The slides from the presentation I gave at the NYC Scrum User Group Meeting on November 15, 2018. This includes version 3.0 of the PMO Agility Canvas.

1. R E D E F I N I N G Y O U R
P M O F O R A G I L E
Dave Prior
November 15, 2018
NYC Scrum User Group

2. 2
1.1
} Agile Consultant / Trainer
} PMP | CSM | CSPO | CSP | CST | PMI-ACP | MBA
• 23 years leading IT Projects
• Certified Scrum Trainer
• Former Chair PMI IT&T SIG
• Reluctant Agilist
} Contact Info:
} Email: dave.prior@leadingagile.com
} Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrsungo
} Web: http://www.leadingagile.com/blog/
} Blog http://drunkenpm.blogspot.com

3. BEFORE WE GO RE-DEFINING STUFF…

4. PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE

5. WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A
PM AND A PMO?

6. AND THEN THERE’S AGILE…
http://garbuz.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/dilbert-on-agile.gif

7. Agile is a response antidote to traditional Project
Management.
If your PM practice and PMO have evolved from
traditional way of working, you are (by definition) at
odds with Agile.
In order to get in sync with an Agile way of working,
adjustments are needed.
HERE’S THE RUB…

8. http://www.linskidesign.com/concrete-canoe.php
YOU JUST GOTTA LET GO

9. LET’S TALK ABOUT THE PMO…

10. http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090521143744/muppet/images/7/7a/Air.jpg

11. What is the mission of your PMO?
Who does it really serve?
What value does it provide?
How does it provide that value?
WHY DOES YOUR PMO EXIST?

12. Consider your organization for a
moment:
Is your organization’s value system
and culture more closely aligned
with Agile OR with a traditional
approach to managing work?
If they are not in sync, how has
this impacted your PMO?
THE AGILE PMO

14. THE FIVE MEASURES FOR PMO

15. The Art of War is the oldest military
treatise in the world.
It was put together by Sun Tzu*
It is over 2,000 years old.
There are thousands of translations.
It is the greatest book ever written about
project management.
It’s lessons can be applied everywhere.
THE FIVE MEASURES

16. THE FIVE MEASURES
“This is war.
It is the most important skill in the nation.
It is the basis of creation and destruction.
It is the philosophy of survival or extinction.
Everyone must investigate competition”
The Amazing Secrets of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War by Gary Gagliardi

17. THE FIVE MEASURES
1.Tao
2.Climate
3.Ground
4.Leadership
5.Discipline

18. TRANSLATING THE FIVE MEASURES
Warfare Your Organization
Tao How the troops are inspired to
follow “The Way”
The culture and value system
(actual, not theory)
Climate The weather in which you
will do battle
Political Landscape
Ground Terrain on which the battle
will take place
Reporting Structure
Leadership Leadership Style(s) Leadership Style(s) in play
Discipline How disciplined are the troops Do We Do What We Say

19. Tao
The culture and value system
Climate
Political Landscape
Ground
Reporting Structure
Leadership
Leadership Style(s)
Discipline
Ability to Do What We Say

20. If you know the opponent and know yourself,
you need not fear the result of a hundred
battles. If you know yourself but not the
opponent, for every victory gained you will
also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the
opponent nor yourself, you will succumb in
every battle
Sun Tzu

21. THE PMO AGILITY
CANVAS 3.0

22.
Outcomes
Key ActivitiesKey Partners Value Proposition Communications
and Outreach
Customer Segments
ACTIONS
PMO Agility Canvas
Version 3.0 November 2018
Created by Dave Prior.
Internal
Key Resources Metrics
Who does your Agile PMO partner
with to deliver your Value
Proposition?
What partnerships will you need to
leverage in order to help your
organization transition to Agile?
ExternalChampions
What will your PMO do in order to
provide value and support to your
Agile organization?
What key Resources does your
Agile PMO require to deliver on your
Value Proposition?
Types of Resources:
• Physical
• Intellectual (brand, patents,
copyrights, data)
• Human
• Financial
How will your newly formed Agile PMO
provide value to your organization?
Who are the different customers and users
of your Agile PMO?
How do you get feedback from them?
How do you connect with and reach
your customers and users?
How do you track and measure the
success of your PMO?
Will that change when your PMO
supports Agile?
What are the next steps that need to be taken in order to build momentum in your
transition to Agile?
What are the goals or desired outcomes for your PMO’s transition to Agile?
How will you know when those outcomes have been reached?

