The Zombie PMO Outbreak –

A survival guide for evading the

pitfalls and evolving to become
an Adaptive PMO
Battered by the winds of change, many With all this in mind, are you among the walking
PMOs are being forced to ponder their dead? Do your executives and colleagues in
own mortality. It’s not that they are becoming other departments perceive you in this zombie-
obsolete. In fact, executives are expecting more state and run? What are the symptoms? If you answered yes to even a few of
from PMOs than ever: They must drive digital these, you may be close to becoming
transformation and fuel growth strategies by Consider these questions: a “Zombie PMO.” This purpose of
delivering complex programs organization-wide,
this eBook is to profile the Zombie
at speed. • Does your PMO have a maniacal focus on
PMO and how to avoid becoming one.
standards and processes?
The problem is that many PMOs are finding Instead, learn three ways to become a
it hard to adapt. They’ve become successful • Would someone have to pry your more strategic PMO who delivers value
by focusing on standardization, methodology, methodologies and tools from your cold, to the business.
governance, and control. Yet these traditional dead hands?
aspects of project management can become
a hindrance when the business wants agility, • Has your pursuit of professional excellence
flexibility, and innovation. led you to doing things by rote?

The result is PMOs who are simply going • Does your leadership avoid you like
through the motions. Their steadfast adherence the plague for anything but the most
to completing a never-ending cycle of projects administrative of project tasks?
in the same way, day after day, is draining the
life out of them. It’s also rendering them less • Do you use schedules and status as the
valuable to the business. means of communicating value to the
business?
These “Zombie PMOs” – as Gartner coined
them – are in danger of being supplanted by • Do you have the agility to pivot at a moment’s
newer methodologies and people who are notice?
willing and able to work at hyper-speed.
• Is your group in danger of being
marginalized, disbanded, or restructured?

2
Arrested Development: Stuck at Maturity Level 2
Why are PMOs becoming zombified? A look “At that point {Level 2}, they’ve fixed all the The ability to pivot quickly in line with business
at Gartner’s 2018 ITScore PPM Maturity Model things that were easy (establishing common strategy is a hallmark of higher levels of
helps to explain it. Most PMOs are stuck at Level practices) but find it difficult to make the shift to PPM maturity. PMOs who cannot do this risk
2 maturity, which is dubbed the “Emerging the more agile and enterprise-focused activities becoming redundant, unable to support the
Discipline.” Only about one-third of those at Level 3 and digital demand.” needs of the enterprise as it adapts to a new
who completed Gartner’s 2017 PPM maturity digital environment. Gartner contends that
assessments reported that they have risen to In a Harvard Business Review article about this is not an indictment of lower maturity
Level 3 or 4 (with none at Level 5). strategy execution, researchers found lack organizations, because increasing maturity
of agility to be “a major obstacle to effective levels in a highly dynamic, digital environment is
At Level 2, organizations are trying to move execution.” One-third of the managers difficult.
from a reactive, ad-hoc project management surveyed said that over the next few years, their
approach to more formalized rules and biggest challenge in executing strategy will Yet the business is increasingly challenging
processes. This is where PMOs typically invest be “difficulties adapting to changing market PMOs to become more flexible, scalable, and
in some kind of PPM tool to get out of “project circumstances.” They either “react so slowly involved in delivering value. To move up in
management by spreadsheet.” They start to that they can’t seize fleeting opportunities or maturity, PMOs must first recognize the signs
centralize project information, collaborate, and mitigate emerging threats,” or “react quickly but of stagnation. Here are three types of Zombie
track basic project costs. lose sight of company strategy.” PMOs stuck at the upper end of Level 2 maturity.

All of this is important in the maturation process,

but some organizations go overboard on driving
standards and consistency. The rigidity of this
approach prevents them from attaining Level 3,
which Gartner recommends as the “minimum

E R
DANG
maturity level required for long-term success
and adaptability.” Indeed, according to the
Gartner report, How to Avoid the ‘Seven Deadly
2
Level
Sins’ of a Level 2 PMO, the first deadly sin is
failure to be agile and deliver value:

