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Program Management Office
Effectiveness
The Key to Leading Reform Success
Meeting the Requirements of OMB Memorandum M-17-22
September 2017
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The Key to Leading Reform Success
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Achieving the agency reform goals cited under OMB Memorandum 17-22
requires a compressive review, planning, and execution of agency reform The 4 C’s of Transformative People1
initiatives in order to: Courage – Doing things that are
Create a lean, accountable, more efficient government for the difficult or uncomfortable; you do
American people. them anyway because it is the right
thing to do.
Deliver efficient and effective programs meeting the highest needs of citizens.
Capacity – The full complement of
Align the federal workforce with future needs.
resources as well as knowledge, skill,
Strengthen agencies by removing barriers to delivering results. and the abilities of great people to
The complexity and granularity required for successfully implementing an accomplish their work.
agency reform initiative cannot be understated. There is a lot to pay atten- Care – Paying attention to what is
tion to as transformation is enacted. At the same time each agency must important and doing it right.
continue to execute against current mission requirements. To be success-
Commitment – Being dedicated to
ful, each agency must assemble a dedicated and experienced multi-year
the cause, event, program, or agency.
Program Management Office (PMO) team.
What is a PMO?
In the case of this reform initiative, a PMO is a central office from which a department- or agency-wide
reform initiative is conceived, executed, measured, and held accountable for results. It should be operated
under the leadership of the agency, typically under the Chief Operating Officer’s (COO’s) or Chief
Management Officer’s (CMO’s) purview at the Deputy
Secretary or equivalent level.
PMO’s can be directive (with the authority to execute
change) or supportive (providing expertise, resources,
and standard methods) for others to execute. It can
also be centralized (at the head of the agency) or
decentralized (embed at the various component levels).
Given the critical nature of this reform, this PMO
should be directive and centralized. While authority
and directives will come from levels above the designated
program manager (Congress, White House, Agency
Head, etc.), it is important that a reform PMO have
the authority and line of sight across the agency to
ensure proper execution, provide consistency, leverage opportunities, and report agency level results across
a comprehensive program. A directive PMO needs the authority to execute on the plan and collaborate with
others inside and outside the agency to make decisions and achieve progress and results. Centralization is
critical because there are so many moving parts that need to be aligned, connected, changed, tested, and
measured. Focused management and accountability is necessary for consistency of approach and results.
Identifying opportunity for best practices and sharing tools and knowledge across the agency is also possible
with a centralized model, with greater efficiency and cost savings to be realized over time.
1
From Transforming Government from Congress to the Cubicle, by Steve Goodrich, CreateSpace, 2016.
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Why Have a PMO?
Conducting reforms at this level requires a dedicated, committed, and expert team with the full capacity e.
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and resources to ensure mission and reform success. There are many elements to a reform of this nature
that require oversight, stakeholder cooperation, and alignment. Collaboration must take place across line
organizations as well as with CIO, CHCO, procurement, etc., and often across multiple agencies. Without
dedicated expert resources, freed from their every day responsibilities to focus solely on the reform project,
chances of success are greatly minimized.
Don’t underestimate the many moving parts and level of detail and effort required to properly reform
multiple agency programs. It requires centralized dedicated control and appropriately assigned full time
resources to get it systemically right.
What Should the PMO Do?
A reform PMO executes many functions. While each agency should determine functional responsibilities
based on the specifics of their reform plan, a reform PMO typically has four major focus areas:
Plan and Execute the Reform
Develop and execute the plan to achieve schedule, results, and progress milestones in a logical and
deliberate way.
Assess agency programs, workforce, workload, and other factors and execute the changes in a way
that provides the best outcome and minimizes agency disruption. Use strong evidentiary data to form
your key success measures and track accordingly.
Reform existing programs for efficiency and effectiveness. Eliminate duplication, fragmentation,
and overlap. Initiatives must include both mission focused programs and infrastructure (back office)
programs. Work to get agency programs off GAO’s high-risk list.
Oversee the elimination, reduction, or increase of programs.
Align changes for the most efficient methods and outcomes to include process, program changes,
workforce restructuring, technology, organizational structure, etc.
