PMO Data Visualization and Uncorrelated Data

In PMO management, sometimes you have to present a dashboard with data visualization where you didn’t maintain its data accuracy. This happen when you start a new job for new organization or when you take over someone else responsibility. So be careful of being the scapegoat of bad and uncorrelated data.

It is important to highlight your findings, the gaps and limitation on your data presentation. You should present the path forward plan. However, in some cases, you need to complete the data for the current year at least or to the last few years based on the top management requirements.

Collecting ongoing year data is not a big issue. It could be done. However, few years’ data, it is a challenge especially with no proper recording and maybe some resource with valuable information left the projects already. On top of that, there is the challenge of the transformation pressure and the PMO management change which let some staff finds it difficult to adopt the new change.

After that, you can start the work to fill & sort the data, fixing the missing data, adopting the new dashboard, getting the stakeholders buy-in and getting top management approval.

In the above paragraphs we identified the following tasks on doing the PMO in the case when you start it in the middle of the operation and not from scratch as following:

1. Identifying the current situation findings, gaps and limitation.
2. Getting stakeholders buy-in.
3. The path forward plan and managing expectation.
4. Collecting current year data correctly.
5. Collecting the previous years (if needed).
6. Fixing the missing data.
7. Building the new dashboard and start constant reporting.

I will not discuss everything in this article. I will highlight only the highest recommendations during the implementation process.

Identifying the current situation findings, gaps and limitation

Here, the first step is the main Skelton to the PMO implementation project success which is the understanding of the current situation. This understanding will include the factor which involving on the implementations  which are generally (staff capability, technical requirements, operational process and the inside organization factors). Understanding all these factors is so crucial to deliver a successful PMO implementation. Studying the current processes, the current forms, the governance procedures will give a very good view of the organization maternity on PMO management and project management in general.

It is worth to highlight that whatever your report results are, it has to avoid the blaming game because you don’t want to start your work by creating rejection. You should highlight first the reasons for not achieving the previous PMO plans which from my experience most of the time; it is not about people at all. It is about systems, procedures, processes and not providing the required training from the proper experts on project management, PMO implementation and enough technical information about what the PMO managing.

Getting stakeholders buy-in

The stakeholder buy-in success starts with the strong top management commitment to achieve the PMO implementation goals. The awareness of the implementation goals should be built around the result of the understanding of the organization maternity stakeholder’s capability. Trying to achieve a lot on short time will make huge pressure to the teams who they are under pressure already delivering their main goals which is delivering projects within time, budget and high quality.

The path forward plan and managing expectation

Here, the experience on delivering similar implementation comes from working within the stakeholders. Working as an external consultant will not give you the results you want as an organization. The PMO implementation Project Leader should be a PMO professional who is working within the team. An external consultant might be provided part time to cover any specific requirements the PMO leader might need only. Therefore, if sourced a consultant to do it for you without living and working with the team on day to day operation for at least 6 months, you will find many challenges during the implementation and you will be finding yourself committing to complete the approved plan knowing it is not working fully. Remember, no one knows your situation more than your team and all their views, comments and experience should be part of the implementation plan. It is their plan to achieve their job more easily in any level and ranking.

Collecting current year data correctly

You might think, this is the easiest part. You are somehow correct, if you know to ask the right question. It will save everyone energy. Setting up the simplest process and templates to collect data is a magic of a successful PMO leader. It should not create new task to the team. Knowing where to get your data from the current process while you are working in the new process will help you to show them how much the new system is useful to them to adopt faster.

Collecting the previous years (if needed) and fixing the missing data

Here is the main purpose of this article which is the most challenge in this scenario. You will not figure out if the data is correct or not in your presented dashboard unless someone highlights it to you or it is not correlated with other data in different chart. You don’t want to come proud of your work and delivering it while as soon as they people who they are in middle of the operation from one look finds it wrong.

Therefore, you should highlight that you are presenting the data as it is. With big data, you will not notice the mistake and wrong entries unless you build the right charts and present the data in different forms which will shows if it correlate with each other correctly or not.  For example, the current contract value is showing the original value and it did not include the latest variations which will show the collected money more than the contract value. Another example, the total hours worked in the project is more than budgeted hours. One gap in the data can’t give you the full required picture in the dashboard. Imagine a scenario where the actual cost and actual resource data do not exist fully. Any missing information will show your dashboard with missing gaps and not correct at all.

Dashboard means having projects dashboards and overall dashboard. You should check them one by one and identifying the wrong ones.

Therefore, as soon as you notice this wrong or gaps, you should start a process and ask the required persons to fill in the information in writing. If the information are still not correct, or could not be delivered, you should think outside the box and think about different ways to collect it or how to show it. Sometimes, if the project team doesn’t have it, the financial team might have it or another team. Trying to collecting the same data from your client is a disaster to manage. However, if it is so crucial you should do it with other hurting your organization reputation.

One method, you might find useful, if you are missing the details is to use the financial year report data. It will give you a ground to build on top of it.

Finally, if you could not validate the current data or collecting the missing data, you need to get the top management to have a new cut-off date where there is correct validated data to start report on and in the same time have a different report for the other parts based on agreeing assumption and approving the closest available data if needed only.

Building the new dashboard and start constant reporting.

First comment will be here that never built your dashboard colours around organization brand and image. Follow the international standards. For example red and green is a sample for loss and gain. It is sample as this. Make it clear message.

The dashboard should not be your preferred colours or the management colours. Follow a sample colouring and avoid multi colours for no reasons. Use charts as it intended to be. For example if you use column charts, don’t make it full with data. Details are for who ask for it. It is not for everyone. Also use the right chart like Pie chart it is for comparing some for all not to show many comparisons in one chart.

Constant data Visualization gives the trust of the dashboard so if you will notice nominals, you need to follow its trail to get it corrected otherwise, you must highlight in the dashboard.

The dashboard should allow for top down reporting through sample click if needed. The dashboard should have different interfaces based on the required date. Otherwise, you will see the wrong report.  Of course what you will see here is only the approved data which you avoid making it a bottle nick.

Finally, make it simple and easy to understand without the need to ask anyone more clarification and consider the colours in the screen and in the printing too.

Visits: 908