PMO Maturity Sprint

You have a PMO and a cadence, but results feel uneven. Variance notes are thin. Dependencies and resource conflicts pop up late. Risks and changes live in separate files. Benefits are promised, not proven. You need a focused uplift that tightens the system and moves the metrics. 

Choose this sprint if you have a running PMO or completed the PMO Diagnostic and want measurable improvement.

• You want schedule reliability and throughput trending up
• You want decision cycle time trending down
• You want risk, change, and benefits tied to the same decisions
• You want clean dashboards your leaders trust

We uplift the PMO in four workstreams and coach your team to run it.

1. Cadence and Ownership
   Clarify decision rights, forum inputs, and action closure. Tighten the weekly and monthly drumbeat.
2. Reporting and Dashboards
   One standard pack with variance rules and owner updates. No report without a decision.
3. Risk, Change, and Benefits
   Simple playbooks that link to the portfolio. Risks steer options. Changes protect stability. Benefits track value.
4. Resources and Dependencies
   A light view of capacity and conflicts so tradeoffs happen early.

Everything runs in your current tools. We keep it simple and practical.

Named artifacts you will keep and use.

• PMO Playbooks: Risk, Change, and Benefits
• Decision Forum Pack: agendas, inputs, and decision rights map
• Reporting Pack: dashboard fields, traffic light rules, variance note examples
• Resource View Lite: capacity by team or role with simple load rules
• Dependency Map: cross-team view and conflict checks
• WIP and Prioritization Rules: how work starts, holds, and stops
• Benefits Register: value targets, evidence plan, and monthly review template
• Risk and Issue Register: thresholds, owners, and escalation paths
• Change Log and CAB-lite Script: standard vs normal change, backout notes
• Decision Log: decision, date, owner, and next step tied to items
• Runbook: how the PMO runs week to week after the sprint

Acceptance criteria so you know it is working.

• Weekly and monthly forums run on time with defined inputs
• ≥ 90 percent of items have current variance notes and a next step
• Two or more cross-team conflicts resolved in forum using resource and dependency views
• Risk, change, and benefits referenced in at least one portfolio decision per week
• Decision cycle time down against baseline
• Schedule reliability and throughput trending up over two cycles
• Benefits register created and reviewed monthly

• Confirm decision rights and forum inputs
• Refresh agendas and action tracking
• Set baselines for reliability, throughput, and cycle time

• Stand up the reporting pack and variance rules
• Owners update their items, not the PMO
• First monthly portfolio review held and actions closed

• Deploy playbooks and link them to the portfolio
• Run first benefits review with evidence
• Record decisions that balance value and risk

• Produce capacity and conflict views
• Make at least two tradeoffs in forum using these views

• Prove acceptance criteria
• Publish the runbook and a 90 day sustain plan
• Final readout with metrics and next steps

• Short working sessions with sponsor, head of PMO, portfolio coordinator, and project leads
• We facilitate early forums and coach managers to run the
• We design for your current tools and team capacity

We track and improve a small set of signals.

• Schedule Reliability: percent of committed dates met
• Portfolio Throughput: items finished per period
• Decision Cycle Time: request to decision by forum
• Variance Quality: percent with clear cause, impact, and next step
• Change Success Rate: changes completed without incident
• Benefits Realization: value delivered vs plan

• Executive Sponsor: sets priorities and clears obstacles
• Head of PMO: owns cadence, reporting, and the uplift backlog
• Portfolio Coordinator: maintains views and the decision log
• Project and Product Leads: update items and variance notes

Role cards are included.

Clients typically see within one to two cycles:

• Fewer surprise conflicts and stop–starts
• Faster, better recorded decisions
• Clear variance notes and more accurate forecasts
• Early wins on schedule reliability and throughput

• Before: PMO in 30 Days or PMO Maturity Diagnostic to set the baseline
• After: Fractional advisor check-ins or a TMO Readiness Scan if strategy spans functions

How much time does this take from our team?
About 3 to 5 hours per week for the core group during the sprint.

Do we need new software?
No. We use your current tools and add only what the cadence needs.

Will this stick after you leave?
Yes. The runbook, playbooks, and trained owners keep it running. We can check in monthly if you want.