Monday, November 12, 2012

PMOs A Waste Of Money? | Virtualization's Shaky Stack

If you have trouble viewing this email, read the online version.

This Week At InformationWeek
Join the community
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn
  Monday, November 12, 2012
News   |   Commentary   |   Slideshows   |   Reports   |   Videos   |   Events   |   RSS Feeds  
Jonathan Feldman
Jonathan Feldman
 
Project Management Offices: A Waste Of Money?
Will most companies that implement a project management office take on higher IT costs without improving performance?

That's the bold headline of a Hackett Group study of more than 200 organizations. It's not just hype: I happen to agree that the risks of a disastrous PMO implementation have never been greater.

Don't get me wrong: PMOs can be incredibly valuable when they manage the right projects through to business-focused completion and kill the projects that don't measure up. Trouble is, PMOs aren't right for every organization, and every organization won't match the intent with the follow-through. Creating a PMO under the wrong circumstances is likely to produce nothing but more project overhead.

Hackett Group, an operations improvement firm, found that PMO use for companies of every stripe grew from 2007 through 2009 but steadily declined thereafter. Its research backed up some of the findings in InformationWeek's 2012 Enterprise Project Management survey, which also traced a reduction in PMOs and formal PMO skill sets over time.

The Hackett bombshell: In some cases, the IT organization's performance actually improved once the PMO was eliminated.

Hackett also found that more PMO oversight doesn't necessarily improve business results. "In a weak PMO, poor management of time, resources, requirements or customer expectations encourages shortcuts that increase design weaknesses that drive higher maintenance and support costs," the Hackett report concludes. "Failure to properly identify and manage risk associated with poor technical decisions can also lead to complexity. Even the selection of projects for the portfolio can influence complexity if the PMO does not understand the long-term tradeoffs associated with certain kinds of technically risky projects."

READ MORE
THIS EDITION
Mobile Power Will Re-energize Medical Care
What's Killing APM?
Are We Giving CIOs An Inferiority Complex?
Design on a Dime: 12-Step Plan to Cut Software Costs
Critical Capabilities for Mobile Application Development Platforms
Apple iPad Mini: One Week In
Data-Centric Security In A Mobile World
InformationWeek 2013 Outlook Survey

Download our iPad App

JOIN THE CONVERSATION
Posted By angelcec:
"I see this as a trend--shrinking I.T. staffs doing more with fewer hands on-deck thanks to the ability to outsource applications and infrastructure to cloud-based providers."
In reply to: "When IT Becomes A One Man Show"
View Entire Response | Post Your Own Reply

 
NEW THIS WEEK

A Shaky Virtual Stack
Our InformationWeek 2013 Virtualization Management Survey shows automated service delivery is the future -- unless you want to find yourself managing cloud providers.

Automation Demands Tighter VM Security
Plan to let hypervisors spin up new virtual machines on their own? Then you'd better lock them down.

7 Lessons From Social Business Leaders
Companies can learn from these leaders in the use of social networking technology for business.

Mobile Power Will Re-energize Medical Care
Consumer, patient engagement, and provider-specific apps will dramatically change the way patient care is delivered--if stakeholders can overcome the obstacles.

What's Killing APM?
App performance management is seen as less important than it was two years ago, partly because vendors haven't kept up.

Are We Giving CIOs An Inferiority Complex?
CIOs need to be technical, without apology, just as chief medical officers need not apologize for their grounding in medicine.

MORE FROM THIS ISSUE


 
REPORTS & WHITEPAPERS
FEATURED REPORTS
Design on a Dime: 12-Step Plan to Cut Software Costs
Organizations challenged by meeting the requirements of multiple regulatory mandates are increasingly looking at the alignment of governance, risk, and compliance under a unified framework, GRC. In our report, we examine where the security professionals figure into the mix and recommend the steps organizations should take to align IT GRC with existing security programs and processes.
Download Now (Registration Required)

Featured Report

MORE REPORTS

spacer spacer spacer
FEATURED WHITEPAPERS
Critical Capabilities for Mobile Application Development Platforms
Gartner rates the capabilities, in general, and for business-to-employee and business-to-consumer application development scenarios of vendors that provide application development platforms for mobile applications. Download this report to get critical information.
Download Now (Registration Required)



MORE WHITEPAPERS
 
MOST POPULAR NEWS
Apple iPad Mini: One Week In
Now that I've spent a full week using the iPad Mini, here are some thoughts on its strengths and weaknesses.

8 Cool Windows 8 Tablets
As Microsoft and its hardware partners produce Windows 8 devices in droves, here's a look at some of the more noteworthy launches.

Netflix Wants You To Adopt Chaos Monkey
Netflix has made its own automated disaster testing service, Chaos Monkey, available as a free public download. Should you turn it loose on your own systems?

Dell XPS 12 Windows 8 Tablet Vs. Hurricane Sandy
When I found myself without power for four days in Manhattan, Dell's Windows 8 tablet was my main link to the outside world. See how it fared.

10 Wearable Health Tech Devices To Watch
Wearable medical technology is becoming a hot commodity. As these devices come to market, they have the potential to help both patients and clinicians monitor vital signs and symptoms.





MORE NEWS
 
WEBCASTS
Data-Centric Security In A Mobile World
In this Webcast, consultant Michael Davis will discuss the results of our InformationWeek 2012 Mobile Security Survey and outline the steps necessary to protect data on mobile devices: a unified policy; enforcement of the rules through use of technology such as encryption of sensitive assets; and education of end users and IT pros. It happens Tuesday, November 13, 2012. More Information & Registration

Click here
 
RESOURCES AND EVENTS
InformationWeek 2013 Outlook Survey
We are conducting our annual Outlook Survey to explore how IT leaders are planning their priorities and budgets for 2013. The results of the survey will appear in an upcoming issue as well as in an in-depth report. Take our survey now and enter to win one Samsung Series 5 Chromebook.
Survey ends Nov. 19



This e-mail was sent to sojo.blo@gmail.com

This Week At InformationWeek
-- Published By InformationWeek
600 Community Drive
Manhasset, NY 11030


To update your profile, change your e-mail address, or unsubscribe, click here.

Thoughts about this newsletter? Give us feedback.


Keep This Newsletter Out Of Your SPAM Folder
Don't let future editions of This Week At InformationWeek go missing. Take a moment to add the newsletter's address to your anti-spam white list: email@techwebnewsletters.com

If you're not sure how to do that, ask your administrator or ISP.
Or check your anti-spam utility's documentation.

We take your privacy very seriously. Please review our Privacy Statement.

No comments:

Post a Comment