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A Quick Interview with Lisa in Project Connections

Date last updated 2:25 pm Jun 11th, 2008

In spring of 2008, we ran into Lisa DiTullio, past director of the Enterprise Project Management Organization in a large organization, and currently principal of Lisa DiTullio & Associates. Lisa has gone from being an accidental PM to a leading force in project management. She is the editor of ProjectBestPractices—a quarterly newsletter from ProjectWorld—a contributor to PM Network Magazine, and author of Simple Solutions: How "Enterprise Project Management" Supported Harvard Pilgrim Health Care's Journey from Near Collapse to #1. In spite of all this enterprise-level emphasis, Lisa still believes in keeping things simple—"serving vanilla," as she calls it. This interview discusses her career path, the results of her unrelenting support of project management, and her thoughts on how we can best serve project management in our organizations.

Cinda Voegtli: I like to start by asking people how they ended up in project management. Many of us have fairly twisty career paths, and accidental introductions into projects. What was your first project management role, and what was your career path up to that point?

Lisa: My indoctrination into project management was by accident. It was over 15 years ago; I was a manager of Provider Relations at Pilgrim Health Care (before the merger of Harvard Community Health Plan and Pilgrim Health Care, which created Harvard Pilgrim Health Care). I was rewarded for my great performance by receiving a project assignment, which was actually huge—I was asked to lead the project team responsible for automating a paper referral system to paperless. I had no idea what I was doing.

Cinda: Then how did you get going on that project and subsequent ones? How did you learn what to do and not do, what mattered, etc.?

Lisa: I used a lot of intuition and leveraged what had worked for me up to this point, which was strong organizational habits, good time management and lots of sticky notes to track my to-dos. It really was seat of my pants training, supported by a group of subject matter experts throughout the organization.

Cinda: What were the most important insights, techniques etc. early on for you as a new project manager—what contributed to the most to your success in this new role?

Lisa: This was my first inclination of what constitutes "successful" projects management—a little discipline and a whole lot of leadership and ability to navigate the organization to get results under deadline

Cinda: How did you eventually wind up involved with Enterprise Project Management Offices (EPMOs)?

Lisa: As I worked through my career, I found myself becoming more and more involved with project activities in some fashion or another. Either I was the project manager or I was the sponsor. My assignments ranged from automating manual work processes to identifying and implementing new software. For a number of years, I was the Director of Product Development—this was my first "real" opportunity to experience the power of project management. My entire staff consisted of product managers. Much of what they did relied upon practicing solid, repeatable and predictable project management activities.

Cinda: Are you saying that you were essentially acting as your own EPMO at this point because to get that solid repeatable performance, you found yourself doing certain things that you now see as the role of an EPMO?

Lisa: Yes. All the product managers in the unit were basically responsible for similar feats—to introduce new products into the market in quick order. Our unit realized that by systemizing certain product development activities we were able to gain efficiencies. But the standardization did not reduce or eliminate or ability to be creative or think out of the box during product conception; in fact, it allowed us more time to be creative in our thinking, as the standardized tools we now used freed up valuable time.

Then I eventually moved directly from Product Development to the Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO), reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer, with a dotted line to the CEO. This reporting position gave the EPMO the authority and clout it needed to effect change across the organization when defining our corporate project management lifecycle and tool kit

Cinda: How did the EPMO at Harvard Pilgrim get initiated? Whose idea was it, who led the charge, why was it perceived to be needed? Were there skeptics, or did everyone think it was an obvious thing to do? (I suspect that many people would despair at the idea of getting organizational agreement to start something big and centralized...)

Lisa: The experience at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care (HPHC) was a bit unique, in that we were an organization in dire crisis. At the end of 1999, after going through a significant merger, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts placed HPHC under state supervision through a court order. The court order was filed in response to ballooning 1999 losses, which totaled approximately $227 million. Under the court order, the state insurance commissioner assumed oversight for financial operations to help HPHC avoid bankruptcy and achieve financial stability. At around the same time, HPHC had implemented a targeted, aggressive plan to turn the organization around. Known as the "150-Day Campaign," this was the first introduction of a disciplined approach to getting important work done, under aggressive deadlines, with real accountability-in other words, this was when "real" project management activities were initiated. So for us, there was little room or time for objections—we were in a real sink or swim situation and we were running out of options on how to keep the company afloat. Hence, our role in the EPMO was a bit easier than most organizations, due to our chaotic environment.