23. If your PMO was a separate company providing service(s) to your organization,
who are the customers you serve?
Are your users and your customers the same or different?
If you have multiple customers, can you define which customers and/or users
are the most critical to focus on?
How do you get feedback from your customers and users?
CUSTOMER SEGMENTS

24. What will your PMO do in order to provide value and support to your Agile
organization?
If the organization was hiring your PMO, what job would they be employing you for?
Examples of Possible Service Offerings:
• Agile Governance
• Coaching Leadership to support Agility
• Agile Team Coaching - either internal or through outside vendors
• Tracking and Reporting across the Portfolio
• Information Broker
• Education
KEY ACTIVITIES

25. Your PMO may need help from internal partners, external partners, and
champions in order to establish your Agile PMO.
Who will your Agile PMO need to partner with in order to deliver your PMO’s
Value Proposition?
What partnerships will you need to leverage in order to help your organization
with Agile Transformation?
What kind of assistance will you need in order to provide the services you
intend to offer?
Do you have clients (internal or external) that need to be involved in the
conversations about using or supporting Agile?
KEY PARTNERS

26. What key Resources does your Agile PMO require to deliver on your Value
Proposition?
Examples of types of resources you might need:
•Physical
•Intellectual (brand, patents, copyrights, data)
•Human
•Financial
•Learning Management System
KEY RESOURCES

27. How do you connect with and reach your customers and users?
Do you reach out to them? Or do they reach out to you?
What is the reason behind the interaction?
How/where do you connect? Do you connect with them in person or via some other
means?
When you connect, how many people are engaged in the interaction?
What is the nature of the communication? (formal, informal)
What about this communication needs to change?
What about this communication needs to be kept as is?
COMMUNICATION AND OUTREACH

28. How do you currently track and measure the success of your PMO?
Will that change when your PMO supports Agile?
Who generates the metrics?
Who pays attention to them?
What are they used for? (What understanding are they intended to generate?)
METRICS

29. How will your newly formed Agile PMO provide value to your organization?
“What is the center of gravity in our approach?”
- Frank Cespedes HBR January 13, 2015
• What does your PMO do?
• Who is the audience of your PMO?
• What are the pain points your customers and users struggle with?
• How will the service you provide remedy this?
VALUE PROPOSITION

30. What are the goals or desired outcomes for your PMO’s transition to supporting
Agile in your organization?
How will you know when those outcomes have been reached?
What gaps need to be addressed for you to achieve your desired outcome?
Does these outcomes speak to your value proposition?
OUTCOMES

31. What are the next steps that need to be taken to achieve the outcomes you are
looking for?
You may end up with a whole backlog of actions needed, but try to at least
define the following:
• An action you can take in the next business day
• An action you can take in the next week
• An action you can take in 3 months
• An action you can take in 6-12 months
ACTIONS

32. 0
25
50
75
100
April May June July
metrics
are a big
deal

33. ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNERS

34. THE ART OF WAR
IF YOU ARE NEW TO THE ART OF WAR, HERE ARE A FEW TRANSLATIONS I
RECOMMEND TO GET STARTED:
THE ART OF WAR - THOMAS CLEARY (SHAMBALA POCKET EDITION)
THE ART OF STRATEGY - R.L. WING
THE ART OF WAR AND IT’S AMAZING SECRETS - GARY GAGLIARDI

35. Dave Prior
Email: dave.prior@leadingagile.com
Blog: http://drunkenpm.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @mrsungo
Cell +1 405/248-7480