Project  Management  
 in  the  Cloud  
 
                           Business  Transformation  through  IT  Transformation  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

5/27/12  
  
  Project  Management  in  the  Cloud  
 

Summary  
VMware’s   IT   Project   Management   Office   (PMO)   oversees   IT   projects   and   delivers   project   management  
methods  and  tools  to  support  the  IT  team  in  driving  the  journey  to  the  cloud.    The  PMO  identifies  and  program  
manages   major   releases   while   attending   to   the   overall   portfolio   of   VMware’s   IT   projects,   which   can   include  
the  on-­‐boarding  of  newly  acquired  applications  and  newly  engaged  SaaS  vendors.  
“We   have   a   very   effective   IT   governance   program   at   VMware   and   not   many   companies   can   deliver   $75-­‐100M  
at  90%  on  schedule,”  said  Mark  Egan,  CIO.    
 
“By  investing  in  project  management  capabilities  and  extending  federated  processes  across  all  IT  projects,  we  
help   provide   a   project   delivery   model   that   is   scalable,   repeatable   and   consistent,”   said   Brian   Nichols,   the  
PMO’s  Senior  Director  of  IT.    

The  Journey  
VMware’s  journey  to  the  cloud  involves  the  co-­‐existence  of  on-­‐premise  and  SaaS  applications  in  a  landscape  of  
public  and  private  clouds.  In  this  model,  data  can  reside  within  or  outside  the  VMware  enterprise,  requiring  IT  
to  perform  due  diligence  to  ensure  that  SaaS  vendors  meet  its  standards  for  security.  
 
“Many   of   the   things   you’d   normally   do   yourself   are   being   done   by   the   vendor   in   the   cloud,   so   you   have   to  
ensure   they   are   done   to   your   standards”   said   Nichols.     Project   management   methodologies   must   guide   the  
processes   for   developing   and   deploying   applications   within   each   type   of   cloud   and   the   need   to   move   data  
across  clouds  when  needed.    
 
In-­‐person   PGER   are   conducted   for   each   project   at   the   end   of   each   phase   to   ensure   project   success   and  
compliance.   Also   key   is   time   tracking,   which   provides   insight   into   how   resources   are   aligned   against   individual  
projects   and   non-­‐project   activities,   and   Project   Review   Board   (PRB)   Governance   –   an   executive   steering  
committee  that  meets  monthly  to  fund,  select,  and  prioritize  project  work  that  ends  up  on  the  Plan  of  Record.    
PRB   also   reviews   the   overall   health   of   the   portfolio,   manages   tradeoffs   as   the   year   progresses,   and   reports  
back  in  success  metrics  of  projects  post  ‘go-­‐live.’    
 
Once  the  portfolio  is  selected,  projects  are  executed  using  global  methodology  and  standards.    The  IT  PMO  has  
developed  a  rigorous  methodology,  templates  and  best  practices  to  guide  the  software  development  lifecycle.  
The  PMO  offers  templates  to  project  teams  to  help  guide  how  the  IT  team  adds  value  to  business  users  and  
interacts  with  vendors.    
 
According  to  Nichols,  “there  is  one  global  methodology  that  all  project  teams  are  trained  on,  full  transparency  
of  all  active  projects  and  demand  in  Project  and  Portfolio  Management  (PPM)  and  weekly  meetings  to  track  
status   of   all   releases   and   projects   to   progress   projects   through   the   various   SLDC   phases,   as   well   as   metrics  
generated  and  published  weekly  to  monitor  overall  compliance.”      
“Through   our   portfolio   oversight,   we   provide   insight   into   the   status   and   risks   of   planned   and   in-­‐process  
projects,  helping  to  ensure  that  IT  projects  support  overall  business  goals,”  said  Michelle  McNeil,  Director  of  
Portfolio  Management  for  the  PMO.      
 

       

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  Project  Management  in  the  Cloud  
 

The   PMO   examines   the   overall   mix   of   SaaS   and   on-­‐premise   applications   in   the   enterprise   and   helps   ensure  
that  protocols  for  data  security,  scalability  and  reliability  are  met  and  maintained.  The  PMO  supports  vendor  
and   package   selection   criteria   for   the   cloud   and   helps   ensure   that   the   overall   balance   of   applications  
fundamentally  align  with  VMware’s  IT  architecture  guidelines.    
 
As  new  vendors  are  added  to  the  portfolio  –  whether  they  are  on-­‐premise  or  cloud  –  proper  diligence  must  be  
done   to   review   their   suitability.   The   four   primary   considerations   are   the   vendor’s   viability   as   an   ongoing  
concern,   its   suitability   to   meet   current   and   future   business   needs,   capability   to   safely   secure   data   and  
integrate  with  other  applications  and  scalability  to  track  with  VMware’s  growth  objectives.  
 

The  End  Result  

“The  IT  Project  Management  Office  provides  tools,  processes  and  training  to  ensure  that  IT’s  work  aligns  with  
business   and   executive   priorities,”   said   Nichols.   “At   other   companies   I   have   seen   project   managers   struggle  
with   getting   the   focus   and   priority   setting   from   senior   leaders   needed   to   get   projects   done.   Here   we   have   the  
PMO,  and  our  own  PMO  within  IT,  and  we  have  engagement  directors,  all  working  their  part  on  the  same  set  
of  priorities.”  

       

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