PMO Lite
Stand up lightweight governance in 60–90 days—then coach it to stick.
What it is:
A right-sized PMO that installs a single pipeline—Intake → Prioritization → Approval → Delivery—and a standard Stage-Gate process so every project runs the same way, with clear entry/exit criteria and lean artifacts.
Who it's for:
Growing teams juggling multiple projects and vendors with inconsistent process and slipping dates; leaders who want a single intake → prioritization → approval pipeline and one trusted status view; organizations scaling from a couple of PMs to program governance (but not a heavyweight PMO); teams that frequently reprioritize (sales, promos, compliance) and need clear, uniform stage-gates; and SMBs seeking predictability across Agile, hybrid, or predictive projects without adding headcount.
Breakdown
Evaluation Approach
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Design the Pipeline: map current intake → build Intake, Prioritization, Approval flows; define scoring & approvers.
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Build the Project Stage-Gates: publish entry/exit criteria and required artifacts per gate; stand up standard templates.
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Tool & Data: configure forms/boards, portfolio view, status pack; RACI embedded.
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Pilot & Tune: run 2–3 active projects through gates; measure decision latency & throughput; tune scoring/SLAs.
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Rollout & Stabilize: portfolio adoption, monthly steer-co, playbooks finalized; coach PMs/owners.
Key Deliverables
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Intake Pipeline: request form, sizing, benefits/risk screen, required artifacts checklist
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Prioritization Model: scoring (value, risk, effort, compliance), tie-break rules, quarterly refresh
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Approval Workflow: roles (sponsor/finance/IT), digital sign-offs, audit trail
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Stage-Gate Framework: Initiate → Plan → Build → Validate → Release/Go-Live → Hypercare/Close with entry/exit criteria
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Process Standardization Kit: charter, plan/timeline, RAID, decision log, weekly exec status, change control “lite”
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Tooling Setup: Jira/Confluence (or Asana/Smartsheet) project + portfolio views, KPI tiles
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RACI & Ownership: PM/Tech Lead/Product/QA/Ops/vendor roles defined
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Playbooks: status cadence, risk burndown, dependency control, cutover readiness pattern
FAQs
Will this slow us down?
No—minimum effective governance; signal over paperwork.
Can we keep our tools?
Yes—we will work with your current tools
How do we know it’s working?
On-time confidence ↑, decision latency ↓, consistent status, and predictable gates.
Opening the books...