Manage reform risk.
Work with other agencies and entities to share resources and create opportunities to improve
government service.
Participate in cross-agency reform task forces to either transition programs into or out of the agency
or to reform it in some other way.
Provide Communication and Policy Support
Identify, provide, and negotiate required policy, legislative, and other guidance required to achieve
the intended reform outcomes.
Assess requirements and timing and prepare OMB, the Hill and others with legislative and/or policy
change requirements. Cultivate sponsorship and assist in preparing legislative and policy language.
Design and implement a continual communication method for all stakeholders, including a feedback
loop.
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What Should the PMO Do? (continued)
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Realign the Workforce
Profile the existing workforce—size, distribution, span of control, skills, retirement, age, attrition/
accession, contractors, etc.
Analyzes workforce data and trends against new mission, workload, and performance requirements
to project future workforce requirements.
Develop and executes workforce realignment plans. Identify and manage risk.
Provide training to agency personnel to support reform success.
Execute change management and cultural reforms for efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability.
Change culture and accountability to create a systemically high-performing organization.
Develop and implement an effective performance management system.
Provide program and organizational skills development to leaders, managers, and staff at all levels.
Develop organizational transformation champions.
Support the Reform
Create and manage the reform budget.
Procure product and service resources necessary to accomplish the reform.
Manage and report progress, results, and return on investment.
Provide oversight and governance for any needed changes to the reform plan.
Obtain the support and involvement of critical agency resources required to execute. Prepare and
incorporate them into the team.
Communicate plans, outcomes, status, actions, etc., to all stakeholders.
Provide a repository for sharing best practices and tools across the agency as well as with other agencies.
Don’t forget to identify many of the smaller things
the plan may not directly include such as excess Plan Execution Manage Risk
office space created by the reform, non-integrated Align Workforce Manage Change
data sets, excess equipment, legacy system
Communicate Provide Reform Support
lifecycles, support contract termination schedules,
Provide Training
retirement rates, and other unanticipated or
unintended consequences that are impacted Measure Efficiency and Effectiveness
by reform actions. Look for things that were Share Best Practices and Opportunities
too granular for the plan such as obsolete Participate in Cross-Agency Reform
contracts that should not be renewed, or smaller Provide Policy and Legislative Support
components of a program that are not effective or
useful and should be eliminated (not a wholesale
program elimination). Integrate Administration level reforms such as regulatory shifts—don’t fix what is
being thrown out anyway.
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What Should the PMO Do? (continued)
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A typical agency reform PMO should be organized as follows:
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Agency Head
Chief Operating Officer
OMB Reform Director
Deputy Director
Program Workforce Communications Support
Reform Alignment Legislative Affairs Services
Typical Applied Effort 50% 35% 10% 5%
To establish a PMO:
1. Review the reform plans and fully understand its scope, impact, timelines,
oversight requirements, etc.
2. Identify the governance requirements – leadership, management, policy,
authorities, reporting out, etc.
3. Identify the functional areas of responsibility to complete the reform
and decide how to organize around them. This could be functionally or
by type of reform.
4. Estimate the workload in each functional area.
5. Identify the skill sets and number of staff required to conduct the reform
initiative, including team management. An effective PMO will pay for itself.
6. Identify the source of staff members – in-house, details, hire, contractor
Cost Savings
support, agency support offices, etc.
7. Identify the priority and timing of acquiring staff resources. Cost Avoidance
8. Identify other non-staff resources – facilities, technology, data,
Efficiency
documents, etc.
9. Develop a multi-year PMO budget and identify funding resources. Effectiveness
10. Create a charter for the PMO – purpose, duties, outcomes, authority, Accountability
reporting relationship, etc.
11. Obtain necessary approvals to proceed.
12. Begin assigning and training PMO staff members. Acquire consulting support, etc.
13. Execute the reform initiative, adjusting as needed and reporting regularly to stakeholders and the
American people.
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What Skills Do I Need?
Each agency reform PMO will require program knowledge/expertise unique e.
