Frequent Asked Questions

How is a Project  Management Template  Created?

Project managers first focused on tasks that are usually required in many of their projects. After that, they gather information of each task,  and create a generic document called template that can be re-used and will save them time from having to brainstorm the same tasks for each project.
Then,  they sequencing the tasks within each grouping to help them identify missing tasks. The templates will be captured in a variety of electronic formats, such as MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or MS Project. Once a template is ready, experts review it and make any necessary changes.

How  should  you  use  a  Project  Management Template?

Many templates come ready for your use. You just fill the blanks and customize it with the logo of your company. Other templates serve as the starting point for the project team for the particular area of tasks.

The teams review the template and make necessary changes that will apply to this project. Each task can then be given an accurate duration and cost estimate.

How  should  you  share  the Project  Management Templates?

Project management templates should have a "keeper" who is responsible for controlling all changes to the template. This “keeper” may be you or anybody else in your team. In an organization with a PMO (Project Management Office), this role is usually taken on by the PMO.

You can also track who has used each template in order to get feedback on the usefulness of the information and get suggestions for future improvement.

What  are  the  benefits  of  using these  templates?

Templates facilitate the development any project. They reduce costs, risks, clarify roles and  estimates, and increase the odds for a successful project completion.

What is PMBOK?

PMBOK® - Project Management Body of Knowledge standard methodology is a collection of processes and knowledge areas generally accepted as best practice within the project management discipline developed by PMI - Project Management Institute.

Who creates the PMO?

The main PMO (whether it's a PMO or EPMO) is created by the top level executives in the company. The top level executives assign the creation of the PMO to one of the executives who has some excellent project management and governance background. That person will create the main PMO/EPMO and will then assign himself or someone else with the necessary skills to manage it.

What are the PMO types?

There are lots of ways to look at this as the concept of PMO has yet to be standardized.

 
- PSO (Project Support Office): may be a forming PMO and provides some limited project support, often around project controls (e.g. tracking budgets, schedules, and or issues). May also have some basic project management responsibilities.

- PMO: This is the "regular" PSO. The PMO often has responsibilities for project management methodology, inclusion of or supervision of the practicing project managers, and some project controls.

- EPMO (Enterprise PMO): PMO with scope expanded beyond some limited segment of the business and enterprise-wide.

Is the PMO important?

In short, it is not only important, it is essential to any project. The PMO defines the PM standards that should be used when it comes to templates, reporting, documentation, etc... The PMO defines the methodology, the PMO monitors and assesses the work of the project manager, and ensures that his work is always aligned with the company's standards. The PMO handles the repository of all projects' documents, including their lessons learned, which makes it easy to attack similar future projects by learning from previous projects. The PMO ensures that there is no resource starvation and that resources are evenly distributed among projects. The PMO ensures that conflicts between projects are resolved on the spot.

Of course, if you have a company consisting of a few employees, then it doesn't make sense to have a dedicated PMO role, but it is important to make the project manager do the role of the PMO.

What are the advantages of having a PMO?

• Centralized place for forms and templates to facilitate the development of project estimates, project plans, project schedules, risk management, issues management, change management, project acceptance, and project reports.

• Reduce project costs because common tasks are managed at the PMO level.

• Provide project management support and guidance to project managers.

• Best practices for employees.

• Facilitate the management of multiple projects.

• Gather project experience and data for use in future projects and to improve project management methods.

• Better resource allocation and employee productivity.

• Clarify the role of projects and project management.

• Establish a standard project management methodology, including tools, a collaborative environment and communication standards.

• Provide a single point of contact for all project information.

• Increase resource utilization across the organization matching project needs helping to balance the workload of project managers and project team members across all projects.