Nothing really new on the PMO/PM front, but here are a few highlights from today’s session.

Focus on expectations management – not communications management. Manage expections with:

  • 360 degree communication
  • Targeted multi-channel communication
  • Focus on closing the gap between reality and expectations
  • Continually assess the expectations of each group
  • Work diligently to determine what each group needs to know

When driving change projects for the organization, bear in mind that there are struggles that individuals may go through during the change process. These are:  blame > denial > testing > skepticism > disbelief > hope > hard work > initial success > acceptance > ongoing success.

To help them through this as smoothly and as efficiently as possible, project managers must do the following:

  • Expectation management

  • Communications planning

  • Training

  • Stakeholder analysis

  • Executive role modeling

For a PMO to be successful, an accurate IT Project Dashboard is critical. For a PM to be successful, an engaged project sponsor will make all the difference.