WAFFA KARKUKLY, PH.D. Description of Aviva C [ 148 1 own respective development and reporting relationship, they continue to Aviva Canada practiced proj report to their line managers. More precisely: AVP, portfolio management is a matter of fact, the c and delivery for the PG managers, PMs and PCs, then the senior manage, EPMO's mandates was to c business analysis for the BAs, and then the manager of the EPMO Finance the EPMO was also motive for the SPFAs. odology, reporting, and op Initially, the head of the EPMO for Aviva Canada was accountable for ment across the organizatio portfolio management, planning, reporting, and delivery, in addition to enterprise resource pool management, QA and compliance, and port- folio risk management. All project managers, project coordinators, and 1. PMO v5. Project business analysts report to the head of the EPMO. Project management wa PMOs. Then separate I Table 7.3 Summary of Aviva Canada Organization (Canada) project management. Fi improve standards of eff Organization Characteristics Details Ownership Public 2. Temporary or Industry Insurance The EPMO is a perma Size Large (3,200 employees) four PMOs prior to it Organization Matrix with focus on delivery budget, resources, co through project initiatives also allows Aviva Car Culture ization structure an Rewards in job security and are specific PMO n benefits for long-term employ- programs), where a ment. Niche specialized long-term This setup also allo projects. each need within ag Strategy for growth Two pillars: and end date, the A great underwriting company tive is completed. Committed to the broker channel 3. Outsourcin The EPMO with ing isn't consilMANAGING THE PMO LIFECYCLE [ 149 ) e to Description of Aviva Canada's Four Practices ent ager Aviva Canada practiced project management prior to having an EPMO. rice As a matter of fact, the company had four PMOs, and one of the EPMO's mandates was to consolidate the various PMOs. Formation of the EPMO was also motivated by the need to unify standards in meth- for odology, reporting, and opportunities to better assess demand manage- ment across the organization. to ort and 1. PMO vs. Project Management Project management was practiced at Aviva Canada prior to having PMOs. Then separate PMOs were created to promote the delivery of project management. Finally, the EPMO was created to consolidate and improve standards of effectiveness. 2. Temporary or Permanent The EPMO is a permanent function within the organization, as were the four PMOs prior to it. The drivers for a permanent PMO are the size of budget, resources, complexity, and ambiguity of indicators. Further, it also allows Aviva Canada to tailor processes and governance to fit orga- nization structure and culture. Although the EPMO is permanent, there are 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 fit each need within agreed boundaries. Just like an initiative that has a start and end date, the PMO within a program is dismantled once the initia- tive is completed. 3. Outsourcing vs. Insourcing The EPMO within Aviva Canada is mainly insourced. PMO outsource ing isn't considered because of the EPMO's reach and its strategic natureMANAGING THE WAFFA KARKUKLY, PH.D. [ 150 ] mooch decision-making, empower However, the model the EPMO uses to maximize benefits from various the decisions. Visible capacity resources and functions within the PMO led to a hybrid model. Project anization are major wins and resource load is assessed and assigned to projects, as required with cost table in the human resources val tractors. The PPM administration hybrid is an example where level 1 requests are outsourced and level 2 requests and above are inso re insourced, HR factor: Full demand a PPM tools are outsourced (Saas), and contractor management and based on the project deman sourcing is outsourced. Project managers are insourced, and others are nance allows junior staff to b outsourced. Training and career development is outsourced to career skillsets and experience. Sup development as well as in-house on-the-job training programs. Everyone to PM to senior PM to pro has a 70/20/10 personal development plan. More precisely, when it expense challenge discussion comes to learning, 70% is on-the-job-training through assignment and involvement in other activities, 20% is provided externally, and 10% which initiative should stop is self-initiated. 2 Quality factor: The Bow every month. Status and view-"the steps and rati 4. PPM VS. PMO Green from amber and re The PPM resides within the EPMO and is not a separate function. The vs. forecast) is always a PPM is located in the EPMO to ensure project-to-program to portfo- people, assets) are consu lio linkages, leveraging Saas and offering to streamline planning and are issued to the project reporting. The PMO assumes the responsibility of PPM planning and against employees' perso prioritization and reviewing monthly results with executives. The main bonus structure . drivers for having the PPM embedded within the PMO are based on the strategic position of the PMO. Additionally, the PMO is set at the 1 Delivery factor: Becau C-level, and there are no other functions that perform similar work and can't work on initiative all described functions report to the head of the EPMO. The benefit is has increased througho centralizing the PPM under one governance structure and better col- dark" projects. laboration on handover between the functions relating to projects. The (RAG (Red, An everyone. There are f Sustainability Elements and Value Add two subjective. Objec The PMO value add was visible immediately upon closing 35-40 formance indicator) medium to large projects. All initiatives are reviewed and approved by Performance indicat the executive committee. The portfolio is reviewed on a monthly basis RAG: two ambers, o with a financial view of all initiatives. Tiered governance allows forMANAGING THE PMO LIFECYCLE [ 151 ] smooth decision-making, empowering employees at the various levels to make decisions. Visible capacity planning and transparency across the organization are major wins and value adds. The EPMO value base was visible in the human resources value and customer value as follows: 1. HR factor: Full demand and supply view FTEs vs. contractors based on the project demand Book of Work (Bow). Tiered gover- nance allows junior staff to be assigned to initiatives that match their skillsets and experience. Support career path (i.e. PC to junior PM to PM to senior PM to program manager). Support company-wide expense challenge discussions (who is assigned to what-therefore, which initiative should stop). 