LEARNINGS | pmo-solutionsca

Overview

During 16 years of leadership responsibility for four program management departments, significant experience & learnings resulted in four key areas that are inherent to success for every organization; Program Management Practices, PMO department development, NPD processes, and the management of New Product Portfolios. The issues that surfaced in these areas at each organization were often both similar and unique, which resulted in learning / problem solving experiences that can be drawn upon to solve your organizational PM, PMO, and NPD issues.

Numerous Program Management best practices have been learned and acquired over the past 16 years that have focused on the functional discipline, the program managers, communications / relationships (with other functions and upper management), metrics, and the individual program teams. Ensuring the PMs and their Teams are correctly staffed, empowered, and accountable is paramount for success. Appropriate Team Dynamics are a must, and Program Teams need clear understanding of expected deliverables at the start of every fiscal year... and contracts need to be set and signed by all team members! Team members are truly not committed to the listed milestones unless their signature is shown on the document. Working together, the establishment of the correct PM practices and the right Program Teams can be constructed that will meet and exceed your business needs.

Program Management Practices

Program Managers by nature want to operate as independent entities and fewer things are more detrimental to the long-term growth of an organization. At LifeScan, Bayer, Ventana, and BD Biosciences, PMOs were established that provide the framework to synergistically capture each PM's drive and enthusiasm and direct it towards the needs of the business. It requires the building of trust, proven relationships, and the establishment of a team driven mentality... and It delivers advanced levels of program management information, skills and collaberation that are truly focused on the short and long-term business needs.

PMOs also provide the capability to provide the correct metric information to the organization's attention.

PMOs

NPD process formats are numerous. PMO Solutions has had diverse experience with traditional stage-gate, modified stage-gate, and non stage-gate processes. Whichever NPD process is in play, it must meet business, development, and design control needs... without being overly prescriptive. Today's new product portfolios are far too complex and diversified to be directed by a cookbook approach. NPD SOPs must allow for flexibility and the incorporation of continuous improvement learnings.

NPD Processes

Today's diversified and complex new product portfolios require holistic knowledge and tactical practices that support the top-level need. Various "Enterprise" structures and tools have been utilized at LifeScan, Bayer, Ventana, and BD Biosciences to eliminate singular, tunnel views that provide only fragments of information. With the right enterprise tools in place, information can be disseminated at multiple, appropriate levels using various dashboard, collective summary, and detailed reports... that work!

New Product Portfolios