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Filed under: Project Management Leave a comment July 20, 2012 AtekPC Project Management Office Case Study Part One. What were the changes in AtekPCs business environment that caused the company to

introduce a PMO? Based on your assigned readings and research do these appear to be appropriate reasons for developing a PMO? Why or why not? Limit your response to one page.
The AtekPC Project Management Office Case Study presents a business entity faced with decreased sales and profitability due to a maturing Personal Computer market. AtekPC, once profitable and an industry leader, found itself behind the curve in areas of new technology such as mobile phones, PDAs, and web-based applications. Costs were up, resources were becoming limited, and competition among pc manufacturers grew fierce. Harold Kerzner points out in his book, Using the Project Management Maturity Model: Strategic Planning for Project Management, that to be to be truly successful, management must have a repeatable process in place: As economic conditions deteriorate, change occurs more and more quickly in business organizations, but still not fast enough to keep up with the economy. To make matters worse, windows of opportunity are missed because no project management methodology is in place (Kerzner, 2005). Atek realized it was necessary to begin strategically placing itself for the future. The environment that AtekPC has found itself in has accelerated the companys maturity level, therefore making the development of a PMO a viable option. As J. Kent Crawford points out in his book, The Strategic Project Office, a PMO should be considered a suitable solution for a struggling company in AtekPCs environment because, they allow companies to make the most of slim resources: streamlining the portfolio, accurately forecasting resource availability, and allowing changes in strategic focus necessitated by economic factors to be seamlessly carried out because the project portfolio management processes add nimbleness to the organization (Crawford, 2011). References for Part One: Crawford, J. K. (2011). The strategic project office. CRC Press. Kerzner, H. (2005). Using the project management maturity model: Strategic planning for project management . (2 ed., p. 11). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Part Two. Draft a program charter for AtekPC utilizing your reading assignments, outside research,

and the guidelines and model charter linked to this weeks lecture and attached below). Limit your responses to 3 pages, not including end notes, supporting documentation and refererences.
Program Charter Document AtekPC

________________________________________ Program Sponsors Organization Role Contact Information Xxxx Xxxxx CEO (xxx) xxx-xxxx Xxxx Xxxxx Senior Vice President (xxx) xxx-xxxx Mark Nelson PMO Manager (xxx) xxx-xxxx John Strider CIO (xxx) xxx-xxxx Richard Steinberg Dir. Of Application Development (xxx) xxx-xxxx Steve Gardner Manuf. Systems Manager (xxx) xxx-xxxx Larry Field Dir. PM Support Group (xxx) xxx-xxxx Program Charter History Version Date Author Change Description x.xx xxxx John Strider Created 3/3/2007 x.xx xxxx Mark Nelson [revision.1 xx/xx/xxx] [revision.2 xx/xx/xxx] [revision.3 xx/xx/xxx] Introduction and Background AtekPC is a mid-sized U.S. PC manufacturer founded in 1984. 2006 sales equaled $1.9 billion. The company employed 2100 full-time employees and an additional 200 part-time workers. By 2007, AtekPC found itself in the midst of an industry-wide decrease in sales and profitability. PC makers in general were forced to deal with a transition from a growth industry to that of a maturing industry by seeking out new markets for growth opportunities. Due to this environmental change and to remain competitive, it has become necessary for AtekPC to refocus its efforts in areas such as cost control, manufacturing efficiency, resource allocation, and project management methodology. Historically, the latter had been accomplished in an informal manner, with Lead Analysts acting as impromptu project managers. Senior Management realized that a centralized, Project Management Office was necessary to focus efforts in the areas of improvement and enhancement via project management and coordinate the organizations enterprise-oriented functions. ________________________________________ Program Organization and Governance The Project Management Office will report directly to the AtekPC CEO. The Senior Vice President will act as Executive Sponsor. Program Sponsors include Larry Field, Richard Steinberg, and Steve Gardner. Mark Nelson will oversee the Program Management Office as the Program Manager. ________________________________________ PROJECT SCOPE Goals and Objectives Goals Objectives