Cinda: What does the EPMO's role include?

Lisa: At HPHC, the EPMO maintains a support and facilitative function. We provide a variety of services, but primarily we act as a support service to project managers who are dispersed across the organization. We don't actually manage the projects in the EPMO; rather, we support the PMs who have that responsibility through training, consultation, reporting, facilitation, etc. Our primary customer is the senior leadership team at HPHC, our second-line customers are the PMs who manage the priority projects.

Cinda: What do you believe is most important in starting the EPMO off properly?

Lisa: The only way an EPMO has any real chance in surviving at any organization is by placing it at the top. A PMO located at a high level within an organization will receive and have clout. It also represents neutrality. When a PMO is a stand-alone unit, reporting to the highest senior executives, it is viewed as non-biased in its intent. The PMO, through its Switzerland-like presence, can unselfishly support the organization's goals without prejudice or self-interest. You must have endorsement from the top; otherwise, you will fail, regardless of your tireless efforts.

Cinda: Do you have specific recommendations for how to go about getting all the top endorsement you need for an EPMO, specific approaches or no-nos?

Lisa: Be persistent and be clear. What I mean is this: create a simple, clear value statement that can be easily understood by everyone in the organization, and explicitly defines what a PMO does for an organization. The statement must be defined in business terms—do not use any project management lingo or terminology. Since the success of a PMO depends upon top-down endorsement, you must state the value in terms senior executives understand and feel, like growth in membership, increased revenues, high customer service, better decision making, etc.

In the early days, I found myself continuously stymied by one very influential senior vice president who viewed project management as a bunch of techno-blabber—administrative, time-wasting work. He eventually relented and bought into the EPMO, as I constantly spoke to him in terms he understood and valued. He still may not be the best performing executive sponsor on a project or be our loudest cheerleader, but he can no longer deny the value of what we have put in place, partly because of my unrelenting method of exhibiting all the small wins along the way. In other word, I bought him a lot of coffee over a few years!

Cinda: Have you developed a short-list of "must do" items for an EPMO to be successful? (And, for that matter, signs that they're doomed?)

Lisa: Serve vanilla. Project management does not need to be complex or complicated to offer value. In fact, keeping it simple allows companies to develop project management competencies that, over time, become part of the organizational culture. A major cause of many failed PMOs is an over-emphasis on the technical aspects of project management. Forcing project management language and technique before an organization is ready or before an organization can truly understand how project management translates to good business management is apt to cause organizational revolt and almost always guarantees failure.

Cinda: Can you give a few examples of "serving vanilla?" It seems very common occurrence that companies assume the way to get predictability is to document a whole bunch of methodology elements so people know exactly what to do, but then people end up saying things like this is too much, I don't what to use on my project, I'm overwhelmed, this doesn't fit small projects. Can you say a bit more about what "serving vanilla" really looks like in terms of how PM is practiced and documented in methodologies, and taught to PMs?

Lisa: Vanilla means starting off small and simple so folks get it and practice is early. For example, at HPHC, we did not initially introduce a lifecycle; our first efforts were around project status reporting. We were in pain, we needed to know how we were doing in accomplishing our turnaround plan, so we really didn't pay attention to how folks managed projects in the early days as long as they were getting the work done. This eventually evolved to a lifecycle and additional tools. But it was all done according to our needs, not simply to introduce a process.

Cinda: How does someone decide that they need a PMO in general, and then how do they know they should make that big leap to an EPMO, not just a departmental or business unit one, like an IT-owned PMO?