M B I E
M O ZO
P R E A K
OUTB U T
O
KEEP 3
Three Types of THE VALUE BLIND

Zombie PMOs Zombie PMOs can’t see the forest for the
trees. They are unwilling or unable to quantify
their overall contribution to the organization’s
THE DEMAND WRANGLER strategic objectives. Value is all too often
defined as tracking to a plan, despite flawed
Some PMOs believe their only job is to execute, budgeting and estimating.
exhibiting an assembly line mentality of simply
moving projects along. They may have a Here is a common scenario that leads to this:
THE PROCESS COP centralized picture of demand indicative of a
Level 2 organization. However, lacking the ability • A project is proposed with a bogus budget,
According to Gartner, “In practices and to do resource management, they greenlight which began as a guesstimate from the
processes, a Zombie PMO: Often operates every project regardless of capacity. sponsor.
as a process ‘cop’, concerned primarily that
reports are filled out correctly, on time and in The demand wrangler is further characterized • The budget quickly becomes set in stone.
complete compliance with sometimes irrelevant by:
procedures.” Mired in bureaucracy, the paper- • This is followed by the development of a
pushing process cop prioritizes control and • Prioritizing projects based on nebulous schedule which, though detailed, amounts to
conformance above all else. guidance, premature estimates, and little more than wishful thinking with an end
insufficient detail; date.
The process cop is limited by:
• Relying on vanity ROI metrics to claim • With the scope and budget defined, changes
• A monolithic, sequential approach erring success, such as delivering on time and on inevitably crop up. Realization sets in that
towards compliance; budget; and they can’t force-fit project details into a plan
that was never aligned to business objectives
• An inability to recognize variety in projects • Maintaining vigilance over the “project
and programs; queue”. • It’s just a matter of time before reality
disappears from the equation.
• Ignoring any work types beyond traditional Demand wranglers do not have the data,
projects; and context, or big picture vision to ensure that Once the project is over, a post-mortem review
projects are contributing to strategic business often focuses only on how well the PMO tracked
• Employing a playbook that is constrained by goals. Doing a great job executing the wrong to a plan that was out of touch with reality. In
a one-size-fits-all approach to all work. projects extends the perception of the PMO as some cases, PMOs don’t have the ability to
an out-of-touch automaton. understand, rationalize, and make the choice to
The process cop appears to be alive but is in kill a project that is not moving forward or isn’t
reality on autopilot, unwilling, or unable to delivering benefits to the business – it just won’t
process the changes happening all around. die. This only does so much to demonstrate
material value.

4
Three Ways to Reanimate the Zombie PMO
These Zombie PMOs lurk about the organization, struggling to maintain their relevance. But there’s hope! It is possible for PMOs to adapt and
elevate their discipline to a more strategic level, but only if they are willing to let go of the grip on crippling project management practices.

Here are three ways PMOs can shed their zombie tendencies and become more valuable to their organizations.

1 Become More Adaptive 2 Align Work to Company Goals and Strategic Portfolios

In a more dynamic climate where speed and innovation are vital, With a bigger mandate to drive today’s complex, cross-
adaptability is the key to reanimating the Zombie PMO. This begins organizational programs, PMOs need to take a more strategic
with embracing the different ways teams are approaching work these approach to portfolio management. This begins with aligning
days. According to PMI’s 2018 Pulse of the Profession report: projects with company goals. Only by understanding the big
picture can PMOs add strategic value.
“The future of value delivery is a spectrum of approaches – predictive,
iterative, incremental, agile, hybrid, and whatever will come next to This means the PMO must become more of a guiding, rather than governing,
change how we work … Success starts with the right approach to force. With a good foundation in the higher value aspects of PPM – namely
support project delivery.” resource and portfolio management – the PMO can prioritize projects and
analyze investment levels against enterprise objectives. They can compare
PMOs must empower teams to do what they do best in trade-offs between proposed decisions while considering resource capacity
the manner that suits them to get the work done. Instead across departments.
of adherence to a set methodology, they must advocate
for the right work type for the outcome that needs to be This more strategic approach enables PMOs to act as neutral arbiters to
delivered. The Adaptive PMO should take the lead and work the business. They can ensure that in-flight projects map optimally to the
collaboratively with the business to determine what level of company’s strategic goals. If proposed projects do not tie into the enterprise’s
discipline, rigor, and process is suitable for each initiative. objectives, PMOs should make the case to the decision makers and
stakeholders with data-backed information.
Determining which process is best suited for each individual project
will help deliver maximum value and create a flexible approach to PMOs can also be coaches and advisors to the groups doing the work, helping
scheduling. For example, for innovation projects, agile, and iterative to manage bottlenecks around key resources or skills and focusing on portfolio-
approaches are more compatible, especially when speed of delivery is level concerns. This is where the application of the best-fit approach to work
paramount and requirements are not entirely understood at the outset. styles begins. PMOs should resist the temptation to over-index on the “how.”

