AGRIBUSINESS PROJECT MANAGEMENT

SAYANTAN CHOUDHURY
I.D No: - 1136

1) What is the purpose and mission of Project Management Office (PMO)?

Project management consists of applying the knowledge, capabilities, tools and techniques specific to a project's
activities, which have defined objectives, goals and requirements, related to time, costs, quality and performance
parameters, activities considered important and appropriate for financing. Time, cost, quality and performance are
constraints for the project. For Strider, the goal is aligning strategic business directions with IT resources and
expanding the scope to an enterprise level that would include business projects. The Mission and the work of PMO
in AtekPC PMO is evolving with time since its inception in the year 2006. The general consensus was that the
purpose of PMO was to realize the benefits derive from the consistent project practices. In this above case for
Strider, the goal is aligning strategic business directions with IT resources and expanding the scope to an enterprise
level that would include business projects. Overall the responsibility of the PMO is restricted to the ITs and
technological based. At present the responsibilities limited to IT projects. The duties of PMO were divided into 2
categories:
1) Project –Focused (consulting, mentoring, and training)
2) Enterprise –Oriented (portfolio management, PM standards, methods, and tools)

One of the most important responsibilities of the PMO is also cost reduction, using resources more
efficiently. Also, another reach is getting more creative, adaptive and agile in launching new products. PMO is
responsible for establishing, publishing and disseminating project practices. As the PMO developed, Nelson hoped
to be able to include the following duties without additional costs, portfolio management and archiving
responsibilities. PMO will also help AtekPC to improve the project management skills, process, and governance structures. In
fact, the PMO purpose can be defined as the project focused and enterprise-oriented tool. Project focused on consulting,
mentoring, and training what leads to the success of individual projects. The enterprise responsibilities are addressed services
that might improve all projects and overall company image such as portfolio management, methods, and tools, PM standards,
and project performance archives. The enterprise purpose is to provide a long-term stability and backbone for the project
management's success. This mission can be met by forming and maintaining a project historical database, developing project
management best practices, and providing training in all project management knowledge areas.

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 2) What are the main challenges and obstacles in implementing a PMO?
There are lot of challenges when implementation a PMO in the enterprise. Regardless of the technical
challenges during the implementation, the core of the problems seems to be that the PMO is lacking
organization support, from the top to the bottom. There is not enough executive stakeholder support; there is
no visibility of the program; there is a conflict of interests within departments; people are reluctant to change
the ways they have been doing things. 

a) The PMO vision and role is not clearly defined:- There is no complete agreement regarding its
purpose, its responsibilities, and its authority. It has slowly evolved.
b) Not enough executive stakeholder support. Not all of the senior executives were equally enthused
about the PMO concept. Authority was primarily being developed bottom-up through the value of the
PMO services. Even this was limited to those functional areas and IT areas actively engaging the
PMO. There was no current plan to enforce usage at the enterprise level. 
c) Corporate culture limitation. Corporate cultural change had been informal. They never treated PM,
PMO, formal processes seriously. Normal Operation Processes and function units have to change
their culture, behaviour, and even habits if they work with a PMO.
d) No support from department management. Department managers may see no value in introducing
a PMO in their projects. Also there are political conflicts as well, with managers worrying about the
PMO getting to much authority.

Other than that there is a rise in critical situation in implementing a PMO in a non-PMO environment challenge
because it went against the grain of the organizational culture. The fact that many of the staff, even the managers
have little or no experience with formal project management practices is also a challenge because very few knew
how to use any of the software tool. Another source of resistance is the lack of understanding at all levels of the
value of formal project management. All this challenges created cultural barriers to its success. Regardless of the
technical challenges during the implementation, the core of the problems seems to be that the PMO is lacking
organization support, from the top to the bottom. There is not enough executive stakeholder support; there is no
visibility of the program; there is a conflict of interests within departments; people are reluctant to change the ways
they have been doing things. 

The main purpose and mission of PMO is the structure and management of how to successfully implement in what
appears to be a robust culture. John Strider, AtekPC Chief Information Officer (CIO), had strong beliefs that the
PMO-light model was the way to go. He had held back on hiring employees for filling the PMO and was moving
very slowly and carefully, so as not to offend AtekPC culture. He was also concerned about the many problems that

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had already raised the PMO implementation. Were small steps, building on small successes go to get the job done
fast enough? With the ever increasing challenge of successfully managing information technology (IT) organizations
are recognizing the need for more discipline in the management of IT projects. For many companies, this has meant
ratcheting project management, processes and governance structures within the organization through the
implementation of a Project Management Office (PMO). Unfortunately, there is little common understanding of the
challenges of implementing a PMO. Therefore, key executives and their organizations need to help poor leadership
to identify and overcome the obstacles they are likely to encounter. 

Other than that there is a serious issue on the Business resources about the implementation regarding the PMO-
Heavy model in AtekPC. Nelson was optimist regarding PMO-Heavy implementation, but the real problem was the
acceptance and recognition of the model. Overall there is a tryout on implementing and fitting the PMO-Heavy
model but that too in a very slow pace.

