1. How do they rank and do you agree?
2. Do these practices help their PMO? How?

Unable to understand these question related to the below case study. Can someone please help me with these questions?

AvivaCanada

DescriptionofAvivaCanada

Aviva Canada is one of the leading property and casualty insurancegroups in Canada, providing home, automobile, recreational vehicle,group,andbusinessinsurancetomorethan3millioncustomers.The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of UK-based insurancecompany.AvivaCanadahas3,200employees,25locations,and1,700 independent broker partners. Aviva Canada and its employeesinvest in positive change through the Aviva Community Fund andEva's Initiatives, Aviva's partner in its global Street to School programtohelpthehomelessandotherat-riskyouthreachtheirpoten-tial(http://Avivacanada.com/content/member-companies).

Atthetimeofthecasestudy,AvivaCanadahadmultiplePMOs,witheach PMO potentially duplicating some efforts. Organization leaderswere seeking efficiencies and consolidation of efforts as well as stan-dardizationacrossallfunctions.Hence,theconceptoftheEPMOwasborntodenotethestartoftheenterprise-widePMO,oneunitwithonestandard for methodology-building and project delivery. The EPMOsits under the IT department, reporting to the EVP and the CIO. TheEPMO is about 3 years old. Before the consolidation, they had 4 PMOs.TheEPMOconsistsof60people,includingcontractors.

The EPMO is structured as a function but operates in a projectizedfashion.Allstaffmembersareidentifiedaspartofthedelivery(PGmanag-ers,PMs,PCs,BAs,andseniorprojectfinancialanalysts)andareassignedthrough the organization'sdemand and supply of initiatives. Once the deliverystaffisassigned,theprogramorprojectmanagerisassignedtoitsexecutive sponsor and project owner, to whom they report to temporarilywithinaprojectstructure.Forallescalations,issueresolutions,andtheir

[148] WAFFA KARKUKLY, PH.D.

own respective development and reporting relationship, they continue toreporttotheirlinemanagers.Moreprecisely:AVP,portfoliomanagementanddeliveryforthePGmanagers,PMsandPCs,thentheseniormanagerbusinessanalysisfortheBAs,andthenthemanageroftheEPMOFinancefortheSPFAs.

Initially,theheadoftheEPMOforAvivaCanadawasaccountableforportfoliomanagement,planning,reporting,anddelivery,inadditiontoenterprise resource pool management, QA and compliance, and port-folio risk management. All project managers, project coordinators, andbusinessanalystsreporttotheheadoftheEPMO.

Table7.3SummaryofAvivaCanadaOrganization(Canada)

OrganizationCharacteristics	Details
Ownership	Public
Industry	Insurance
Size	Large(3,200employees)
Organization	Matrixwithfocusondeliverythroughprojectinitiatives
Culture	Rewards injob securityandbenefitsforlong-termemploy-ment.Nichespecializedlong-termprojects.
Strategyforgrowth	Twopillars: A great underwriting companyCommittedtothebrokerchannel

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DescriptionofAvivaCanada'sFourPractices

Aviva Canada practiced project management prior to having an EPMO.As a matter of fact, the company had four PMOs, and one of theEPMO'smandateswastoconsolidatethevariousPMOs.FormationoftheEPMOwasalsomotivatedbytheneedtounifystandardsinmeth-odology,reporting,andopportunitiestobetterassessdemandmanage-mentacrosstheorganization.

1. PMOvs.ProjectManagement

Project management was practiced at Aviva Canada prior to havingPMOs. Then separate PMOs were created to promote the delivery ofproject management. Finally, the EPMO was created to consolidate andimprovestandardsofeffectiveness.

1. TemporaryorPermanent

The EPMO is a permanent function within the organization, as were thefourPMOspriortoit.ThedriversforapermanentPMOarethesizeofbudget,resources,complexity,andambiguityofindicators.Further,italso allows Aviva Canada to tailor processes and governance to fit orga-nizationstructureandculture.AlthoughEPMOispermanent,thereare specific PMO mandates around large and complex initiatives (i.e.programs), where a PMO with the program structure can be required.This setup also allows for tailoring enterprise assets and processes to fiteach need within agreed boundaries. Just like an initiative that has a startandenddate,thePMOwithinaprogramisdismantledoncetheinitia-tiveiscompleted.

1. Outsourcingvs.Insourcing

TheEPMOwithin AvivaCanadaismainlyinsourced.PMOoutsourcing-ingisn't consideredbecauseoftheEPMO'sreachanditsstrategicnature.

