Vertex Pharmaceuticals: R&D Portfolio Management
Case Report

A Project Management Office, is a group or department within a business, agency or enterprise that defines and maintains standards for project management within the organization. The PMO’s objective is to standardize and introduce economies of repetition in the execution of projects. PMO’s mission is to reduce the risk of projects failing to deliver to time, cost and quality targets and to make more efficient use of project resources by using a “shared service” and improve corporate capability to launch products. -------------------------------------------------
Challenges in implementing a PMO

* Formalization of PMO faces the issue of change implementation, which might disrupt already existing informal practices within the organization. * Finding executives with domain expertise and project management skills. * Obtaining complete and sustained top-management support for authority. * Managing a diverse range of related and unrelated projects to achieve the maximum organizational value within resource and funding constraints. * Deliver immediate improvements in project performance and justify the cost * Lack of standardized reports and reporting frameworks for all projects. * Manage the conflicts between new business critical initiatives and operations with incremental changes in the existing system. * Handle conflicts between line managers and project managers. * Evangelize the idea of PMO to induce it in company’s organization. * Assigning metrics to ensure the PMO functions and roles will meet the business goals of your organization

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Essentials for successful PMO implementation:

* Understanding the risks, challenges & work processes unique to the industry * Project portfolio