2. Quality factor: The BoW is fully visible, transparent, and refreshed every month. Status and progress rolled up monthly to a portfolio view-"the steps and rationale to bring back the project status to Green from amber and red is published and visible. Budget (actual vs. forecast) is always available, hence, where resources (money, people, assets) are consumed is always transparent. CAR and PAR are issued to the project core management team. They are tracked against employees' personal objectives and tied in to their respective bonus structure. 3. Delivery factor: Because of transparency and because employees can't work on initiatives that are not approved, the delivery factor has increased throughout as a result of having reduced "work-in-the- dark" projects. The (RAG (Red, Amber, Greem) status is well understood by everyone. There are four dimensions to RAG-two objective and two subjective. Objective: The cost is derived from CPI (cost per- formance indicator), and the schedule is derived from SPI (schedule performance indicator). Subjective: Resources and scope. Overall RAG: two ambers, overall amber. One red, overall red.MANAGING THE PMO LIFE WAFFA KARKUKLY, PH.D. [ 152 . Able to attract talent from throughout 4. Cost factor: Dollars in budget (actual vs. forecast) is always avail people want to be part of the success st able. Hence, where resources (money, people, and assets) are con sumed is always transparent. Global, countrywide, and regional po able, creating synergies across the globe Benefits and Summary In summary, the EPMO has achieved its objectives in consolidating invest&Wealth the PMOs, running a successful PPM, and the ability to apply hybrid models between outsourcing and insou insourcing where it best fits their Description of the Invest&Wealth needs. While the EPMO is a permanent strategic function, there are Invest& Wealth is a wealth management temporary project functions that run large and complex programs. Toronto, Canada, through its partners an Below is a summary of the benefits the EPMO achieved. presence in North America and Europe. In rides investment solutions and advisory institutions, corporations, and foundation 1. Quantitative nesses; investment management and finan . Portfolio is able to deliver around 10-15% below budget each year because of strong financial management, status, and progress imrest& Wealth operations are carried out visibility company-wide and reassign FT resources to contractors rands, each of which capitalizes on a sp (reducing the premium they need to pay as the result of using This specialization allows each division a contractor) staining the flexibility to leverage expe . Contractor to FTE ratio is about 1:4, managing their corporate provide a complete wealth management knowledge as a critical asset (not to go beyond 30%) . Delivering 35-40 change initiatives per year consistently for the lavest& Wealth did not have a PMO past three years (inclusive of present) time, project management was practice Organization growth demanded efficie . Using one managed service provider for all contractor needs his the concept of a centralized PMO was reduced Aviva Canada's total contractor spending by 20%. gement practices across all IT funct PMO has 10 projects managers and 2 2. Qualitative investment executive. . Benefits realization embedded-on closeout activities, update shared with all respective business unit cost center The ITPMO is structured as a func lahion. All project managers iden . Motivated staff, because everyone is aware of the change agenda Shed by the ITPMO head through The head of the PMO was hired toMANAGING THE PMO LIFECYCLE [ 153 ] rail- on- . Able to attract talent from throughout the organization, because people want to be part of the success stories . Global, countrywide, and regional portfolio roll-ups were avail- able, creating synergies across the globe on similar initiatives ing Invest& Wealth rid eir Description of the Invest&Wealth Organization are Invest& Wealth is a wealth management company. Headquartered in s. Toronto, Canada, through its partners and subsidiaries, it has a huge Presence in North America and Europe. Invest& Wealth creates and pro- vides investment solutions and advisory services for financial advisors, institutions, corporations, and foundations through its two main busi- investment management and financial advisory. out through various divisions andization MANAGING THE PMO LIFECYCLE [ 147 ] The Case Organizations Aviva Canada Description of Aviva Canada Aviva Canada is one of the leading property and casualty insurance groups in Canada, providing home, automobile, recreational vehicle, group, and business insurance to more than 3 million customers. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of UK-based insurance company. Aviva Canada has 3,200 employees, 25 locations, and 1,700 independent broker partners. Aviva Canada and its employees invest in positive change through the Aviva Community Fund and Eva's Initiatives, Aviva's partner in its global Street to School program to help the homeless and other at-risk youth reach their poten- tial (http://Avivacanada.com/content/member-companies). At the time of the case study, Aviva Canada had multiple PMOs, with each PMO potentially duplicating some efforts. Organization leaders were seeking efficiencies and consolidation of efforts as well as stan- dardization across all functions. Hence, the concept of the EPMO was born to denote the start of the enterprise-wide PMO, one unit with one standard for methodology-building and project delivery. The EPMO sits under the IT department, reporting to the EVP and the CIO. The EPMO is about 3 years old. Before the consolidation, they had 4 PMOs. The EPMO consists of 60 people, including contractors. The EPMO is structured as a function but operates in a projectized fashion. All staff members are identified as part of the delivery (PG manag- ers, PMs, PCs, BAs, and senior project financial analysts) and are assigned through the organization's demand and supply of initiatives. Once the delivery staff is assigned, the program or project manager is assigned to its executive sponsor and project owner, to whom they report to temporarily within a project structure. For all escalations, issue resolutions, and their