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PMOs and Law Firms: Lessons from the Field - Introduction

May 15, 2008 | Author: admin | Filed under: Project Management Office

PMOs and Law Firms: Lessons from the Field - Introduction (#1 in the series PMOs and Law Firms: Lessons from the Field)
By Ronald K. Thomas of Baker Robbins & Company

This series highlights some of the challenges firms face when organizing a project management office, discusses the advantages and disadvantages of building a PMO outside the IT department and inside IT and provides some lessons learned from real-world experiences.

More and more law firms today are considering initiating a project management office (PMO). Many have successfully implemented and have benefited from this addition to their firms. However, there are also firms that have tried and failed. How many PMO project managers (PMs) have been reassigned to other departments because of an unsuccessful PMO implementation? How many PMO directors have been hired only to find they are a department of one and powerless to implement change? How many PMO organizations have been marginalized due to politics or an internal struggle for power or control?

PMO Defined

The Project Management Institute’s PMBOK Guide Third Edition provides, “. . . a project management office (PMO) is an organizational unit to centralize and coordinate the management of projects under its domain . . . focuses on the coordinated planning, prioritization and execution of projects and subprojects that are tied to the parent organization’s or client’s overall business objectives.” With this definition as a guide, ask yourself: “Does my PMO function like this? If not, why not?”

Golden Opportunity

Law firms implement project management in varying degrees including:

formally established organizations reporting to a director, informally organized groups of project managers reporting to a supervisor or PMs within a department. The PMO offers a golden opportunity for technology organizations to partner with firm managers and executives in formulating, developing and promoting project management methodologies that can deliver successful projects while consistently meeting firm business goals. Sometimes, that golden opportunity is delayed or missed due to organizational and cultural dynamics.

This article was first published in ILTA’s July, 2007 white paper titled “Project Management — Broadening Your Scope” and is reprinted here with permission. For more information about ILTA, visit their website at http://www.iltanet.org.

Ronald K. Thomas is a senior consultant and experienced project manager with Baker Robbins & Company. Ron authored the article, “Coaching the Team: Here Is a Game Plan that Works” in the February 2005 issue of Peer to Peer. He also facilitated an ILTA webinar on project management titled, “Setting Up A Project Management Organization: What Is It; Is It Right For You?” He can be reached at rthomas@brco.com.

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