228 Creating the Project Office
FIGURE 9.3. PROJECT LEADER COMPETENCY MODEL.
Source: Robert Storeygard (1999), 3M.
Project
leader
Deliverable
enablement
Planning
of project
Project definition
Project objective and
situation analysis
Decision making
Development of plan
Communications
Contracting
Methodologies
Reengineering
Plan structure (WBS)
Risk assessment
Identify resource
requirements
Dependencies
Estimating time
and costs
Scheduling
Resource allocation
(Team selection)
Replanning
Reestimating
Validation of plan

Legal and ethical
Restructuring
Group dynamics
Consultation
Marketing
Coordination
Decision making
Communications
Group dynamics
Legal and ethical
Marketing
Organizational adaptivity
Coordination
Decision making
Communications
Legal and ethical
Restructuring
Group dynamics
Controlling
the project
Interface
with
the team
Interface
with
the client
Interface
with
organization
People

• PMI PMP Certification Test Preparation
Associated Support Skills
• Building Business Partnerships
• Systems Thinking
• Transition Management
In or Out? 229
Note that this corporate curriculum tries to leverage the “best of the best”
course offerings to meet the competency model, whether they are offered in-house
and taught by 3M instructors from various departments and divisions, or provided
by expert consultants and vendors from outside 3M. They have all been brought
together to forge a unified whole in helping people achieve maximum competency
as value-added employees and project managers or leaders for 3M.
Reflection
The 3M approach is a model for what the right people in this position can do to
make significant impact on the organization. The evangelists in the 3M Learning
Center are a small group that mobilize others in the organization. They extend their
impact by engendering enthusiasm in others through their example and the cur-
ricula they create and the programs they serve. Staffing and operating a learning
center with people of this caliber enables a very worthy change effort across the or-
ganization—leading to improved competence in project and program management.
Operating a Project Office:
EXFO’s Approach to New Product Development
Canada is the home for electro-optical engineering company EXFO (the name
derives from EXpertise in Fiber Optics). An interview with the VP of engineer-
ing, Stephen Bull, reveals an enlightened project culture.
Within the new product development process system, what makes up the project environment
axis?
At EXFO, new product development is a corporate affair not just a concern of
the R&D department. This means that all departments within the corporation
are involved at some stage in new product development projects. To ensure

in project management. The PMO is responsible for defining and implement-
ing methodologies, standards, and tools. It also ensures the diffusion of best
practices and provides training on project management. Finally, it makes an
effort to promote project environment principles in other departments.
The PMO role today is strictly assigned to new product development.
They are now seeing interest from other departments in the usage of tools and
expertise within the PMO for their own functional projects.
Describe a typical role of the project office in the portfolio selection process.
Upper management does project selection and prioritization. The decisions
are mainly driven by market requirements, and priorities are adjusted with cor-
porate capacity. The PMO plays a coordination role and provides the data on
actual loading and last quarter project performances. It also builds compilation
graphs such as bubble diagrams and pie charts of all the projects being re-
viewed for analysis by the portfolio team.
In or Out? 231
Since the “PMO is the heart of the system,” what does it pump out across the organiza-
tion? What contribution does it make to implement projects? Does it have a significant role to
make any changes in the organization?
The PMO is a service center. It has a coordinating and counseling role. It has
no authority per se. The PMO manager is the owner of the processes, thus has
authority in the application of the processes. It is strictly focusing on new prod-
uct development.
How is EXFO weathering the current market situation? How has the PMO helped main-
tain success?
The current market situation is specifically difficult in the telecommunications
sector. EXFO’s strategy has been to concentrate efforts on new product devel-
opment. The company launched more than twenty new products in 2001, and
2002 will again be a record year for new products. The company anticipates
continued improvement due to market acceptance of important new products,
contributions from acquisitions, and expected gains in market share due to the