Articles & Case Studies

This PMI Insitute White Paper focuses on how important it is for projects to deliver strategic objectives: it is not enough for projects to come in on time and on budget. They must also be in sync with strategy. Organizations talk a good game about strategy. But without the right projects and programs to carry them out, even the most forward-thinking strategies fail. To help bridge the chasm between high-level strategic vision and in-the-trenches  implementation, many organizations turn to a project management office (PMO).  If an organization decides to establish a PMO, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. The article outlines five of the most common PMO frameworks and shows the case of Verizon Wireless (USA based).

Download the 2017 version of our full Training Catalogue and find out the right course for you and your organization, including PRINCE2, Agile and IT trainings. It’s an easy way to have an overview of all our training services!

The PRINCE2 Process Flow Diagram is a graphical ‘at a glance‘ representation of all the PRINCE2 processes and how they fit together and it shows all the processes involved in running a PRINCE2 project from start to finish. This version of the Process Map is the renewed and updated one according to the new 2017 version of the PRINCE2 method. A key document for all project managers that want to run a project following the recommended steps.

Download the presentation from Mr. Tom Van Medegael, Project Management Officer at SMALS “PRINCE2 @Smals: Best Practices & lessons learned”: presented at the yearly P3 for PA conference in Brussels: the presentation focuses on ““PRINCE2 @Smals: Best Practices & lessons learned”.

Download the presentation from Mr. Georges de Wasseige, Accredited PRINCE2 and Change Management trainer and consultant at QRP International presented at the yearly P3 for PA conference in Brussels: the presentation focuses on the importance of the set up of a PMO structure.

Download the presentation from AXELOS Global Best Practice presented at the yearly P3 for PA conference in Brussels: the presentation from Mr. Cameron Stewart, Head of PPM Product Development, focuses on “Aligning work done with strategy”.

Download the presentation from AFMPS (Agence Fédérale des Médicaments et Produits de Santé) presented at the yearly P3 for PA conference in Brussels:  – Mr. MAHY Didier, Executive Projects & Portfolio Management Officer, focuses on “La gestion et le suivi de projets au sein de l’AFMPS: Mise en place d’un PPMO (Projects & Portfolio Management Office)”.

This is a KEY document for anyone embarking in a PMO challenge. As project management has become accepted as a mainstream management discipline, many organisations have established a PMO (Portfolio, Programme or Project Management Office) function to increase the maturity of their project management approach. The scope, power and day to day responsibilities of each of these offices differs widely, comprising a mixture of strategic and tactical functions. This paper describes the community of stakeholders that benefit from the existence of a PMO, the services that are most important to them, the key challenges that PMOs are facing and the ideas that are helping to meet these challenges. An example of “PMO stakeholder map” is shown, and further more, some ideas about how to incorporate agile principles into existing project management approaches are presented. This is a KEY document for anyone embarking in a PMO challenge.

Projects aren’t easy. There are many traps waiting for the unwary project manager. How do you avoid those traps? This Case Study explains how a team from the public sector avoided 5 traps when implementing Software projects: for each trap, our expert trainer and consultant Jeff Ball will show you the trick that will help you understand the mistake, and avoid the same kind of trap which can be present in many different projects.

Unlike project management, which thrives on certainty, programme management recognizes and exploits the ambiguity. This is why is important to use a structured and well tested approach to Programme Management. A programme can be triggered in a number of ways; each will require different focus and intensity of resources and control. This white-paper explains the different types of Programmes, and hot to manage them to ensure the realization of business objectives.

You are a Project Manager, and most probably hold one (or more) great Project Management certifications. What’s next? Most of professionals in the Project Management world already know about Programme, Portfolio and PMO management; some of them already work at PMO level for example, having helped with the set up of a “Centre of Excellence” in their organization. But how do you know what is the right next step after Project Management? How to identify the right action that can fit your needs? A few years ago, you would sometimes hear project management called “The Accidental Profession”. This was the idea that we became project managers, not by design, but by accident. Professionals started as specialists in IT, Engineering, Real Estate, Construction or whatever; today we have been transformed into project managers. If you find yourself in this situation, you may be missing the skills for your new “accidental” career… This article clearly explains some of next possible steps after Project Management.

There are several high quality portfolio management related publications used around the world. This White Paper focuses  on the two main global portfolio management publications from Axelos and from PMI.