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to that agency or program. They will need to have the delegated authority to
execute the reform initiative. There are also a number of PMO and Organizational
Effectiveness (OE) skills that will be necessary. Typically a reform PMO must have
the following skills:
Leadership and project management of complex Organizational Effectiveness—program
and detailed activity assessment, process improvement, efficiency
Problem solving, decision making, risk and effectiveness, restructuring, quality control,
management, scope management, collaboration, measurement, etc.
and relationship building Change management
Budgeting and financial management Workforce planning and realignment
Stakeholder management and communications Training/knowledge management
Procurement Data capture integration, analysis, and
Technology integration earned value
Management and leadership development Agency and program governance
Performance management and measurement Policy development
at the organization and staff levels Legislative, policy, and regulatory process
Human resources policy, laws, collective Cross-agency program reform
bargaining, and execution
Some of these skills will be applied by full time PMO members while others will be sourced and integrated
into your team as needed from agency functional areas such as technology, procurement, human
resources, finance, security, communications, legislative liaisons, etc. Other skills can be acquired
on a contract basis.
How Many People Are Needed?
The number of people required to staff a PMO is dependent on the size and
scope of the reform effort and the skills/expertise required. No two reform
Don’t underestimate the heavy
PMO’s will be alike so you need to determine the appropriate size for your
application. A small PMO for a legislative lift that may be
reform initiative would be 3-6 necessary to realize the benefits
full time staff members and a of reform. But don’t let any of
large would be 6-10 or more. this stop you from creating
Some have seen as large as efficiency, effectiveness, and
18-20. But remember, you are accountability that can be
also getting ancillary or part
accomplished at the agency
time support from CIO, HR, and
others. Also, one person may level without legislative change,
bring several skills to apply to much can still be done.
the reform initiative. Consultants under contract for short- or long-
term requirements may be necessary. Therefore, use your best judgment
as to the number of resources needed, and be willing to adjust. Engage staff on detail from across agency
components for their expertise and to improve ownership of the reform effort.
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Should I Use Consultants?
We advise that you always staff a PMO of this type with government employees. This is necessary to e.
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ensure the agency and its culture becomes systemically strengthened in-house with the right expertise.
But in reality, most agencies will not always have the experts and in sufficient quantities to execute as
required. Consultants also bring an objective unbiased
orientation. Consultants could be program subject matter
experts, or experts in organizational effectiveness, change
management, training, human resources, data analytics,
measurement, and sometimes staff support functions.
If you need to use outside consulting resources, mix them
with federal employees to ensure skills are transferred,
workload is supported, and the right assemblance of
accountability is present.
CONSULTANTS
Review the skill sets listed above, determine the number of staff members required, ensuring you have
strong expertise in all required areas. Fill in the gaps with contracts as needed to ensure success.
What Will An Effective PMO Achieve?
An effective PMO is the key to accomplishing sustainable change that delivers lasting value for the agency
and the American people it serves. Above and beyond the execution of any specific agency reform initiative,
an effective PMO protects the agency from unintended consequences. It makes sure that if you squeeze
the balloon on one side, it doesn’t pop out on the other side, resulting in adverse consequences that slow
progress or prevent adoption of new systems or processes. It assesses impact across all critical components
of reform – from people to processes and systems – and identifies barriers and risks. An effective PMO
also assesses the organization’s readiness to embrace change and plans for the comprehensive change
management required to ensure lasting success versus limited change at a point in time.
An effective PMO makes sure that the resources needed to carry out reform are identified and approved
and that the press of doing business does not overcome planning and executing reform initiatives. It
protects the core PMO staff from the variability created by changes in politically appointed leaders, agency
re-alignments, retirements, etc... to preserve the capacity to execute the reform over the long-haul.
Every agency has many skillful, dedicated employees capable of achieving performance enhancements and
improving agency efficiency and effectiveness. Bringing those employees together with the right resources
to execute agency-wide or multi-agency reform is an art, not a science and it takes an effective PMO to pull
it all together and achieve lasting success.
The Center for Organizational Excellence, Inc. CONTACT:
15204 Omega Drive, Suite 300 Dr. Fred Panzer, Director, Client Solutions
Rockville, MD 20850 (786) 423-2626 |
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