Transformed

CHAPTER 45Objections from the PMO

Note: PMO here refers to the program management office, which is essentially a project management function with senior-level visibility.

“My understanding is that many of the marquee product model companies have a project or program management function. What role do they play in the product model?”

Not only do many marquee companies have the project or program managment function, but the function plays an essential role in the companies. When building large, complex products, especially ecosystem products, there are many moving pieces and there are a very large number of dependencies and impediments. The project management role is key to managing these dependencies. The issue is not with the role; it is with the culture behind how the company provides that role.

The problem comes when the PMO, under the guise of reporting on status, exists to instill and govern a command-and-control culture.

When the PMO is there to provide servant-based delivery management, it is providing a major dependency tracking and impediment removal service to the teams, but in a way that is empowering rather than disempowering.

“I come from the school of thought where everything is about predictability. We need to focus on delivering what we say, when we say. We let the business leaders worry about what gets built, and we focus on being a reliable and trustworthy machine for delivering what is requested.”

This is a good summary of the old model. But in the product ...