The Project Management Office will provide company-wide project management support through consulting, mentoring, and training while promoting portfolio management and PM standards, methods, and tools. 1. Reduce costs and more effectively utilize resources. 2. Work within the AtekPC culture in order to promote Project Management methodology and overcome cultural resistance. Program Boundaries, Constraints, and Assumptions There are a number of critical factors to the success of the PMO. The PMO must gain executive support and authority from leadership. It must also gain support across functional lines and endusers. There are a number of Boundaries, Constraints, and Assumptions that will effect the outcome of these factors: PMO purpose and responsibilities must be clearly defined Inconsistent executive support for the PMO initiative Company culture limitation. The PMO has a small window of time to prove its value it cannot provide a quick fix to immediate problems that require long-term solutions. Project Deliverables Deliverable Obtain input on the program charter from stakeholders and sponsorship Present a refined Program Charter Strategic Planning Process within first six months Stakeholder Expectations Stakeholder Expectations Leadership/Sponsorship Gain and maintain support for the PMO and resolve discrepancies and conflicts, particularly in the areas of budgeting and resources. PMO initiatives will reduce costs and improve efficiencies. Project Manager Responsible for setting the standards and policies for the various projects. Plan and execute the work of the project. Department Heads Provide staff members to the project effort End User PMO will not be a barrier to doing real work ________________________________________ Finance and High Level Budget According to a 2012 survey conducted by Project Management Solutions, Inc., PMOs directly contributed to a 15% cost savings per project, or an average of US$411,000 savings per project. Additionally, 25% more projects were delivered under budget where a PMO was involved (The state of, 2012). With these figures in mind, the PMO must set a realistic baseline based on the organizations current state, define goals for improvement, and measure results(Fister Gale, 2011).

Project Risks Unable to meet goals due to Inadequate Resources Cultural and political environment not conducive to PMO success PMO unable to prove its value in short time frame References for Part Two: The state of the pmo 2012. In (2012). A PM SOLUTIONS RESEARCH REPORT. Project Management Solutions, Inc. Fister Gale, S. (2011, August). The pmo: Something of value. PM Network, 25(8), 37.

12 Filed under: Project Management Leave a comment July 20, 2012

AtekPC Project Management Office Case Study Part One. What were the changes in AtekPCs business environment that caused the company to introduce a PMO? Based on your assigned readings and research do these appear to be appropriate reasons for developing a PMO? Why or why not? Limit your response to one page. The AtekPC Project Management Office Case Study presents a business entity faced with decreased sales and profitability due to a maturing Personal Computer market. AtekPC, once profitable and an industry leader, found itself behind the curve in areas of new technology such as mobile phones, PDAs, and web-based applications. Costs were up, resources were becoming limited, and competition among pc manufacturers grew fierce. Harold Kerzner points out in his book, Using the Project Management Maturity Model: Strategic Planning for Project Management, that to be to be truly successful, management must have a repeatable process in place: As economic conditions deteriorate, change occurs more and more quickly in business organizations, but still not fast enough to keep up with the economy. To make matters worse, windows of opportunity are missed because no project management methodology is in place (Kerzner, 2005). Atek realized it was necessary to begin strategically placing itself for the future. The environment that AtekPC has found itself in has accelerated the companys maturity level, therefore making the development of a PMO a viable option. As J. Kent Crawford points out in his book, The Strategic Project Office, a PMO should be considered a suitable solution for a struggling company in AtekPCs environment because, they allow companies to make the most of slim resources: streamlining the portfolio, accurately forecasting resource availability, and allowing changes in strategic focus necessitated by economic factors to be seamlessly carried out because the project portfolio management processes add nimbleness to the organization (Crawford, 2011). References for Part One: Crawford, J. K. (2011). The strategic project office. CRC Press.

