning author of The Strategic Project Office.
Jeannette Cabanis-Brewin is editor-in-chief for PM Solutions Research, and the author, co-author and editor of over a dozen books on project management, including the 2007 PMI Literature Award winner, The AMA Handbook of Project Management, Second Edition.

About PM Solutions
PM Solutions is a project management firm helping organizations execute, govern, and measure their portfolios to improve business performance. As the leader in applying project and portfolio management processes and practices to drive operational efficiency for its clients, PM Solutions’ comprehensive offerings address organizational improvement, project execution, and learning and development delivered through our training arm, the PM College® (www.pmcollege.com). PM Solutions serves a diverse client base that includes some of the world’s leading organizations. For more information, visit www.pmsolutions.com.

About the PMO of the Year Award
Cosponsored by PM Solutions and the Project Management Institute’s (PMI®) Program Management Office Community of Practice (PMO CoP), the PMO of the Year Award recognizes PMOs that introduce novel ideas, methods and processes that result in measurable improvements and project management success within their organizations.  PMOs highlighted in the book are from organizations like Accident Fund Insurance, Alcatel-Lucent, American Power Conversion, Auckland (NZ) City Council Australian Securities Exchange Ltd., California Technology Agency, Cisco Services, CPS Energy, Dell Services, EDS (now HP), Hewitt Information Technology Services, IBM Corp., National Council on Compensation Insurance, Nationwide, New York City Housing Authority, Norton Healthcare, Oklahoma Department of Human Services, Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield, R. L. Polk & Co., Rockwell Automation, T-Mobile USA, The Doe Run Company, and VSP Vision Care. For more information, visit www.pmsolutions.com/pmoaward/.

1 The State of the PMO (2010). Glen Mills, PA: PM Solutions Research.