Project Environment Interface Concepts

A project management methodology is central to the project management environment. As such, it should be responsive to the needs of all project stakeholders and guide them through the key activities of project management. An effective project management methodology conveys to all stakeholders "how we manage projects" in the project management environment. It accomplishes this by establishing a common frame of reference for everyone participating or having interest in project performance. To that end, it should support all interactions among business, technical, and project management participants . It also provides an immediate reference for those stakeholders on the periphery of or outside the immediate project involvement to inform them and set expectations about what will be achieved through specified project management activities.

Accordingly, the project management methodology introduces the relevant organization's philosophy, concepts, standard approach, and common terminology for project work. This allows cross-functional project managers and project team members to understand and share the same project management experience. Consequently, each project manager does not have to create and convey a tactical approach for each new project and for each new team member. As a result, over time, cross-functional teams become more efficient, more productive, and more successful in producing project deliverables and in accomplishing project objectives.

Business Environment Interface Concepts

Inasmuch as the PMO itself functions as an integrator for the organization, the project management methodology is a central mechanism for project and business integration. A prominent aspect of integration is using a common process across business functions. This is enhanced when each business unit adapts and incorporates its technical and business processes to fit within the methodology. This is an important concept. Once a methodology is set into place, business units having specific functional or technical areas can no longer practice old behaviors that may misalign with or be counterproductive to the project management methodology. To that end, each business unit should conform to the approved organizational standards of project management as it continues to apply essential best practices that produce the desired technical and business results.

The project management methodology provides a foundation for work accomplished across business units, including facilitation of cross-functional resource assignments. A well-conceived, well-collaborated, and properly implemented project management methodology will ensure accomplishment of all critical project management actions.

Another feature of using a standard project management methodology is that it promotes effective project collaboration and reporting within the relevant organization. A coordinated approach to project management facilitates common data collection and distribution. The result of using such a project management methodology is that project progress and performance information can be compiled and aggregated to facilitate business decisions across projects and across the organization.

Project Management Methodology Activities Across the PMO Continuum

The evolution of the "project management methodology" function along the PMO competency continuum is characterized by:

Development and implementation of increasingly more complete and comprehensive project management processes and practices
Increased integration of technical and business process activities
Wider cross-functional influence at advanced stages of the continuum, in association with oversight authority and responsibility for project management methodology

Table 1.1 presents an overview of the range of prescribed PMO project management methodology activities according to each level in the PMO competency continuum.

Table 1.1: Range of Project Methodology Activities across the PMO Continuum
Project Office	Basic PMO	Standard PMO	Advanced PMO	Center of Excellence
Applies effective practices for project performance and oversight; and employs standard life cycle processes when available	Introduces critical processes and practices of project management Identifies and develops critical processes Manages cross-project critical process use Identifies best and preferred practices	Establishes and monitors use of a complete project management methodology Provides full project life cycle coverage Integrates technical processes Conducts user training in methodology	Enhances content and monitors use of a comprehensive methodology Integrates business processes Optimizes alignment of automated tools Facilitates use of methodology across relevant business units	Analyzes project management methodology Examines process variation in business units Assesses methodology use and ongoing process improvement

The project office , as a formal or informal entity, is the fundamental agent of project management methodology implementation. Traditionally, project oversight has relied on the practices that each project manager has brought to bear, based on personal skill and experience. With the establishment of a project office, project managers can now contribute those valuable individual capabilities to the development of practices that can be applied across similar, related projects. Ultimately, these practices will form the foundation of more-structured, repeatable project management processes that can be shared across the organization.

Mid-range PMO levels of the continuum have the responsibility of developing and deploying a full project life cycle methodology that best fits the needs and requirements of the relevant organization. The PMO first ensures that a standard, structured, and repeatable process for conducting project management is established within the organization. This can begin with incremental development of only the most critical processes and later expanded to encompass a more complete methodology as the organization gains additional understanding and benefits from the initial processes. The PMO then expands its influence to develop its methodology to a comprehensive and robust level with appropriate integration or alignment of technical and business processes, according to the affiliated business units' needs.

The center of excellence performs any necessary methodology development, deployment, and review activities to formulate solutions and guide process collaboration across business units. As the interface with senior management, the center of excellence recommends and implements policy for development and deployment of project management methodology.

The fundamental objective of the PMO's "project management methodology" function across the PMO continuum is to:

Determine and implement project management process solutions that align with the relevant organization's business interests
Support the organization's technical work performance
Assist project managers and project teams in achieving project objectives