Typical Services within EPMO

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Methods and Standards

Promote Best Practices - initiate lessons learned repository
Benchmarking
Ensure Quality Assurance / Control Standards
Define, document, and standardize processes
Measure performance against current client standards or expectations
Select improvement targets

Consulting and Mentoring

Project start-up assistance
Project recovery assistance

Project Support

Project planning, scheduling, control
Consolidation reporting
Maintain project workbooks / repository
Issues tracking, change control
Evaluate client satisfaction
Improve the processes
Measure progress against the baseline
Develop and measure performance metrics
Project Audits
Regular reviews of current project practices to ensure on-time, in budget project delivery

Training

Develop and conduct training classes for project team on various PM competencies

Project Manager Resources

Provide ‘skilled’ resources to ensure success

In today's economy, more value is needed now, it is important to establish a EPMO that brings recognized value in the first six months of its existence. It is important to consider the strategic value proposition of the EPMO carefully before embarking on the initiative, it is always good practice to go beyond the original models and evaluate the exact requirements of the EPMO. As you plan the EPMO implementation, seriously consider establishing visible value to senior management from the word GO. It is therefore recommended that a rapid deployment method be used to deploy the EPMO. Manual processes are sometimes a good place to start if requirements are complex and business rules uncertain.

Go after the low-hanging fruit from the start. This helps everyone win and the EPMO will be on its way to adding more and more functions, service and value in no time. It is always advisable to manage the perceptions in particularly avoid being perceived as sitting in the "Ivory Tower of Project Management Excellence", which is typical when there is little transparency in the deployment process and value take long to realize. Build a EPMO that will "Deliver Value Now", or at least in the soonest possible timeframe.