P3 Offices - P3O
Portfolio, Programme and Project Offices (P3O) is the latest guidance from OGC. It will publish Autumn 2008 and will be accompanied by a qualification scheme.
What is P3O?
A P3O model provides a decision enabling/delivery support structure for all change within an organisation. This may be provided through a single permanent office which may exist under several different names e.g., Portfolio Office, Centre of Excellence, Enterprise or Corporate Programme Office. It may otherwise be provided through a linked set of offices (portfolio office, programme offices, project offices), both permanent (enabling/supporting business objectives and consistency of delivery) and temporary (enabling/supporting specific programmes and projects), providing a mix of central and localised services.
OGC's PRINCE2, Managing Successful Programmes, and Management of Risk all touch on the need to provide adequate support structures for these best practices. However, currently there is no single source of this information that either organisations or individuals can go to to find guidance or advice on setting up or running an effective delivery support office in alignment with OGC's Best Practice guidance.
This new guidance - aligned to OGC's PRINCE2, MSP, and MoR - will bring together in one place a set of principles, processes and techniques to facilitate effective portfolio, programme and project management through enablement, challenge and support structures. These structures also bridge the gap between the strategy/policy makers and the delivery arm of the organisation.
The purpose of the Portfolio, Programme and Project Offices (P3O) guidance is to provide universally applicable guidance that will enable individuals and organisations to successfully establish, develop and maintain appropriate business support structures that will allow:
- Informed senior management decision making on strategic alignment, prioritisation, risk management, optimisation of resource etc to successfully deliver their business objectives (portfolio management).
- Identification and realisation of business outcomes and benefits via programmes.
- Successful delivery of project outputs that enable benefits within time, cost and quality restraints.
The guidance will provide:
- An Introduction to P3Os - Discussing why, when and how to use P3O models including the difference between portfolio, programmes and project environments and their different requirements.
- Value - What value P3Os can bring to the organisation including a business case, funding models and performance measures.
- Model - An overview of the different P3O models with examples.
- Functions and Techniques - Details on the functions/services and techniques/tools used by units of a P3O model.
For further information on P3O:
- Visit the Knowledge Centre for the Product Description, Interviews with the Authors and Lead Reviewer and an overview presentation by the Lead Author.
- Sign-up for elert updates on publications and qualifications for P3O.