Project, Programme and Portfolio management news – December 2008 Welcome to Outperform’s news on project, programme and portfolio management. In this edition of our newsletter is:   ·         Gauging PPPM Maturity ·         PRINCE2 2009 Update ·         E-books from TSO ·         New portfolio, programme and project office guidance from OGC ·         Upcoming events   Gauging PPPM Maturity Outperform have teamed up with Aspire to provide two new workshops: PPPM Assessment and PPPM Analysis. They are designed for organisations who would like to undertake their own maturity assessments and to formulate robust improvement plans.    The PPPM Assessment workshop compares a number of maturity models and provides a framework for scoping, planning and conducting assessments. It covers aspects such as choosing a maturity model, interviewing, rating evidence and aggregating the results.   The PPPM Analysis workshop helps participants take results from maturity assessments and investigate root-causes, identify improvements, prioritise improvements, set improvement goals and to create an improvement plan. It covers the options for implementing improvements, such as using process improvement frameworks such as Six Sigma, treating the improvement plan as a project or if the improvement requires a degree of transformation whether it would be worth managing it as a programme.   Both the PPPM Assessment workshop and PPPM Analysis workshop provide the option to gain certification as a PPPM Assessor or a PPPM Analyst through Aspire’s training academy. The qualifications are underwritten by ASET at National Qualification Framework Level 3 and level 4 respectively.   These workshops are run as public events, but can also be delivered on-site for individual clients. The current public schedule is: ·         PPPM Assessment - 18th December, London ·         PPPM Assessment – 28th January, London ·         PPPM Analysis – 25th February, London   PRINCE2 2009 update After a self-imposed isolation from August to November, PRINCE2 2009 lead author and Outperform director, Andy Murray, will shortly be handing over final ‘author draft’ to TSO. The draft manuscripts will then go through a process of copy editing, typesetting and final proof reading. In parallel to editing and typesetting activity, the authoring team will be busy creating supporting products such as pocket books, checklists, templates and tutorials. For more information, see www.prince2author.com E-books from TSO Did you know that the OGC range of PPRM ‘best practice’ guides is available electronically via subscription? They are available via the best-management-practice website (the partnership website of OGC, TSO and APMG Group).   On-line subscriptions are available in single user and multiple (concurrent) user forms. If you manage a central PPPM office or centre of excellence then a corporate subscription is a great way of ensuring that all your project and programme managers have access to the latest version of the guidance and not just the version they received when they sat the exam!   Outperform is now registered as an agent for TSO and can provide on-line subscriptions for all of the best practice guidance, such as PRINCE2®, MSP™ and M_o_R®. Contact us if you’d like more details. Portfolio, Programme and Project Offices (P3O) – new guidance from OGC On 28th October, OGC launched its P3O guidance.   A P3O model provides a decision enabling/delivery support structure for all change within an organisation.   This may be provided through a single permanent office which may exist under several different names, for example Portfolio Office, Centre of Excellence, Enterprise or Corporate Programme Office.   It may otherwise be provided through a linked set of offices (portfolio office, programme offices, project offices). These offices could be permanent (enabling/supporting business objectives and consistency of delivery) and temporary (enabling/supporting specific programmes and projects), providing a mix of central and localised services.   OGC's PRINCE2, Managing Successful Programmes, and Management of Risk all touch on the need to provide adequate support structures for these best practices. Until now there has been no single source of information that either organisations or individuals can use for guidance or advice on setting up or running an effective delivery support office.   The P3O guidance provides: ·         An Introduction to P3Os - Discussing why, when and how to use P3O models including the difference between portfolio, programmes and project environments and their different requirements ·         Value - What value P3Os can bring to the organisation including a business case, funding models and performance measures ·         Model - An overview of the different P3O models with examples ·         Functions and Techniques - Details on the functions/services and techniques/tools used by units of a P3O model.   Outperform consultants, Mike Ward and Jennifer Stapleton, were part of the review team for P3O and regard it as essential reading for those people who implement or manage P3Os. As a TSO agent, copies of the new P3O guidance can be ordered through Outperform. Outperform also provides P3O health-checks, design and implementation services. Upcoming events There’s a lot going on in the world of project, programme and portfolio management. Outperform’s consultants will be out and about at various conferences and workshops over the coming few months. We hope to see you at one of them!   ·         15th December – Using PRINCE2 & MSP together, hosted by the Best Practice User Group, Chester University ·         18th December – PPPM Assessment Workshop, London ·         15th January - Wales PPM Community of Practice, Cardiff Hall ·         19th January – Middle East PPM Community of Practice, Dubai ·         21st January - Role of the Project Office, hosted by APM North West with invited speaker Sue Vowler ·         22nd January – Public Sector Portfolio Management, hosted by Ten Alps, London ·         28th JanuaryPPPM Assessment Workshop, London - ·         5th February – Project Management in Practice, hosted by Hemsley Fraser, London ·         10th/11th February – BPUG International Project Management Conference, London Heathrow ·         24th February – Public Sector Project Management, hosted by Ten Alps, Manchester ·         25th February – PPPM Analysis Workshop, London ·         26th February – PRINCE2 Maturity Model (P2MM) Workshop, London ·         25/26 March – Project Challenge Expo, Birmingham ·         5th March – PRINCEOPOLY, London ·         18th March – PPSO SIG, Coventry