Project Management Maturity Assessment

At PM Academy we believe that assessing the maturity of your project is the first step in improving the infrastructure surrounding project management in your organisation.

Project Management Maturity Assessments (PMMA) are based on the OPM3® or P3M3® International Best Practices Framework that provides in depth statistical measurement of Portfolio, Programme & Project Management Practices within an organisation. Benefits of conducting a Project Management Maturity Assessment with PM Academy:

• Independently assess process maturity for Portfolio, Programme & Project Management
• Benchmark best practices & maturity levels against international & local companies
• Develop a roadmap for continuously improving the maturity levels in your organisation
• Assistance with the development & implementation of Project Management best practices
• Continual maturity assessments to compare progress made

Our Approach:We follow our 7 STEP BENCHMARK METHODOLOGY below when conducting a Project Management Maturity Assessment:-

Step 1

Confirm Scope & Sign Contract We confirm & finalise the:-

Step 2

Preliminary Assessment

A sample portfolio of 3-4 representative Project & Programme Management documents are reviewed in order to gain a clear understanding of the adherence to current Project Management Practices. Portfolio documentation is also submitted when applicable.
With the prior approval of the client, maturity questionnaires will be distributed to the nominated Project Management interviewees to enable us to obtain maturity feedback prior to the interviews. This approach minimises the time taken for interviews.

Step 3

Comprehensive Assessment

Based on the Best Practice Project Management Maturity Models namely OPM3® or P3M3®:-

Step 4

Develop Roadmap

Step 5

Draft Findings

The Draft Portfolio, Programme, Project Management Maturity Assessment Report is discussed with the client to confirm relevance, accuracy & agreement on the road forward.

Step 6

Final Report & Closure

The Portfolio, Programme, Project Management Maturity Assessment Report & associated PowerPoint presentation is formally handed to the client management & the Project is formally closed.

Step 7

Post Project

On completion of the initial Maturity Assessment, we also offer our services to work closely with our clients to ensure that the recommendations are implemented effectively. We can furthermore assist with development & implementation of Portfolio, Programme & Project Management Governance. Working in partnership with you & your team leveraging our collective assets & knowledge ensures maturity advancement within the organisation.

PMMA provides a framework for PM Academy to re-assess the Project Management Practices of the organisation 6 months to a year after the initial assessment, resulting in measures of success in the continuous cycle of Project Management.

In Conclusion:

Research by the Self Empowerment International (SEI) has shown significant improvements in the return on investment rate in organisations adopting a Maturity Model Approach to progress, with the average rate exceeding 4:1. More mature organisations have experienced an 85% reduction in defects & a 75% reduction in cost. Although the SEI’s maturity models were originally specific to software engineering, they are now widely used for process improvement generally.

OPM3® Project Management Maturity Model

Organisations can now benefit from achieving Organisational Project Management Maturity. Developed under the stewardship of PMI, OPM3® is an acronym for the Organisational Project Management Maturity Model (PMMM) & has established itself as a flagship management tool in driving up standards & capability in Portfolio, Project & Programme Managemen & in improving performance & quality. The Project Management Institute’s OPM3® Standard emphasises the value of Organisational Project Management in the delivery of Organisational Strategies. The OPM3® Standard is aligned with the new PMBOK® Guide 4th Edition & the updated Program & Portfolio Management Standards (2nd Edition).

It is a standard unlike any currently available & OPM3® provides:

Given most organisations use Projects to improve their Operational Capabilities, the improvements in its ability to deliver Projects efficiently will flow through to improved business results. After the initial Improvement Activities are completed, the extent of improvement can be measured & where appropriate the next round of improvements planned. The Project Management Institute has spent 3 years developing its Organisational Project Management Maturity Model (OPM3®). This allows a company to assess its level of Project Management Maturity in comparison to best practices & identify where changes must be made to improve Project success rates & Return on Investment (ROI). The BENEFITS of using OPM3® are: The Project Management Institute has spent 3 years developing its Organisational Project Management Maturity Model (OPM3®). This allows a company to assess its level of Project Management Maturity in comparison to best practices & identify where changes must be made to improve Project success rates & Return on Investment (ROI). The BENEFITS of using OPM3® are:

Advance Strategic Goals OPM3® provides a way to advance an Organisation’s strategic goals through the application of Project Management

Principles & Practices – bridging the gap between strategy & individual Projects

Understand Best Practices OPM3® provides a comprehensive Body of Knowledge regarding what constitutes Best Practices within

Organisational Project Management to identify maturity

Identify Best Practices OPM3® assists an organisation with the Identification of what their current Organisational Project Management

Maturity is & forms a basis for deciding whether or not to pursue improvements by Stage & Domain

Plan Improvement Activities OPM3® assists organisations with Prioritising & Planning Activities should improvement decisions be made

It is important for organisations to understand the optimal level of performance in their quest to maximise value for money from investment & to have a realistic view of what they can achieve. Not all organisations will be able to reach the highest level & for many, the middle levels may be adequate to meet their business needs & aspirations.

Organisations that have focused only on training, specific methods or tools, or a governance framework, often wonder why they have not seen the promised improvements. OPM3® offers a more holistic view of an organisation’s performance, using a broad spread of attributes.

To gain the maximum benefit from using OPM3®, Performance Improvement should be seen as a long-term process, although it is possible to achieve short-term performance gains by using OPM3® to identify & correct performance weaknesses. Our experience & in-depth research have identified the essential best practices from OPM3® that will help advance your Organisational Maturity. Once an organisation reaches its highest maturity level, it has adopted a Project Management culture able to significantly optimise efficiency, sales & profitability.

P3M3® Project Management Maturity Model

Since 2006, the Office Government Commerce’s (OGC) P3M3® – Portfolio, Programme & Project Management Maturity Model (PMMM) has established itself as a flagship management tool in driving up standards & capability in Portfolio, Project & Programme Management & in improving performance & quality. P3M3 is an OVERARCHING MODEL containing 3 individual models listed below:

Most organisations have strengths in some areas but not in others. P3M3 focuses on the following 7 Process Perspectives, which exist in all three models & can be assessed at all 5 Maturity Levels.

The flexibility of P3M3® allows organisations to review all 7 Process Perspectives across all 3 models – Portfolio, Programme & Project Management, but they can also review just one model, e.g. Project Management Maturity.

Embedded within the Process Perspectives are a number of attributes. Specific Attributes relate only to a particular Process Perspective. Generic Attributes are common to all Process Perspectives at a given Maturity Level & include: – Planning, Information Management, Training & Development. P3M3® is designed to acknowledge these strengths as well as highlighting weaknesses. ILLUSTRATED below is an example of how an organisation might be viewed from the PROCESS PERSPECTIVE:-

Some of the ORGANISATIONAL BENEFITS of using P3M3® compared to other Maturity Models are: