The industry has been under a lot of changes for the past ten years. Mobile devices, cloud software, and big data in a single machine have made their way to the top, giving way to a more streamlined effective approach and principle, as well as strategies and methodologies. Lump everything together and you got yourself a digital PMO.
Digital PMO: An Overview
From the word ‘digital’ alone, we already have an idea that it has something to do with the internet, going mobile or relying on online software tools to get the job done. In the case of digital PMO, it is to relay real-time information to team members to any device, at any time.
The main advantage of digital PMO is that managers are able to acquire information easily and make decisions at any given time. What’s more, it makes procedures faster, as well as approvals and authorizations that need to be made in a project. There’s no need to wait around a day or even a week for reports considering that they are relayed during the task. It makes this efficient because the managers in charge can check for issues and come up with an immediate solution.
Another benefit of digital PMO is there are less frequent meetings. That is not to say that meetings, in general, are unnecessary and a waste of time, but they do eat some precious time. At this rate, meetings should be done when there are some crucial points to be made before starting the project or a recap of this week’s progress. Digital PMO reduces cost as well because everything—from spreadsheets to reports are merged into one online tool where certain people have access to it. Lastly, transparency is increased which means more information will be provided among teams and in turn increase productivity and make tasks more efficient.
Is the Change Worth It?
Think about how digital PMO impacts your workplace, project, and team as a whole. Going digital doesn’t mean that your PMO will lose its ability to tackle with physical resources. It’s still up to the organization if they want a full-blown digital PMO and if that will be the case, you need to take cost, tools to use, storage space, and available network into account. Building a digital PMO is the first step and everyone must be ready for that from beginning to end.
Take note that there will be setbacks along the way so ensure that the resources are compatible such as instant messaging, project management software tools, templates, and other online applications.
It’s safe to say that all areas of businesses and industries are already on their way to embracing these digital changes and PMO is no exception. You cannot expect that everyone can easily adjust to digital PMO and other changes, so hands-on practice should be implemented.
It’s also crucial to integrate your system to these changes for a streamlined approach. Start with small steps and don’t force your team members to immediately digest the aspects of a certain tool or approach. While you are at it, take note of your priorities and don’t get lost in your organization’s objective. At the end of the day, embracing digital PMO doesn’t necessarily mean building it from scratch. You can also make do with what you already have. Take a good look around and look for practices and tools that you can use to skyrocket your PMO into the digital spectrum.