3) What structure and governance mechanisms are critical for PMO implementation?
A successful structure can range from simple project data reporting to a centralized structure that takes the lead on
every aspect of project management. A PMO that is organizationally based versus departmentally based is more
likely to get executive support. A de-centralized PMO structure could have difficulty performing a strong role when
using matrix-managed resources. A centralized structure that does nothing more than report status will add too much
overhead to the institution. The more responsibility assigned to project office, the higher it should report in the
institution. The most robust structure usually requires reporting directly to the President or CEO of the institution for
maximum effectiveness. For staff allocation, a combination of the two approaches will require the company to hire
an individual for PMO implementation.
The critical structure of the PMO is the organizational strategy based versus departmentally based. PMO’s are more
effective and can better impact the bottom line, when they are operating at the corporate enterprise-wide strategic
level. Along with that the current managers can be trained for the PMO implementation to make it effective without
hiring new staff as the company has limited resources available. After reviewing the Limitations and issues - heavy
vs. light there are some major factors that are leaning to both. One of the heavy issues is that AtekPC does not have
enough people and resources to move as fast as they would want to. Another concern is that no management wants
to move to the PMO - people in the department challenge the values of PMO what definitely comes from the close-
minded culture of the organization.
AtekPC considered two organizational models of PMO:

PMO-Heavy

1. Full staff of project managers responsible for the management of all IT projects.
2. Acquire project management experts, and used these resources to manage projects under the direction of the PMO.
3. There should be no projects that operate outside the management and direct control of the PMO.

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PMO-Light

1. Minimal staff of experts working through internal project managers to perform responsibilities of PMO.
2. Developing the skills of internal project managers who were not formally connected with the PMO.
3. Possibility to operating all projects outside of the PMO under existing organizational controls.

4) How much PM is enough PM? How much PMO support is enough PMO support?

AtekPC majorly focuses more in on its culture and structure, hence can adapt an appropriate scale of PM. The
appropriate scale should focus on the effectiveness of the project management in fulfilling the strategic goals of the
company. The company is facing some serious market losses due to their business model so it should be changed
and the suggestion is to go to some complex project. Under such scenario a simple ye effective PM structure will
assure to achieve higher goal without disrupting the business culture and environment. However as early the
authorities in the organization mentioned thinks that the company must go for Heavy-PMO but for betterment the
company should take Light-PMO into considerations.

From AtekPC experience, other companies should learn that is not effective to implement a PMO without trying to
establish a balance between the existing structure of the company and the new vision. It is very important that the
employees are prepared and taught how to work with PMO. AptekPC seems to have an informal pattern of
communication, which can’t be radically changed within a short time. However a gradual shift can be brought
through the use of PMO light by focusing on the strengths of the process and allowing the employees to understand,
accept and adapt to the changed procedures. Culture plays perhaps the biggest role in whether the organization is
successful in executing projects. Managers, including the head of the organization, need to step up and evaluate the
project culture. Until the culture changes, project managers will consistently struggle to be successful.

It’s wrong to consider that PMO will do all the work, that is not the goal. The goal is for the PMO to work with
businesses and optimize performance and results in projects. As long as the goals for PMO are communicated
clearly and slowly, everything should go just fine. The PMO is a guide, not a worker or a manager. The resulting
effects of PMO will not be a shock to a corporate environment, as long as the changes are long-term instead of short
term.

   For PMO to work to the best of its ability, management must back the plan to the utmost. Authorities in charge
must be putting forth the plan in a manner that employees will not find offensive. As long as this is executed
properly, PMO will then be looked upon with respect and then used in a maximized manner. 

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5) What is the role of organisational culture, organisation structure and organisational
processes in PMO implementation?
In every company, project management happens within the much larger context of the company’s organizational
culture. Having a good understanding of this broader context can help to keep the work of project management
in synch with the objectives of the organization, and aligned with already-established practices. Often
discredited, we underestimate how corporate culture can affect a project’s progress – for better or worse.
In this scenario the company is very much in dilemma of accepting the new mode of PMO as it can change the
nature of the work culture around.
Organisational Culture helps in curving out and paving way for any new PMO. The implementation of PMO in
the organization should culture friendly and easily fit into the company. In this scenario the staff, even the
managers has little or no experience with formal project management practices is also a challenge because very
few knew how to use any of the software tools, such as Microsoft Project. Additional to these knowledge
barriers, the informality of the current situation proves to be highly effective.
Projects considered to be aligned with organizational culture may have smoother implementations and higher
success rates than projects that challenge these cultural norms. Also, understanding the organizational culture
and its relationship to project management can help the company figure out which projects to pursue and which
to put aside.
Since the work culture in the company is in a very slow pace the IT department of the company is also forget to
keep the record. Hence it’s the organization structure which needs to be reform drastically, to ensure that the
PMO gets implemented to fit into. It is therefore important to identify the factors that can help create an
organizational culture that incorporates project management, including: understanding the value and benefits that
project management brings to both the project and the organization itself, as well as aligning projects with the
organizational and business strategies.
In conclusion, several elements of a company’s structure and culture can have an impact on how smoothly
projects can be managed. Having a good understanding of this broader context during the planning phases of a
project allows you to ensure that the work of project management is carried out in harmony with the objectives
of the organization and managed in alignment with established practices.