OGC Launch New Guidance: P3O – Portfolio, Programme and Project Offices

I have been quite for a while due to my demanding, yet enjoyable, workload in my PMO role at Lloyds TSB, which is now part of the Lloyds Banking Group with the takeover of HBOS in January 2009.

During this time, the eagerly awaited P3O was officially launched by OGC on 28th October 2008 in Millbank, London.Portfolio, Programme and Project Offices (P3O) is the latest best practice guidance from the UK's Office of Government Commerce. It is in the same family of methodologies as PRINCE2, MSP and M_o_R.

There is a Foundation qualification and a yet to be launched Practitioner qualification.

Universal in its approach, the purpose of the P3O guidance is to provide advice that will enable individuals and organisations to establish, develop, and maintain appropriate business support structures that will allow:

• Informed senior management decision making on strategic alignment, prioritisation, risk management, optimisation of resources etc., to deliver business objectives (portfolio management) successfully.
• Identification and realisation of business outcomes and benefits via programmes.
• Successful delivery of project outputs that enable benefits within time, cost, and quality restraints.

P3O has been in development for over a year and Lead Author, Sue Vowler (one of the leading experts in the UK for P3O), has been involved with the project from the start. Her expertise lies in designing new P3O offices or re-energising existing units.