Introduction of the PMO within the PSO

Hello and welcome. My name is Benny A. Recine. I have been a Project Manager for over 10 years in IT, mostly in financial services. Five years ago, I joined a company that was my first position in a professional services organization (PSO). I had worked as a consultant before, but not in the capacity of promoting a product--in this case, an anti-money laundering (AML) software product.  But before I continue, let me tell you about my career as a Project Manager.

I was driven to project management because I had become a time manager in relation to my personal and professional life. My drive to improve process led me to the CMM methodology. I found that this was a good IT operational process, but it did not fit for a project process. Since I was involved with projects being rolled out for the organizations I worked for, I found the Project Management Institute (PMI) and its Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. When I studied the process, at that time it was the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), third edition. I thought the phases of Initiation, Planning, Execution, Control, and Close are natural process flows in a project life cycle. As a result, I published articles through PMI’s Specific Interest Groups (SIGs) and the NJ Chapter. I became PMI certified in January, 2005.

During my career in IT as a PM, I usually had responsibilities in implementing a new product or improving an existing product. When I began my career in a PSO in 2006, I married the PMI process and the process of implementing a product in a client company for a PSO. This gave me the opportunity to grow as a leader as well as a PM consultant. As I utilized multiple individuals with varied talents on my teams, I learned that the need for process improvement becomes more important in a PSO. In the many projects t I have been a PM on since 2006, I have helped our team implement PMO standards for projects that we conduct. I have also been involved in many projects that relied heavily on communication, especially on our international projects.

In all of this, I felt there was a need to have a PM media outlet for a PMO in a PSO. In the beginning of my career in a PSO, especially in a small PSO, I felt it necessary to establish standards, even if there wasn’t a major push for standards on communications for a project. Eventually, we began to follow the corporate standards that were already in place.  Eventually, I felt it necessary to communicate my ideas and beliefs in this endeavor. I wrote an article for an established and nationally recognized PS website, similar to the PMI website. However, I began to understand that I should deliver additional opinions and articles in the PMO in a PSO space. So I began to envision this blog for my articles and opinions.

I expect this blog to be a two-way communication regarding this subject matter. I encourage you to send an email or two on my topics. Or, if you are so inclined, suggest a topic you are interested in and I we can discuss how to publish it. In all, I hope you find this blog informative and provocative, and a way to improve our work. Thank you.