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However, the model the EPMO uses to maximize benefits from variousresourcesandfunctionswithin thePMOledtoahybridmodel.Projectresource load is assessed and assigned to projects, as required with contractors. The PPM administration hybrid is an example where level 1requests are outsourced and level 2 requests and above are insourced,PPM tools are outsourced (SaaS), and contractor management andsourcingisoutsourced.Projectmanagers areinsourced,andothersareoutsourced. Training and career development is outsourced to careerdevelopment as well as in-house on-the-job training programs. Everyonehas a 70/20/10 personal development plan. More precisely, when itcomestolearning,70%ison-the-job trainingthroughassignmentandinvolvement in other activities, 20% is provided externally, and 10%isself-initiated.

1. PPMvs.PMO

ThePPMresides withintheEPMOandisnotaseparatefunction. ThePPM is located in the EPMO to ensure project-to-program to portfolio linkages, leveragingSaaS and offering to streamline planning andreporting. The PMO assumes the responsibility of PPM planning andprioritization and reviewing monthly results with executives. The maindrivers for having the PPM embedded within the PMO are based onthe strategic position of the PMO. Additionally, the PMO is set at theC-level,andtherearenoother functionsthatperform similarworkandalldescribed functionsreporttotheheadoftheEPMO.Thebenefitiscentralizing the PPM under one governance structure and better collaborationonhandover betweenthefunctionsrelatingtoprojects.

SustainabilityElementsandValueAdd

The PMO value add was visible immediately upon closing 35-40medium to large projects. All initiatives are reviewed and approved bytheexecutive committee.Theportfolioisreviewedonamonthly basiswithafinancialviewofallinitiatives.Tieredgovernanceallowsfor

MANAGINGTHEPMOLIFECYCLE [151]

smooth decision-making, empowering employees at the various levels tomake decisions. Visible capacity planning and transparency across theorganization are major wins and value adds. The EPMO value base wasvisible in thehuman resources valueand customer valueas follows:

1. HR factor:Full demand and supply view FTEs vs. contractorsbasedontheprojectdemand bookofWork(BoW).Tieredgover-nance allows junior staff to be assigned to initiatives that match theirskillsetsandexperience.Support careerpath(i.e.PCtojuniorPMtoPMtoseniorPMtoprogrammanager).Support company-wideexpense challenge discussions (who is assigned to whattherefore,whichinitiativeshouldstop).
2. Quality factor:The BoW is fully visible, transparent, and refreshedevery month. Status and progress rolled up monthly to a portfolioview"the steps and rationale to bring back the project status toGreenfromamberandredispublishedandvisible.Budget(actualvs. forecast) is always available, hence, where resources (money,people, assets) are consumed is always transparent. CAR and PARareissuedtotheprojectcoremanagementteam.Theyaretrackedagainst employees' personal objectives and tied into their respectivebonusstructures.
3. Delivery factor:Because of transparency and because employeescan workoninitiativesthatarenotapproved,thedeliveryfactor has increased throughout as a result of having reduced "work-in-the-dark"projects.

The (RAG (Red, Amber, Greem) status is well understood byeveryone. Thereare four dimensions to RAGtwo objective andtwosubjective.Objective:Thecostisderived fromCPI(costper-formance indicator), and the schedule is derived from SPI (scheduleperformance indicator). Subjective: Resources and scope. OverallRAG:twoambers,overall amber.Onered,overallred.

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1. Cost factor:Dollars in the budget (actual vs. forecast) is always available. Hence, where resources (money, people, and assets) are consumedisalwaystransparent.

BenefitsandSummary

In summary, the EPMO has achieved its objectives in consolidatingthe PMOs, running a successful PPM, and the ability to apply hybridmodels between outsourcing and insourcing where it best fits theirneeds. While the EPMO is a permanent strategic function, there aretemporary project functions that run large and complex programs.BelowisasummaryofthebenefitsEPMOachieved.

1. Quantitative
   • The portfolio is able to deliver around 10-15% below budget eachyear because of strong financial management, status, and progressvisibility company-wide and reassign FT resources to contractors(reducingthepremium theyneedtopayastheresult ofusingacontractor)
   • Contractor to FTE ratio is about 1:4, managing their corporateknowledgeasacriticalasset(nottogobeyond30%)
   • Delivering35-40 change initiatives per year consistently for thepastthreeyears(inclusiveofthe present)
   • Usingonemanagedservice providerforallcontractorneedshasreducedAvivaCanada'stotalcontractorspending by20%.

1. Qualitative
   • Benefitsrealizationembeddedoncloseoutactivities,updates sharedwithallrespectivebusinessunitcostcenter
   • Motivatedstaff, becauseeveryoneisawareofthechange agenda

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• Abletoattracttalentfromthroughouttheorganization,because peoplewanttobepartofthesuccessstories
• Global,countrywide,andregional portfolioroll-upswereavailable,creating synergies acrosstheglobe on similarinitiatives