Ever found yourself in a familiar scenario where the call for increased efficiency echoes through the office corridors? If you’re like many professionals, you’ve likely encountered two distinct approaches – the ‘Let’s Get It Done’ Operations Team and the ‘Quality First’ Quality Team.
In the Operations corner, it’s about quick fixes and tangible results. Meetings are seen as impediments, and the race is on to produce as much as possible. On the flip side, the Quality Team meticulously plans, investigates, and aims for perfection, often leading to perceived inefficiencies.
The clash extends to key performance indicators (KPIs) – Operations pressed for maximum output, Quality striving for zero defects. It’s a classic dilemma: conflicting goals within the broader company objective.
Budget battles add another layer. Operations wield hefty budgets, investing in consultants and resources, prioritizing output. Meanwhile, Quality, tasked with minimizing costs and risks, operates on a shoestring budget, often requiring collaboration with bandwidth-strapped Operations teams.
Enter the Project Management Office (PMO), your key to harmonizing these diverse teams and goals. Embedding Lean Six-Sigma into a solid project framework within the PMO is pivotal for controlling time, cost, quality, and output in projects of all sizes.
The PMO aligns with corporate goals, forming cross-functional teams regardless of organizational structure. With a defined project budget and stakeholder approval, the PMO takes the lead, ensuring collaboration between Operations and Quality representatives.
Crucially, the PMO remains impartial during the project’s monitoring and control phase. Free from departmental biases, they evaluate success based on independent KPIs established by the project team.
If your company is grappling with these challenges and lacks a PMO, perhaps it’s time to drop a note in that suggestion box everyone hesitates to use. A unified approach led by a PMO might just be the game-changer your organization needs.
About the author
Harold E. Meadows Jr.
Fortune 500 Operations, Quality and PMO expert
LinkedIN – https://www.linkedin.com/in/harold-meadows-jr-b0623715/
Author of “The Business Compass: Navigating Success with Ethics, Innovation, and Purpose” https://www.amazon.com/Business-Compass-Navigating-Success-Innovation/dp/B0C7J5HW26
Founder of Definitive Innovations LLC – https://definitive-innovations.com/
Over 20 years management and leadership experience in government regulated industries
Disclaimer: Opinions Expressed are Personal
“All opinions, contents, and material posted is solely my own and does not represent my employer or my role at Tektronix. I am solely responsible for any and all liability associated with such material.”