Kerzner, H. (2005). Using the project management maturity model: Strategic planning for project management . (2 ed., p. 11). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Part Two. Draft a program charter for AtekPC utilizing your reading assignments, outside research, and the guidelines and model charter linked to this weeks lecture and attached below). Limit your responses to 3 pages, not including end notes, supporting documentation and refererences. Program Charter Document AtekPC ________________________________________ Program Sponsors Organization Role Contact Information Xxxx Xxxxx CEO (xxx) xxx-xxxx Xxxx Xxxxx Senior Vice President (xxx) xxx-xxxx Mark Nelson PMO Manager (xxx) xxx-xxxx John Strider CIO (xxx) xxx-xxxx Richard Steinberg Dir. Of Application Development (xxx) xxx-xxxx Steve Gardner Manuf. Systems Manager (xxx) xxx-xxxx Larry Field Dir. PM Support Group (xxx) xxx-xxxx Program Charter History Version Date Author Change Description x.xx xxxx John Strider Created 3/3/2007 x.xx xxxx Mark Nelson *revision.1 xx/xx/xxx+ *revision.2 xx/xx/xxx+ *revision.3 xx/xx/xxx+ Introduction and Background AtekPC is a mid-sized U.S. PC manufacturer founded in 1984. 2006 sales equaled $1.9 billion. The company employed 2100 full-time employees and an additional 200 part-time workers. By 2007, AtekPC found itself in the midst of an industry-wide decrease in sales and profitability. PC makers in general were forced to deal with a transition from a growth industry to that of a maturing industry by seeking out new markets for growth opportunities. Due to this environmental change and to remain competitive, it has become necessary for AtekPC to refocus its efforts in areas such as cost control, manufacturing efficiency, resource allocation, and project management methodology. Historically, the latter had been accomplished in an informal manner, with Lead Analysts acting as impromptu project managers. Senior Management realized that a centralized, Project Management Office was necessary to

focus efforts in the areas of improvement and enhancement via project management and coordinate the organizations enterprise-oriented functions. ________________________________________ Program Organization and Governance The Project Management Office will report directly to the AtekPC CEO. The Senior Vice President will act as Executive Sponsor. Program Sponsors include Larry Field, Richard Steinberg, and Steve Gardner. Mark Nelson will oversee the Program Management Office as the Program Manager. ________________________________________ PROJECT SCOPE Goals and Objectives Goals Objectives The Project Management Office will provide company-wide project management support through consulting, mentoring, and training while promoting portfolio management and PM standards, methods, and tools. 1. Reduce costs and more effectively utilize resources. 2. Work within the AtekPC culture in order to promote Project Management methodology and overcome cultural resistance. Program Boundaries, Constraints, and Assumptions There are a number of critical factors to the success of the PMO. The PMO must gain executive support and authority from leadership. It must also gain support across functional lines and end-users. There are a number of Boundaries, Constraints, and Assumptions that will effect the outcome of these factors: PMO purpose and responsibilities must be clearly defined Inconsistent executive support for the PMO initiative Company culture limitation. The PMO has a small window of time to prove its value it cannot provide a quick fix to immediate problems that require long-term solutions. Project Deliverables Deliverable Obtain input on the program charter from stakeholders and sponsorship Present a refined Program Charter Strategic Planning Process within first six months Stakeholder Expectations Stakeholder Expectations

Leadership/Sponsorship Gain and maintain support for the PMO and resolve discrepancies and conflicts, particularly in the areas of budgeting and resources. PMO initiatives will reduce costs and improve efficiencies. Project Manager Responsible for setting the standards and policies for the various projects. Plan and execute the work of the project. Department Heads Provide staff members to the project effort End User PMO will not be a barrier to doing real work ________________________________________ Finance and High Level Budget According to a 2012 survey conducted by Project Management Solutions, Inc., PMOs directly contributed to a 15% cost savings per project, or an average of US$411,000 savings per project. Additionally, 25% more projects were delivered under budget where a PMO was involved (The state of, 2012). With these figures in mind, the PMO must set a realistic baseline based on the organizations current state, define goals for improvement, and measure results(Fister Gale, 2011). Project Risks Unable to meet goals due to Inadequate Resources Cultural and political environment not conducive to PMO success PMO unable to prove its value in short time frame References for Part Two: The state of the pmo 2012. In (2012). A PM SOLUTIONS RESEARCH REPORT. Project Management Solutions, Inc. Fister Gale, S. (2011, August). The pmo: Something of value. PM Network, 25(8), 37.