Lisa: Projects effect necessary change in an organization, and let's face it, no business can survive in the 21st century without embracing change. The true value of an EPMO is this: it drives cultural change in an organization to speed up decision-making, improve accountability, understand interdependent work efforts, and enhance overall communication across an organization. Notice I didn't say project management helps people manage projects better. This is where I believe too many organizations looking to establish project management fail—they lean too heavily on the practice of project management and fail to translate how project management supports business success.

And by the way, organizations can have more than one PMO and succeed. HPHC, for example, has two formal PMOs; one at the enterprise level, the other within the IT Division. The two units have co-existed since 1999 and have no trouble defining their roles and relationships in support of business plan delivery.

Cinda: What is the biggest challenge in moving from departmental level to enterprise-wide?

Lisa: You know, all companies want success, but I don't know any who can achieve it without encountering obstacles along the way. For some companies, the gap between promises made and delivery of those promises is too large, forcing them to fall victim to business disaster. This is true regardless of the organizational size. The key is for organizations to master the skills that prevent disasters, and project management skills are an essential part of this skill set.

PC: How do you judge that an EPMO is being successful and how long does it take to get there?

Lisa: Sorry, but it depends. Successful EPMOs have continued senior executive support, they are viewed as supportive and facilitative, and they help organizations achieve their goals and targets. This doesn't happen overnight, by the way. I believe the cultural change required in any organization takes about three years. In other words, this is about how long it takes for cultural adoption—where staff owns the work, defines the work, plans the work, and actively manages the work.

Cinda: What kind of background should the director of an EPMO have and what are the most important skills for that person?

Lisa: I don't believe all project managers make good EPMO leaders. Many seasoned project managers can clearly see the value of good project management practice and can successfully manage a complex project through application of project management techniques and tools. However, a skilled project manager cannot always run a PMO successfully, as the skill set and competency needed extend well beyond project management practice. I believe a successful PMO leader must understand the business, the culture, and the politics of an organization. He or she must have a seat at the executive table and be viewed as a valuable team player, having established strong relationships throughout the entire organization, at all levels. Technical know-how is good, but proficient leadership skills, strong character, integrity, and relationship management are better.

Cinda: If someone in a company believes that their organization needs a PMO, what advice would you give them about taking on the role of zealot or champion to go try to make it happen?

Lisa: Establish relationships with senior leaders and talk to them in terms they will understand. In other words, present examples of what a PMO can accomplish by addressing organizational pain. The best way to get executive buy-in for a PMO is by talking in business terms leaders get, not by speaking in project management terms.

Cinda: What do you love most about your career path and what you've gotten to do? What are the biggest insights you've gained about successful projects and project management?

Lisa: My career path has been a wild ride, all exciting and fun! I am about to jump off the big corporate cliff and leave my secure job at HPHC to launch my own consulting business, dedicated to helping organizations establish project management and PMOs—because, over time and through experience, there is something to the practice of project management that allows companies to be better at what they do. I am a firm believer in this. A little project management can go a long way. My passion is to help organizations understand this concept and establish the right project management model to create or sustain their own success.

Cinda: I have to ask one of my favorite questions... what is youropinion on what makes a great project manager?

Lisa: All project managers must have the Four E's to be successful.

Enthusiasm: A successful project manager must really want to do the job. He or she must get intense enjoyment from leading a project. If a project manager is not enthusiastic about the project, it's really hard for other team members to get on board.

Endurance: Project management requires high levels of staying power. In the beginning everything is unclear—the project goal, the project schedule, the project team, the roles and responsibilities. A successful project manager must endure all stages of project management, from project definition through project execution to project closure.

Earnest: Project managers must be sincere and serious in intention. Sincerity will enable project managers to establish a strong coalition among team members, while keeping focused on getting the work done. A team's ability to work together will get it through the tough spots.

Efficient: Project managers who work productively with minimum wasted effort and with limited resources will always succeed. The best project managers will keep an eye on the target and establish a direct route to get there.

Cinda: Do you have any other favorite hot-button subjects or advice that you'd like to impart?

Lisa: Just keep serving vanilla