On Thursday 9 June 2016, over 130 project management professionals gathered for an event entitled "How to set up a Project Management Office (PMO)", organised by PMI Luxembourg Chapter and sponsored by PwC Luxembourg.

The event was dedicated to the topic of what it takes to establish and run an effective, value adding PMO. Innovative and transformative projects are essential for maintaining the competitive edge, but are notoriously costly, risky and difficult to deliver.

The session heard from David Blazquez, Head of Project Management Office, European Stability Mechanism (ESM); Kris Jennes, Project Management Advisory Group (OPMAG) at PMI Global, PMI Belgium; Ludovic Delépine, Head, ICT Conception and Development Unit, European Parliament; Patrick Waltzing, Partner, Finance and Operations Leader, PwC Luxembourg; and Saskia Van Dyck, Programme Management Advisor, EMEA PMO, Goodyear.

A PMO keeps abreast of both current and future organisational projects, providing strong input and rationale to ensure that all projects align with and support corporate strategic objectives, are appropriately classified by priority, are governed and executed consistently and efficiently, and utilise resources optimally.

Soft skills and social intelligence were highlighted as the most important skills for the PMO. Technical skills were cited as useful but not essential. Each panelist also underscored the need of a PMO to be seen as a value-adding function rather than just a "control mechanism". a "policeman" or a "glorified secretary". A PMO needs to continuously add value and remain relevant.

The panelists were in agreement that it can be a good idea to plan incremental growth, starting small with a few full time members and focusing on continuous improvement. A good PMO enables companies to get organised and "Do the right things and to do them right".

The Project Management Institute (PMI) was started in 1969 and is headquartered in the US, with nearly 500,000 members worldwid. It is a non-for-profit association which aims to advance careers, improve organisational success and matured the profession of project management.

 

Photo by PMI Luxembourg