According to PMI’s research, PMOs that frequently use these Helping to define the right outcomes needed to deliver business results will
approaches are much more likely to meet business goals and raise the PMO’s influence and effectiveness. The strategic PMO also focuses on
complete projects on time and on budget. In addition, high- accountability and measurement after project completion.
performing PMOs are more skilled at choosing the right approach for
their requirements.

5
3 Keep Value in Mind
Maturing While Avoiding
Guided by the knowledge of what the organization is trying to achieve,
PMOs should place value at the forefront. This entails balancing the priorities Zombie Tendencies
of the PMO and monitoring measurable value objectives. PMOs must
evolve beyond simple project management output measures (e.g., lines The traditional project management approach is still relevant,
of code, number of new products, number of completed projects) and but there are different styles and approaches that have to be
instead focus on outcomes as their measures of success (e.g., growth, acknowledged, embraced, and handled differently. Start by
profitability, relevancy/usability in the market, and customer changing the perspective: Don’t ask, “How can we get the business
loyalty). to understand how we manage projects?” Instead, ask the business,
“How do you want your project to be managed?”, “What are you
In How to Avoid the ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ of a Level 2 PMO, looking to deliver? What are the goals and outcomes you are trying
Gartner recommends that PMOs who want to reach Level to achieve?”, and “What should we strive for?”
3 maturity should require that all business proposals
include measurable objectives. Focusing on strategic In addition, aim to adapt and evolve as the business does.
execution, key performance indicators (KPIs), and Understand where the PMO is on the maturity journey, what the
collaboration from the beginning will help PMOs next step is, and how quickly the organization needs to get there.
assert their leadership as objective advisors. PMOs should continuously ask:
They can help mediate conflicts between
stakeholder priorities. • Are we investing in the right activities and tools to generate
value?
The ability to translate strategy
into measurable goals will set • Are we measuring performance and outcomes?
PMOs apart from the undead
hoarde. • Are we adjusting and continually improving?

6
A PPM Solution to Cure the Affliction Planview PPM Solutions
Evolving from a zombie PMO to an adaptive PMO is more than just a state of mind: It With Planview, it is possible to not only deliver on time and on
requires the use of tools. The right PPM solution: budget, but also ensure that your team is delivering value by
working on the right projects with solutions that optimize your
• Offers capabilities for teams to • Performs “what-if” analysis to show, project portfolios, balance capacity against demand, and provide
execute and work on projects to get compare, and offer alternatives visibility into progress and financials.
things done, while feeding critical against the effects of adding or
information back into the PPM eliminating project resources (or the Planview software for Project Management Office (PMO) teams
system of record and rolling up to the projects themselves) enables project management offices to make better and faster
portfolio decisions and quickly evolve as company strategy changes and
• Allows you to quickly pivot and shift priorities shift to improve project and program success rates of
• Provides the ability to build top-down into the core capabilities you need execution and desired outcomes, as well as realizing business
plans based on long-term, strategic as your maturity grows or business benefits. Whether you are a PMO just starting out, advancing your
business requirements priorities change capabilities, or extending to strategic enterprise-wide programs at
hyper-speed, Planview solutions integrate planning and delivery
• Aligns the projects, programs, • Includes flexible capabilities to to help you deliver high-value projects in the midst of change
applications, and technology with the build forms, screens, reports, and available people and capabilities, as well as technology,
organization’s strategic plans dashboards, and workflows without application, and financial resources.
resorting to programming or difficult
• Prioritizes and ranks projects based configurations that require dedicated
on their alignment with corporate people and resources. This should
potential to increase revenue or include executive-level display of Are you experiencing zombie-like symptoms?
reduce costs project health data. Learn more about how Planview’s PPM Pro and
Portfolio and Resource Management solution
• Delivers out-of-the-box content in the
form of best-practices methodologies can help.
and reports to help users get the
most benefits of project portfolio Visit Planview.com/PPM-Pro today or email
management quickly [email protected].

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