The Cost of A Meeting…Do Your Meetings Add Value?

Twas the night before PMO Christmas and more projects could fail,

They seemed to be on track, but then started to derail.
Management was concerned but figured it could get through,
But how that would happen, no one really knew.

Business stakeholders were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of revenue danced in their heads.
But they didn’t realize, they were in for a mess,
For they had no Best Practices to ensure their success.

Now the projects became hindered, falling short of their goals,
And it seemed not everyone even knew their roles.
Milestones were not clear, delivery dates came and went,
Funding was dwindling and not tracked on how spent.

There was no rhyme or reason for how things were assigned,
And the projects in progress were not business aligned.
For what was being worked on was not the right mix,
And no one was capturing any meaning-ful metrics.

Requirements were running wild, revisions being stacked,
Status Reporting was meaningless, for nothing was tracked.
Risks were not captured, so there were no mitigations,
Which set the stage for some future ugly litigations.

Now the stakeholders were upset and clients were mad,
Vendors were not held to the dates that they had.
There was no longer pretending that things would be fine,
For critical projects were now falling behind.

The teams were disgruntled, their energies were spent,
What they needed was help in Project Man-age-ment.
When one of the employees shouted, “Hey, I know!”,
We need to set up our first P-M-O.

Then outside the conference room there arose such a clatter,
They all sprang from their chairs to see what was the matter.
Toward the windows they ran like little girls and boys,
Opened the levelours to see what the heck was that noise.

The lights in the conference room were now brightly lit,
And all went back to their chairs where they would now sit.
When, what to their wondering eyes put them in shock,
But two seasoned PMPs and their trusty PMBOK!

The twinkle in their eyes made them all know,
They knew how to set up an effective P-M-O.
More rapid than eagles process groups they came,
And they whistled, and shouted and called them by name.

We’ll Initiate, we’ll Plan and we’ll Execute we suppose,
Then we’ll Monitor, we’ll Control and finally we’ll Close.
We’ll set around the table and review lessons learned,
And we’ll celebrate our victory, project value that was earned.

We’ll focus on the key Knowledge Areas so no one gets lost,
Integration, Scope, Time and we must manage Cost.
We’ll manage Human Resources, Procurement and Risk,
Communication and Quality, the pace will be brisk.

We’ll all begin to use effective templates and tools,
For those who don’t are nothing but fools.
We’ll embrace Best Practices in our day-to-day,
For something is needed to guide our way.

Project plans, status reports, and an effective issues list,
Risk assessments and mitigations this time won’t be missed.
Meaningful dashboards will be of our choice,
Capturing metrics-that-matter reported out with one voice.

Conducting effective meetings, following up on key actions,
Being sure to be succinct and limiting distractions.
Our goal will be milestones and not just activities,
And when we’re successful, we’ll enjoy the festivities.

These new management practices are not just for show,
With these new processes in place, we now have a P-M-O.
This PMO will be a partner and will not dictate.
It will be one that is effective, ready to col-la-bo-rate.

As things progress, the teams will pull together,
And the project success rate will surely get better.
So now that projects are on a path that is right,
Happy PMO Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Have a Healthy and Happy Holiday Season!!!

All the best,

Ron